Key Takeaways
- Tesla accused of misleading customers about the Full Self-Driving feature
- Customers given the green light to proceed with negligence and fraud-based claims
- Lawsuit alleges Tesla falsely advertised cars’ future autonomous driving capabilities
Tesla is no stranger to lawsuits, but a recent ruling by a district judge will have the Texas-based automaker face another one concerning its full self-driving feature. In a report by Reuters, US District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco denied Tesla’s request to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the company of “false advertising” and misleading its customers into believing that self-driving cars are coming.
To recall, Judge Haywood Gilliam denied the lawsuit’s motion for preliminary injunction last year, with the plaintiffs told to sort out their complaints individually. However, Thomas Losavio was given the chance to amend the complaints, which led to this latest ruling, allowing the lawsuit to proceed. According to Bloomberg, whether this will be classified as a class-action lawsuit will be decided later.
False Advertising?
Judge Lin said that the complainants are allowed to pursue negligence and fraud-based claims, ruling that they believed Tesla’s claims about the vehicles’ capability to drive autonomously in the future.
LoSavio bought a Tesla Model S in 2017, with Full Self-Driving added for $8,000. Tesla has since halved the monthly subscription for the software and released the latest improved version, but it has yet to produce an autonomous car above its current SAE Level 2+ designation.
“Every year after LoSavio’s purchase, Musk allegedly repeated that Tesla’s cars were getting closer and closer to full automation, and that next year — every “next” year — the cars would drive themselves. As LoSavio noted during the hearing, these were not mere recitations. With each iteration, Musk’s statements became more specific,” the judge said.
Related
Tesla Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Privacy Intrusion
The lawsuit alleges violation of customer privacy in a big way.
Tesla’s FSD and Autopilot Couldn’t Catch A Break
While this lawsuit is certainly another blow to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving tech, the feature hasn’t been smooth sailing recently. The Autopilot capability is under investigation again, with the NHTSA checking whether fixes to the tech solved previous safety problems.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department announced early this month that it is looking into whether Tesla and Elon Musk over-sold the features to customers and investors, hence committing wire fraud and/or securities fraud.
