SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) — Tesla owners are claiming the company is falsely advertising the range of its electric vehicles.
James Porter, Bryan Perez and Dro Esraeli Estepanian filed a class action complaint Aug. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Tesla Inc., doing business as Tesla Motors Inc., alleging breach of express warranty, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and other claims.
The plaintiffs, who are Tesla owners, allege in their class action that Tesla falsely advertises the range of its electric vehicles and "grossly overvalued" the cars when selling to consumers. Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that Tesla advertised its vehicles with ranges that were 26% over the actual average range of the vehicle.
They claim they have suffered from Tesla's unfair, deceptive and fraudulent overestimating of the range of the vehicles and would not have bought or paid substantially less for the cars if they had known the advertised range was false. The plaintiffs allege that Tesla advertises its electric vehicle range as a key selling factor and that Tesla tells owners not to charge the vehicle to full 100% capacity.
They further allege that Tesla owners can never reach the advertised range, which is based on a full charge. The plaintiffs claim Tesla knew its advertised range estimates were not accurate and would vary according to driving conditions such as cold weather, which drastically lowers the electric vehicle's range.
The plaintiffs and the class seek monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Adam Edwards, William Ladnier and Virginia Whitener of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC in Knoxville, Tenn., and Mitchell Breit of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC in New York City.