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Lawsuit: Tesla Cut Battery Range to Hide Flaw
A lawsuit in California claims that a recent Tesla Inc. software update caused a sudden drop in the driving range of the company’s older Model S and Model X electric vehicles.
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A lawsuit in California claims that a recent Tesla Inc. software update caused a sudden drop in the driving range of the company’s older Model S and Model X electric vehicles.
The complaint seeks class-action status on behalf of thousands of affected owners whose vehicles no longer accept a 100% charge. The suit asserts that Tesla opted to reduce battery capacity by 8 kWh—the equivalent to about 40 miles of range—rather than fix or replace what it knew were defective batteries.
The software adjustment in May was prompted by two widely reported fires in Asia that broke out in parked Model S sedans. Tesla said the update was intended to improve the thermal management of vehicle battery systems. But the action has sparked considerable complaint within online owner forums.
Some owners say Tesla told them that some battery degradation is normal over time. But the company also concedes that some customers may have noted a “small reduction in range.” Tesla tells Reuters it made further software adjustments last week to help mitigate the issue.
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