Tesla was sued for falsely advertising its self-driving capabilities

A US judge has just rejected Tesla ‘s request to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Elon Musk’s electric car company of false advertising, causing owners to believe that their cars will be capable of self-driving in the near future.

The proposed nationwide class action lawsuit accuses Tesla and Musk of falsely advertising Autopilot and other self-driving technologies since 2016, saying they worked well or were “nearly there,” forcing buyers to Pay extra for the car.

Federal Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco said Tesla owners can pursue claims of negligence and fraud, based on their reliance on Tesla’s representations about its hardware and self-driving capabilities. cross-country of the car.

Judge Lin said, “if Tesla wanted to convey that its hardware was sufficient to achieve a high or complete level of automation, then the complaint presented sufficient evidence that that was untrue.”

Several other charges were dismissed.

Tesla and its lawyers have not yet responded. Lawyers representing Tesla owners also did not immediately respond.

The lead plaintiff in the case is Thomas LoSavio, a retired California attorney. He said he paid an extra $8,000 in 2017 for the Full Self-Driving feature on the Tesla Model S, believing it would make driving safer as his reflexes diminished over time. age.

Mr. LoSavio said that now, after 6 years, he is still waiting for this technology, while Tesla is still “unable” to produce a fully self-driving car.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for people who purchased or leased Tesla vehicles with Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving since 2016.

For years, Tesla has faced federal investigations into whether its self-driving technology contributed to fatal crashes.

According to three sources familiar with the matter, federal prosecutors are separately investigating whether Tesla committed securities fraud or wire fraud by misleading investors about the car’s self-driving capabilities.

Tesla says Autopilot allows the car to automatically steer, accelerate and brake within its lane, while Full Self-Driving allows the car to follow traffic signals and change lanes.

However, Tesla admits that neither of these technologies makes the car fully autonomous and does not relieve the driver of the responsibility to pay attention to the road.