In the US state of California, Tesla is being sued by an owner who claims that the company manipulates the mileage counter of its vehicles. According to the lawsuit, Tesla allegedly does this intentionally to avoid warranty repairs and accelerate the depreciation of its vehicles.
What kind of lawsuit is this? In California, a Tesla owner is suing the car manufacturer. She believes that she has driven significantly fewer miles with her vehicle than indicated on the odometer. This is reported by the English-language magazine Carscoops.com, which refers to the lawsuit.
The displayed odometer reading is said to be between 15% and 117% too high, according to the plaintiff. She also provides a reason for the high numbers: Tesla allegedly does this intentionally to avoid warranty repairs and accelerate the depreciation of its vehicles.
Tesla is said to calculate mileage with an algorithm
How is mileage calculated in a car? Typically, a car calculates the distance traveled using a sensor in the differential or at the wheels that records wheel rotations and converts them into kilometers. The larger or smaller the tire, the different the number of rotations needed for one kilometer (via superkilometerfilter.com).
What does Tesla do differently? Tesla allegedly uses a unique method to calculate the mileage. Tesla reportedly employs an algorithm that assesses energy consumption and predictive models to estimate distance. This, however, causes the calculated mileage to differ significantly from what is typically counted.
Why is someone suing Tesla? The lawsuit was filed by Nyree Hinton. She claims to have purchased a 2020 Tesla Model Y with a mileage of 36,772 miles (about 59,179 km) in December 2022:
- From December 14, 2022, to February 6, 2023, she claims to have driven an average of 55.54 miles (about 89 km) per day, but between March 26, 2023, and June 28, 2023, this figure increased to 72.53 miles (about 117 km) per day, just as the warranty for the Model Y was expiring.
- Furthermore, the plaintiff’s previous vehicles averaged 6,086 miles (about 9,794 km) in six months, while the Model Y covered 13,228 miles (about 21,288 km) in the same period. The lawsuit claims that the mileage displayed by the Tesla odometer must be between 15% and 117% overstated.
The owner estimates that the average mileage due to consistent routing during this time should have been about 20 miles (about 32 km) less per day.
The lawsuit argues that Tesla does not use mechanical or electronic systems for distance measurement. Instead, Tesla allegedly relies on:
Predictive algorithms, energy consumption metrics, and multipliers for driving behavior that manipulate and misrepresent the actual mileage of Tesla vehicles.
By tying “warranty limitations and caps on lease miles to overstated mileages,” the company allegedly boosts its repair revenues and lowers its warranty obligations.
Is the woman the only one with the problem? No, actually not. While she is the only person suing Tesla, other individuals also report about issues with the accuracy of the odometer
in Tesla vehicles.
On the English-language site Teslamotorsclub.com, users discuss accuracy as well. For example, one driver reports: According to Tesla, I have traveled 304 km, while Google Maps shows 197 km.
Here, the car calculated too many miles.
On Reddit, there are also such reports. Here, another user has several thousand miles more on the odometer:
If my odometer shows that I have driven 20,000 miles [about 32,187 km], I may have only actually covered 16,000 miles [about 25,750 km]. If that’s true, it’s a big problem, as it unnecessarily lowers the value of my car. Has anyone else noticed this problem?
Another user speculates that the calculation must be based on battery charge rather than on actual miles driven.
Therefore, it is unlikely to be a one-off case, as several users have already reported the issue.
What does Tesla say about it? Tesla and its lawyer did not immediately respond for comment but have denied all significant allegations in the lawsuit. This is reported by CNBC.com.
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