A California judge has rejected electric vehicle maker Tesla’s attempt to dismiss charges that it misled customers about its self-driving technology. 

On Monday, Office of Administrative Hearings Judge Juliet Cox ruled that Tesla must face accusations brought by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that it overstated the ability of its autopilot program. She said that if the California regulator’s claims are true, they constitute a serious safety issue. 

According to the California DMV, Tesla’s advertising of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems misled customers into believing that the company was selling an “autonomous vehicle.”

The lawsuit dates back to 2022 and is one of the many challenges Tesla faces concerning its driver assistance programs. The company faces a nationwide class-action suit from customers who feel they were misled by Tesla advertising. A federal probe is looking into similar claims. 

Since Tesla launched Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, the company has consistently reminded customers that the technology needs a fully attentive driver to operate effectively. Still, crashes involving Autopiloted Tesla vehicles have caught the eyes of regulators. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened its investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot technology in 2021, probing over 450 crashes with the company’s vehicles. According to the regulator’s findings, the crashes resulted in 14 deaths and 54 injuries. 

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.