Tesla is facing a lawsuit filed by Briggs Matsko, a Tesla owner, who claimed that Elon Musk's electric car company is misleading the public, as per Reuters.
According to the Tesla owner who filed the lawsuit in San Francisco, the automaker is falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features.
Tesla is Misleading the Public on Its Autopilot and FSD Features
The car company was sued in a proposed class action that accused Tesla and Musk of "deceptively and misleadingly" advertising the electric car's Autopilot and FSD features, as per The Verge.
Since 2016, Tesla and Musk are said to be deceptively marketing the Autopilot and FSD technology as "fully functioning" or "just around the corner."
But as Reuters mentioned in its report, the automaker and its CEO have been doing the practice despite "knowing that the technology did not work or was nonexistent, and made vehicles unsafe."
According to the complaint, Tesla and Musk "deceived and misled consumers regarding the current abilities of its ADAS [advanced driver-assistance system] technology."
Tesla is releasing misleading statements that it has almost perfected the technology and is almost on the verge of delivering a fully self-driving car.
However, contrary to Tesla's claim, the company "has never been remotely close to achieving that goal."
Matsko claimed that Tesla employed this marketing strategy to "generate excitement" about its vehicles.
Moreover, he said that the automaker only wanted to "attract investments, boost sales, avoid bankruptcy, drive up its stock price, and become a dominant player in electric vehicles."
Matsko said that he spent $5,000 for the Tesla Autopilot package in 2018. The software add-on package is now priced at $15,000, but it is still not yet ready to ship.
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Tesla is Being Investigated for Vehicle Crashes
When asked for a comment, Tesla did not issue a statement on the said matter.
On July 28, the California's Department of Motor Vehicles also filed a complaint against Tesla. This time, the department is accusing Tesla of "overstating how well its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) worked."
According to Tesla, their Autopilot feature allows vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes.
On the other hand, the FSD lets vehicles follow traffic signals as well as change lanes.
The company claimed that both technologies "require active driver supervision." Moreover, the features require a "fully attentive" driver with hands consistently on the wheel.
Tesla also said that the two technologies "do not make the vehicle autonomous."
But despite of Tesla's claims, the lawsuit claimed that the FSD and Autopilot are dangerous.
The lawsuit makes reference to the 2018 crash involving a Model X on Autopilot. The said vehicle crashed into a concrete barrier in California. The accident killed the driver.
Another incident involving the automaker is when a Tesla on Autopilot crashed into the back of a stationary fire truck. This incident resulted to a federal investigation.
Since 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted 38 special investigations of vehicles crashes involving Tesla.
The vehicle involved in the crashes are believed have ADAS. The said crashes resulted to nineteen deaths.
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