In mid-September, Tesla became the defendant in a class action lawsuit in San Francisco, California, for misrepresenting the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla misled the public by falsely advertising the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features.
The plaintiff, Briggs Matzko, said in the lawsuit that Tesla was trying to get people “excited” about its cars in order to attract investment, boost sales, avoid bankruptcy and drive up its stock price.
Last month, Model 3 owner Toledo also sued Tesla in a California court, saying he was driving a Tesla that would suddenly brake when there was no obstacle, also known as “ghost braking”. He considered it a “horrible nightmare”.
Screenshot of NHTSA lawsuit
In addition to individual lawsuits, on September 2, the California Senate passed a bill to ban car companies from using the promotional term “FSD” (fully autonomous driving). The bill is still waiting for Governor Newsom’s final signature to pass.
California Senator Gonzalez said the bill is aimed at a clear target, Tesla. She argued that Tesla has long warned of the limited nature of its assisted driving system in only fine print, but users apparently have not accepted it.
“People in California think FSDs are fully automated, but they’re not at all.”
