Tesla is facing mounting legal pressure in Australia as a class action lawsuit over its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system gains support from thousands of vehicle owners. The law firm handling the case confirmed that participation has surged, making it one of the largest actions against the automaker outside the United States.
The lawsuit targets Model 3 and Model Y vehicles purchased or leased between May 2021 and February 2025. It alleges that Tesla misled consumers on the capabilities of its FSD system, safety features, and advertised driving range. Additional claims include “phantom braking,” where the Autopilot system unexpectedly applies emergency brakes, potentially increasing accident risk.
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Rebecca Jancauskas, director at JGA Saddler, the law firm representing plaintiffs, said the volume of participants reflects widespread owner frustration. “Tesla made promises about their vehicles’ safety, performance and features such as their ‘Full Self-Driving,’ but we have found a lot of these promises are falling flat,” she said in an interview with News.com.au.
Tesla is also contending with similar legal challenges in the United States and China, while regulators in multiple countries are scrutinizing how the company markets its Autopilot and FSD systems.
See also: Tesla Owners in Australia, New Zealand Log Over 1 Million Km With Full Self-Driving Supervised
Since the class action’s announcement in February, Tesla has introduced FSD (Supervised) in Australia and New Zealand. However, the system is currently limited to vehicles equipped with the latest Hardware 4.0 (HW4/AI4) self-driving computers, and no timeline has been provided for broader deployment to earlier HW3/AI3 vehicles.
