Tesla sued for false advertising after allegedly exaggerating EV ranges / The proposed class action accuses Tesla of fraud::A lawsuit accuses Tesla of false advertising for allegedly exaggerating EV ranges…
Tesla sued for false advertising after allegedly exaggerating EV ranges / The proposed class action accuses Tesla of fraud::A lawsuit accuses Tesla of false advertising for allegedly exaggerating EV ranges…
He’s right about the range calculation on the sticker though. It’s governed through SAE J1634, IIRC. The difference between EU and US is which test cycle they use, IIRC.
I’m not familiar with older J1634 so I’m not sure if it’s significantly different or not.
The other thing is, how is the end of test criterion determined for Tesla? The way the document is written leaves manufacturers with some wiggle room (IIRC). It could really be that the SAE paper should be revised to run with everything on.
The real time driving range is pretty damning though. I’m not sure if there’s any RDE testing required for BEV in the states. It would be really interesting to see if this sparks that.
It’s not right though. Tesla was uniquely inaccurate. This Ars Technica article I read a few days ago goes into more detail. No other manufacturer has such inaccurate range estimates. In fact, most exceed their estimates.
Certain manufacturers may have standard operating practices of keeping the AC running, or how close to the trace line they drive — there is a tolerance for some error.
If Tesla STICKER ranges are unrealistic, they are likely abusing the general EPA phrasing of “using good engineering judgment” that usually accompanies emissions legislation to push their ranges higher.
The other part of the ars technica concerns the actual estimates when driving the car. Above 50%, they are not providing accurate estimates.
Given recent events at the company formerly known as Twitter, though, do you really expect different from Musk?
Yes exactly. One could do mental gymnastics to try to defend this, but the balance of evidence and past decisions by Musk makes it obvious that this is far from innocent. This is theft by misrepresentation.
All I’m saying is that unless Tesla is advised by a certification witness to change their test method, they are unlikely to do so and it will be hard to argue that their sticker ranges aren’t lawful.
The software case on the other hand is misleading at best. I would characterize that as fraud, but I’m not a lawyer
I’m not a lawyer either, so your guess is as good as mine. From where I’m sitting, it seems to me that there is ample evidence, including internal communication and the activities of the “diversion” team, that this was NOT an engineering decision. When the problem was revealed, there was no attempt to correct it. I personally don’t see how this is so hard to argue when it is so blatant.