California Tesla owners file class action over false EV range claims

Three Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) owners from California filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the automaker Wednesday. The legal complaint alleges that Tesla engaged in false advertising of the estimated driving ranges of its electric vehicles.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, references a recent Reuters article outlining how Tesla allegedly formed a “Diversion Team” in Nevada to handle the overwhelming number of owner complaints regarding range-related issues. The team’s reported aim was to cancel as many range-related appointments as possible.

The reports also outline a decades-old decision by the company to write algorithms for its in-dash range meter that would display “rosy” projections to drivers regarding the distance their car could travel on a full battery. According to an unnamed source cited in the articles, the decision to falsify the range estimates came from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It is undetermined if the company continues to use the algorithms.

The lawsuit alleges Tesla breached vehicle warranties and engaged in fraud and unfair competition.

“Put simply, Tesla has a duty to deliver a product that performs as advertised,” attorney, Adam Edwards said in a statement.

James Porter, a Petaluma, California-based Model Y owner, said in the lawsuit that on one trip he “lost approximately 182 miles of range—despite only driving 92 miles.”

The lawsuit states: “Had Tesla honestly advertised its electric vehicle ranges, consumers either would not have purchased Tesla model vehicles, or else would have paid substantially less for them.”

In April, another Tesla owner from California filed a proposed consumer class action lawsuit in response to reports indicating that Tesla employees had been sharing sensitive images and videos recorded by cars’ cameras on an internal messaging system.