A judge in California has ruled that Tesla must face a class-action lawsuit from drivers who say the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, misled them about the self-driving abilities of Tesla’s vehicles. The lawsuit covers people who bought Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) package, claiming the company exaggerated what its technology could actually do.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin said there are shared questions among the drivers that make group lawsuits appropriate. She pointed out that Tesla’s cars do not have enough sensors to reach high levels of autonomy. The judge also noted Tesla has never shown any of its cars successfully completing a fully autonomous long-distance drive.
The judge’s decision highlights that many customers likely saw Tesla’s statements over nearly eight years—from October 2016 to August 2024—claiming their cars had the hardware needed for full self-driving. These claims appeared on Tesla’s website, in blog posts, newsletters, earnings calls, and even at a 2016 press event where Musk spoke.
Judge Lin mentioned Tesla’s unique approach to advertising, which doesn’t involve traditional mass marketing or independent dealers. Instead, people interested in FSD probably went directly to Tesla’s website for information. This made it reasonable to assume potential buyers were exposed to Tesla’s self-driving claims.
Tesla’s lawyers argued it was wrong to think every class member saw these claims and questioned whether the statements were important enough to affect customers’ decisions. They have not commented further since the ruling.
The class-action covers two groups of drivers in California: those who bought the FSD package between May 19, 2017, and July 31, 2024, who also opted out of Tesla’s arbitration agreement, and those who bought it between October 20, 2016, and May 19, 2017.
The judge refused to certify a class for drivers who bought Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot package. She said that package did not promise full self-driving, so any alleged false statements were not material to the purchasing choice.
This case shines a light on the ongoing debate over Tesla’s self-driving software, which has also caught the attention of federal safety officials. The technology is key to Tesla’s plan for robotaxis, making its accuracy and safety crucial.
The lawsuit is officially titled In re Tesla Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Litigation and is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The case number is 22-05240.