Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is now required to confront a certified class action lawsuit filed by California drivers who allege that Elon Musk misled them regarding the self-driving capabilities of the company’s electric vehicles over an eight-year span.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin approved the collective lawsuit, allowing two groups of Tesla owners who purchased the Full Self-Driving package to pursue their claims together.
In her decision on Monday, the San Francisco-based judge concluded that the central question—whether Tesla lacked the necessary sensors for high-level autonomy and could not “demonstrate a long-distance autonomous drive with any of its vehicles”—was sufficient to justify class action certification.
Judge Lin noted that thousands of consumers likely saw Tesla’s statements in the “Autopilot” section of its website between October 2016 and August 2024, which claimed that the vehicles included hardware capable of full self-driving.
She also pointed out that Tesla repeated similar claims across other channels, such as a blog post, newsletter, and quarterly earnings calls, with Musk himself making statements about the technology during a 2016 press conference.
“While these channels alone may not ordinarily be enough to establish class-wide exposure for a traditional car manufacturer, Tesla’s distinctive advertising strategy warrants a departure from the typical approach,” Lin wrote in her ruling.
The judge further highlighted that, since Tesla does not rely on mass advertising or independent dealerships, it is reasonable to assume that potential buyers interested in Full Self-Driving technology would visit the company’s website for information.
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