Tesla Sued To Hold Elon Musk 'Accountable' For 'Misleading And Deceptive Statements' On Autopilot, FSD

A California-based Tesla Inc TSLA owner has sued the electric carmaker, saying that the company and its CEO Elon Musk are "deceptively and misleadingly" marketing the Autopilot and "Full Self-Driving" software. 

Tesla owner Briggs Matsko has said that he paid a $5,000 premium for his 2018 Tesla Model X to get 'Enhanced Autopilot', which was sold as a precursor to FSD software that now costs $15,000 but is still in the Beta phase.

According to the lawsuit, since 2016, Tesla and Musk deceptively advertised the technology as fully functioning or "just around the corner" despite knowing that the technology did not work or was non-existent and made vehicles unsafe.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in San Francisco seeks unspecified damages for people who, since 2016, bought or leased Tesla vehicles with Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving features.

"Plaintiff brings this consumer class action lawsuit to hold Tesla and its representatives, including CEO Elon Musk, accountable for years of making misleading and deceptive statements regarding the company's advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technology," reads the lawsuit. 

Also Read: Why This Tesla Driver Paid $400 To Implant Car Key Into His Right Hand: 'It Comes In Handy'

Tesla has come under heavy scrutiny for the controversial Autopilot advanced driver assistance system. Last month, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California accused Musk-run Tesla of running fake claims about its Autopilot and FSD features.

The lawsuit claimed, "Tesla has deceptively and misleadingly marketed its ADAS technology as autonomous driving technology under various names, including 'Autopilot,' 'Enhanced Autopilot,' and 'Full Self-Driving Capability,' the latter two of which Tesla charges consumers thousands of additional dollars to add to their new vehicle."

According to Tesla, Autopilot enables vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes, while Full Self-Driving lets vehicles obey traffic signals and change lanes. 

It also said both technologies "require active driver supervision," with a "fully attentive" driver whose hands are on the wheel, "and do not make the vehicle autonomous."

Photo: georgemoga on flickr