On August 2, 2023, three Tesla owners in California filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the automaker, accusing it of misrepresenting the estimated contents of their electric vehicles.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California follows a Reuters report that claimed Tesla had established a “Diversion Team” in Nevada to cancel as many range-related appointments as possible after receiving a flood of owner complaints.
According to another Reuters source, Tesla decided to design algorithms for its in-dash range meter approximately ten years ago so that drivers would see “rosy” forecasts for how far the car could go on a full battery. Elon Musk gave the order to present the less optimistic range predictions. Whether Tesla still employs algorithms that inflate range estimates remains unknown.
The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit list instances where their Teslas’ ranges fell short of what was stated and claim they have tried to contact the company about these issues without results.
The case filed by James Porter, a Model Y owner from Petaluma, California, claimed that during one journey, he “lost approximately 182 miles of range—despite only driving 92 miles.”
The lawsuit stated: “Consumers either would not have purchased Tesla model vehicles or else would have paid substantially less for them, had Tesla honestly advertised its EV ranges.”
The complaint seeks class-action status for “all persons in California who purchased a new Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model Y, or Model X vehicle.” It demands unspecified damages.
Tesla’s Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” technology and its assertions regarding security claims are also the subject of legal actions and regulatory investigation.
