Shulou(Shulou.com)12/24 Report--

Tesla could face a ban on selling self-driving cars in the UK under the UK's upcoming Self-Driving Cars Act. This was a major setback for Elon Musk and Tesla.

Britain's Department for Transport plans to introduce laws next year that will require unapproved car manufacturers not to call their vehicles "autonomous" or "driverless."

It is the latest blow to Tesla, which faces multiple lawsuits and investigations over the safety of its advanced assisted-driving technology.

For years, Tesla has charged Tesla owners around the world high fees for what it calls a "fully autonomous" upgrade, but only tested the technology in North America.

Despite the name "fully autonomous driving," the current feature, which still requires constant monitoring by drivers, is described as an "assistance" system and is unlikely to meet the high standards coming out of Britain.

Last week, the British government said it would regulate terms such as "self-driving,""autonomous driving,""driverless" and "autonomous vehicles" to prevent "misleading marketing" associated with the technology.

Limiting how car manufacturers describe autonomous systems is the first step towards a new regime that is expected to come into force in 2024 or 2025 when the Autonomous Vehicles Act becomes law.

Tesla's advanced driver assistance system Autopilot has features such as adaptive cruise, car-following and automatic lane change, but does not meet the "marketing terminology" stipulated in the act.

Legal experts say the upcoming bill means the UK government will regulate driverless cars more tightly, making it harder for Tesla to promote the technology in the UK.

Tesla is currently valued at $742 billion, making it the world's most valuable automaker, but that's partly based on Musk's longstanding promise that Tesla electric cars will be able to drive without human intervention.

Musk said earlier this year: "This is the key to whether Tesla is worth anything. "

Since 2016, Tesla has been promoting electric cars with "full autonomous driving capability" and charging British owners £ 6800 ($8572). Tesla said it may not activate the feature until it gets approval from local regulators.

Brian Wong, a transportation lawyer at law firm Burges Salmon, said: "If the vehicle is not recognized as a self-driving car, there are problems using terms such as 'fully autonomous driving', so Tesla and other car manufacturers need to pay attention." "

He added: "This is one of the biggest concerns everyone, including industry insiders, has about autonomous vehicles: public confusion about features that are not recognized as autonomous vehicles. "

Tesla has been recruiting drivers in the UK and Europe to test more sophisticated self-driving systems, seen as a sign that the company is ready to roll out the technology globally.

Tesla owners in the U.S. and Canada have been able to use beta versions of the "fully autonomous" system since 2020, but Musk has had trouble bringing the technology to other markets.

"A lot of things are legal by default in the United States," Musk said last year. "In Europe, this is illegal by default. That's why we have to get permission. But in the United States, you can more or less rely on your own perceptions to do that. "

Musk has repeatedly made ambitious promises about self-driving car technology, dating back to his 2017 statement that Tesla electric cars would be able to drive autonomously on roads across the United States without human intervention.

Musk told investors last month: "Obviously, I have been overly optimistic about this in the past. "

Tesla faces a series of investigations by U.S. regulators into Autopilot and "fully autonomous" systems. Last month, Tesla won its first trial in the United States on charges that Tesla's self-driving system caused fatal road accidents.

Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Safety is at the heart of the autonomous driving bill, which is why we are introducing new regulations to ban misleading marketing practices, following recommendations from the Law Commission. "This helps protect consumers and the public by ensuring that only vehicles that meet strict standards can be marketed as such. "

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