Tesla Faces Another Class Action Lawsuit in the US for "Misleading Driving Range"

U.S. electric vehicle company Tesla has been sued for allegedly deceiving consumers through advertisements that differ from the actual driving range.

Tesla Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Northern District Court of California on the 3rd (local time), three owners of Tesla Model Y vehicles filed a class-action lawsuit the day before, claiming that Tesla falsely advertised the driving range.

They argued that their vehicles fell significantly short of the advertised driving range and that their complaints to the company were ignored.

Adam A. Edwards, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said, "Simply put, Tesla has an obligation to deliver products to consumers that operate as advertised."

James Porter, a Model Y owner, claimed in the lawsuit, "I drove 92 miles (148 km) in one trip, but the available driving range decreased by about 182 miles (292 km)."

They stated, "If Tesla had honestly advertised the driving range, we would not have purchased Tesla Model vehicles or would have paid much less," and added, "We seek class-action status to represent all those who purchased Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model Y, and Model X vehicles."

This lawsuit was filed following allegations that Tesla secretly organized a team to suppress complaints related to driving range, which surfaced on the 27th of last month.

Major foreign media reported that Tesla formed a complaint-handling team called the 'Diversion Team' in Las Vegas last summer after a surge in complaints about discrepancies between the advertised and actual driving range. The 'Diversion Team' is reportedly tasked primarily with canceling customer appointments at service centers due to the increased number of owners seeking service for driving range issues.

Major foreign media also reported that Tesla, under the direction of CEO Elon Musk, has used an algorithm for the past 10 years that inflates the estimated driving range when the battery is fully charged.

In September last year, Tesla was sued for allegedly misleading consumers by claiming its autonomous driving technology was "fully functional" or "soon to be," and it has also faced lawsuits over malfunctions of its autonomous driving assistance feature, 'Autopilot.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.