Tesla has been hit with a class action lawsuit that claims the company’s Autopilot system is “essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous.”
According to the suit filed in California, most of the Model S’ standard safety features remain inoperative months after customers have taken delivery of their car.
The filing goes on to say Tesla models have a “dangerously defective” Traffic Aware Cruise Control system and that the company’s Enhanced Autopilot technology causes vehicles to behave erratically. Furthermore, it says owners have become “beta testers of half-baked software.”
While Tesla’s Autopilot system isn’t always perfect, claims the company “advertised vaporware to consumers” might cause a few eyes to roll. Regardless, the lawsuit seeks a recall and buyback of affected vehicles as well as an order to prevent Tesla from “continuing the unlawful, deceptive, fraudulent, and unfair business practices alleged in this complaint.”
Of course, the suit is also asking for money to cover legal fees, restitution, damages, penalties, and interest – among other things.
Most companies don’t comment on pending litigation but a Tesla spokesperson told Electrek “This lawsuit is a disingenuous attempt to secure attorney’s fees posing as a legitimate legal action, which is evidenced by the fact that the suit misrepresents many facts.” The unnamed spokesperson added “Many of the features this suit claims are ‘unavailable’ are in fact available, with more updates coming every month.”
