What’s Happening: A proposed class of Tesla owners is suing the company, asking a California federal judge to force CEO Elon Musk and his auto company to deactivate “full self-driving” on all its vehicles and bar him from making “false and deceptive” promises about its capabilities. The plaintiffs claim that Tesla and Musk have made false and deceptive claims about the abilities of the “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system, endangering the public.
Why It Matters: The lawsuit highlights the ongoing debate over the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving technology and raises questions about the company’s marketing tactics. The plaintiffs argue that many Tesla owners lack an accurate understanding of the technology’s significant limitations, over-rely on it, and are getting into horrific accidents. The proposed class seeks a preliminary injunction that would force the company to turn off the FSD software on all its vehicles and send notifications to Tesla owners that the system would remain off until the company could prove to the court that it works properly.
Key Points:
- The proposed class of drivers claims that Tesla and Musk have long made false and deceptive claims about FSD’s abilities and that the claims greatly endanger the public every day that they are allowed to continue.
- The plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction that would force the company to turn off full self-driving software on all its vehicles and send notifications to Tesla owners that the system would remain off until the company could prove to the court that it works properly. They urged the court to halt the automaker’s sales of the feature until it fixed all issues identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The bid also asks the court to stop Musk from overstating the actual abilities of the vehicles to the public and bar the company from using the “Full Self Driving” label until it actually functions as such.
Bottom Line: Tesla and Musk are facing a lawsuit from a proposed class of Tesla owners who claim that the company’s FSD system is dangerous and that Musk has made false and deceptive claims about its capabilities. The proposed class seeks a preliminary injunction that would force the company to turn off full self-driving software on all its vehicles and send notifications to Tesla owners that the system would remain off until the company could prove to the court that it works properly. This lawsuit highlights the ongoing debate over the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving technology and raises questions about the company’s marketing tactics.
