The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) seems to want Tesla to advertise its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features to consumers.
According to a report by the LA Times. the DMV isn’t too happy about Tesla’s use of the terms, Autopilot and FSD. And the state agency is also upset about Tesla’s description of how Navigating on Autopilot from home works.
According to the article, the California DMV thinks the following paragraph found on Tesla’s website was misleading.
“All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go. If you don’t say anything, your car will look at your calendar and take you there as the assumed destination. Your Tesla will figure out the optimal route, navigating urban streets, complex intersections, and freeways.”
Is this really misleading, though?
That particular paragraph is part of Tesla’s description of its Autopilot and FSD features. Having seen FSD in action for myself, I’ve seen it actually do this. I’ve ridden with friends who have FSD Beta and they would speak into the microphone and tell the car where to go. And the car would go there.
The only issue is that this technology is still in Beta and the driver needs to be very aware of their surroundings. This means paying attention to the road. And in some cases, I have seen my friends take over safely.
However, I’ve also witnessed FSD stop for cyclists and pedestrians which many human drivers all too often don’t do.
-
As someone who doesn’t own a car, I’ve been almost hit quite a few times. If it wasn’t for my paying attention to my surroundings, I’d probably have won a few lawsuits and hospital stays. Perople really don’t pay attention when behind the wheel.
The California DMV’s Solution: Making Tesla advertise or “educate consumers”
They seek to make Tesla add more disclaimers / training for users. Seems like a non-issue. Their main issue seems to be the Full Self-Driving name as Tesla doesn’t actually advertise. https://t.co/hole8WMSx0
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) August 5, 2022
If the DMV gets its way, it could revoke Tesla’s licenses to make and sell EVs in the state. I don’t have to tell you how bad this would be for jobs.
The article noted that these “remedies” would probably be “softer.” A DMV spokesperson told the LA Times that it will ask that Tesla be required to advertise the capabilities of Autopilot and FSD to consumers.
“The DMV will ask that Tesla will be required to advertise to consumers and better educate Tesla drivers about the capabilities of its ‘Autopilot’ and ‘Full Self-Driving’ features, including cautionary warnings regarding the limitations of the features, and for other actions as appropriate given the violations.”
In essence, the DMV is trying to force Tesla to buy advertising for its products and services.
-
Bloomberg noted that Tesla has 15 days to respond to the DMV if it wants to dispute or defend itself. It should also be noted that Tesla is one of the state’s largest employers with over 45,000 employees.
California isn’t too fond of Tesla at all, it seems
California already lost Tesla headquarters following the drama from 2020. CA Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzales made it very clear that Elon Musk and Tesla, a leading job provider, weren’t welcome in the state.
Although Tesla didn’t close down its factories in California, the company relocated its headquarters to Austin following Elon Musk’s personal decision to move to the Texas capital.
Message received
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2020
Personally, I don’t blame him for moving out of a state where government officials are openly hostile toward Elon Musk. I’d leave, too. And the move has proven to be very beneficial for both Tesla and Texas.
Following the relocation, Tesla seems to be doing very well and recently opened Giga Texas in April. Tesla has also been working closely with the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
-
Reducing the stress on the Texas grid would help Texans during the intense heat and winters. And it would encourage the largest oil-producing U.S. state to openly embrace renewables. Tesla being in Texas is a great thing for both as well as the South.
Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.
It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.
If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.
🚨 Tesla has launched the Outlet Adapter for Model Y Premium in the U.S., enabling V2L capability for all Premium trims (that’s what it appears to be as it is available for purchase with all Premium trims)
It’s available for $80. 2.4kW max power and rated for 120v, 20A pic.twitter.com/lDxlVIk5s8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?
-
They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.
Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:
Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners
You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.
It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.
You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.
-
Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”
Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.
The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.
🚨 The Information is reporting this morning that Tesla is ready to unveil the “flying” Roadster as soon as this month
It’s almost here, folks. pic.twitter.com/IdL4atsucQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.
-
According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.
We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”
We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.
The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.
Featured
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.
Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.
Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.
Tesla has received its Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority says that operations are limited to a maximum fleet of 10 fully autonomous vehicles and shall be conducted only within the Authority-approved Operational Design… https://t.co/Cxfd6GIfDk pic.twitter.com/iOO6wSZkHF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2026
The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.
Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.
-
Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information
