Tesla Sued in Small Claims Court for False Advertising

Many, including the federal government, are concerned that Tesla’s claims of working with Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology aren’t entirely accurate. The automaker’s semi-autonomous feature is still in the beta testing stage, but it uses customers as test subjects, which doesn’t sit well with regulators. Customers are beginning to lose interest, too, especially when they’re told to pay more for features they thought already came with their car. One man sued Tesla in small claims court and won, but the most interesting part of the story is the precedent this could set for other owners. 

Electrek reported that Tesla owner Ian Jordan sued the automaker in Washington state small claims court over additional costs involved with activating FSD. His Model 3 already had the version 2.5 computer, but Tesla quoted $1,000 to upgrade to a newer unit for FSD. Jordan’s small claims court challenge was successful because Tesla didn’t show, but the judge’s ruling accused the company of false advertising, saying the “plaintiff purchased a second Tesla Model 3, relying on advertisement from the company that all Tesla 3 models come with all the necessary hardware for self-driving. Defendant learned that, in fact, installing the self-driving function would cost $1,106 in further hardware upgrades in violation of Tesla’s false advertising.”

Jordan sued Tesla again for the loss of functionality in a vehicle equipped with the MCU1 media unit. The automaker claimed it could not fix the problem and stated that Jordan would need to cough up an additional $1,657.50 for the upgrades. Tesla quickly paid both amounts, but these court cases could encourage other frustrated owners to pursue legal action as they face steep charges to get FSD. 

[Image: Tesla]

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