— A Tesla driving range lawsuit alleges Tesla's advertised driving ranges are fraudulent lies.
The class action lawsuit includes, "all persons who purchased or leased a Tesla vehicle within the applicable statute of limitations preceding the filing of this action to the present."
The driving range lawsuit was filed by California plaintiffs Samuel Van Diest and Sergey Khalikulov who each own a Tesla Model 3.
The plaintiffs contend the only way Tesla's vehicles get their advertised ranges is by using a range-testing regime intentionally designed to produce high range estimates. However, the class action alleges the driving ranges are lower than the advertised ranges and do not reflect the range owners get in real-world driving.
According to the plaintiffs, Tesla designs its vehicle range gauges to deceive drivers. In addition, the Tesla class action lawsuit alleges employees attempt to convince owners the ranges are normal.
The driving range lawsuit further alleges Tesla employees try to dissuade customers from making or keeping service appointments about driving range problems.
The class action alleges a "diversion team" has that job.
Customers are also allegedly fooled by the battery range estimates.
"Rather than accurately estimating the number of miles a driver can continue to drive without a charge, Tesla intentionally, systematically, and artificially inflates the estimated range left on its batteries." — Tesla driving range lawsuit
The plaintiffs claim as a driver depletes the vehicle battery, the range gauge adjusts algorithmically to become more accurate. This allegedly is a trick to encourage a driver to recharge the battery before losing power.
Because Tesla controls all software aspects, the automaker can allegedly manipulate driving range estimates to "maintain the illusion that Tesla automobiles have their advertised range."
The Tesla driving range class action lawsuit wasn't filed until Reuters published a story which alleged the same claims as in the class action.
The Tesla driving range lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Oakland Division): Van Diest, et al., v. Tesla, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Kaliel Gold PLLC, and Watts Guerra LLP.
