Tesla's response to the DMV's false-advertising allegations: What took so long?

Seven years after Tesla released the automated driving feature it calls Full Self-Driving, and two-and-a-half years after opening an investigation into it, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is alleging false advertising, which could carry serious implications for the electric car maker. Tesla is defending itself by saying, in effect, that the DMV let the company slide for so many years, the case no longer has legal standing. Plus, the company, run by Chief Executive Elon Musk, says the DMV is violating its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's 1st Amendment. The DMV "has been aware that Tesla has been using the brand names Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability since Tesla started using those names in 2014 and 2016 respectively," the company said in a response filed in a state administrative court Friday. The company "relied upon [the DMV's] implicit approval of these brand names" and "the DMV chose not to take any action against Tesla or otherwise communicate to Tesla that its advertising or use of these brand names was or might be problematic," the response notice states.