Tesla driving range complaints must head to arbitration

A federal judge said Tesla driving range complaints must be pursued through individual arbitrations and not combined class action lawsuits.

Drivers had agreed to an arbitration provision for resolving issues with Tesla when they bought their cars, and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers from Oakland, California, said the owners must individually pursue their claims.

The group of Tesla owners claimed the automaker had lied about driving range capabilities on their electric vehicles, inflating possible travel distances on a full charge.

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Reuters initially reported the move from Judge Rogers, which happened on Thursday.

Tesla has been able to send many cases brought against it to arbitration due to this agreement at the time of purchase. For example, a complaint against Tesla Autopilot was ruled to be sent to arbitration because the plaintiff signed an agreement when they bought the car.

Tesla has also called the claims that its driving range estimates are exaggerated as “unmeritorious.”

The driving range on electric vehicles varies due to many factors. Everything from driving style to outside temperature can affect an EV’s range on any given day.

However, the Tesla owners who brought the case against the company felt the figures that were shown on in-car dashboards were exaggerated and misrepresented actual capabilities.

Now, they’ll have to handle the cases individually due to the judge’s ruling.

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