Owners of Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles in California have filed a class-action lawsuit against the automaker over automatic software updates allegedly decreasing the vehicle’s battery power, Jalopnik reports.
As first covered by Reuters, owners involved in the lawsuit claim that automatic software updates for their vehicles are causing a decrease of at least up to 20% in driving range, as well as complete battery failures. In the case of the latter, battery replacements can cost up to $15,000. Some paid between $500 to $700 to uninstall updates to their vehicles.
Those in the lawsuit have argued that the vehicles fall under the definition of “protected computers” within the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which considers automatic updates a violation of consumers’ rights.
While other automakers also participate in automatic updates, Tesla has failed to notify their drivers beforehand, as other manufacturers routinely do. Tesla updates can initiate whenever the car is connected to the internet, without the driver realizing.
“Tesla owners and lessors are uniquely at the mercy of the makers of their cars, and Tesla imposes software updates without consent whenever their vehicle is connected to Wi-Fi,” a lawyer representing the Tesla owners had stated, according to Reuters.
