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Tesla Sued by California Drivers Over Misleading Self-Driving Claims
19 Aug
Summary
- U.S. court certifies class action lawsuit against Tesla
- Drivers claim Elon Musk misled them about self-driving capabilities
- Tesla unable to demonstrate long-distance autonomous driving
As of August 19, 2025, a U.S. District Court has certified a class action lawsuit against Tesla, with California drivers alleging the company and CEO Elon Musk misled them for over eight years about the self-driving capabilities of its electric vehicles.
The court found that the common question of whether Tesla lacked the necessary sensors to achieve high-level autonomy, coupled with its inability to "demonstrate a long-distance autonomous drive with any of its vehicles," justified the class action lawsuits by two sets of drivers who purchased Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" technology package.
The judge also noted that thousands of people likely saw Tesla's claims in the "Autopilot" section of its website from October 2016 to August 2024, as well as similar statements made in a blog post, newsletter, and earnings call, and by Musk himself at a 2016 press conference. The court determined that Tesla's distinctive advertising strategy warranted a departure from the typical approach for traditional automakers.
The class action lawsuits cover California drivers who bought the Full Self-Driving package from May 2017 to July 2024, as well as those who purchased it from October 2016 to May 2017. The judge, however, refused to certify a class for drivers who bought Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot package, as its "core product qualities" did not require full self-driving functionality.
