A U.S. judge has ruled that a lawsuit against Tesla, accusing the electric vehicle maker of concealing a defect that causes automatic braking when there is no collision risk, can proceed. U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis in Chicago ruled on Friday that the class action could continue on the claim that Tesla failed to warn potential buyers about the “phantom braking” issue.
The consumers involved in the lawsuit allege that Tesla’s forward collision monitoring system frequently triggers false crash warnings, leading to automatic braking even when there is no actual danger. The plaintiffs claim that Tesla knew about the defect as early as 2015 but did not disclose it to customers, despite the system’s impact on their driving experience and insurance premiums.
While Judge Alexakis dismissed parts of the lawsuit, including the claims regarding higher insurance premiums due to allegedly flawed collision monitoring, the case will continue on the issue of Tesla’s failure to inform buyers about the defect. Tesla had sought to have the entire lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the plaintiffs had not provided concrete evidence that the company concealed information from customers.
“We successfully connect the dots between Tesla’s omission of safety information on its website and the reliance that buyers placed on that website in making their purchase decisions,” Alexakis stated in her ruling.
Tesla, which denied knowledge of the defect before 2021, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs have been given the opportunity to amend their complaint, particularly to address the dismissed claims about insurance premiums.
