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California calls it "false advertising," but Tesla claims "free speech" [1]

['Jason Weisberger']

Date: 2023-12-13

In another fantastic argument to defend Tesla's "Autopilot," litigious pedo guy Elon Musk claims California can't regulate false advertising because it violates his free speech.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has filed a complaint against Tesla and wants to strip it of its license to produce motor vehicles in the State. The complaint stems from the numerous problems with Tesla's non-working "Autopilot." Musk had been all over the place with personal promises about how wonderful it was until people started getting hurt, whistleblowers released tons of internal documents revealing that the company knew, and the government got involved. Ever since, we've heard a lot less from Musk about self-driving tech, however he has been busy enabling "free speech" elsewhere.

It should come as no surprise that Musk's defense against the complaint is that "the First Amendment lets me say whatever I want." Clearly, the government can regulate speech on behalf of public safety. Lies about a car's autonomous driving system very likely meet whatever standard the courts require. This seems like another large waste of time and money.

Ars Technica:

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2023/12/13/california-calls-it-false-advertising-but-tesla-claims-free-speech.html

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