Overview

• U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin certified California classes over Tesla’s statements since 2016 that its vehicles had hardware for full self‑driving, citing common questions on sensor sufficiency and the lack of a demonstrated long‑distance autonomous drive.
• The certified groups cover buyers from October 20, 2016 to May 19, 2017 and buyers from May 19, 2017 to July 31, 2024 who opted out of arbitration, with an injunctive‑relief class also approved that could restrict future statements.
• Tesla disputes the allegations, pointing to disclosures that Full Self‑Driving deployment depends on validation and regulatory approval, and has relied on arbitration provisions in customer agreements.
• Separately, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang certified a Maryland class action against Elon Musk personally over allegations tied to efforts to dismantle or defund USAID.
• Tesla is stepping up activity on the technology, beginning employee‑monitored public‑road tests in Japan and touting a V14 software update targeted within weeks after testing, following a promoted San Francisco–to–Los Angeles drive without driver intervention.