Tesla is facing a class-action lawsuit from shareholders regarding FSD
InsideEVs.com
Tesla and CEO Elon Musk are facing a proposed class-action lawsuit from shareholders who accuse the company of overstating the effectiveness and safety of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court, alleges that Tesla defrauded shareholders over a four-year period with false and misleading statements that concealed the potential risks of its technologies, which have been suspected as a possible cause of multiple fatal crashes.
Grounds for the Lawsuit
The group of shareholders behind the lawsuit argues that Tesla's misrepresentation of its safety systems created a serious risk of accident and injury, which caused the stock price to fall several times as the truth became known. They claim that when people learned of the ineffectiveness of Tesla's technologies, the stock price dropped, damaging shareholders. The shareholders seek unspecified damages for Tesla shareholders from Feb. 19, 2019, to Feb. 17, 2023.
Tesla has been under scrutiny for some time over the safety of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating Tesla's driver-assistance systems. The automaker has had to pause the rollout to new owners until it can fix issues noted by the organization. Reports of the Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation into Musk's Autopilot claims have also contributed to Tesla's share price decline.
The case is led by shareholder Thomas Lamontagne, who alleges that Tesla and its executives engaged in wrongful acts and omissions, resulting in significant losses and damages for the plaintiff and other class members. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla's executives, including CFO Zachary Kirkhorn and his predecessor Deepak Ahuja, made false and misleading statements about the company's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies, which caused shareholders to suffer losses.
Musk Goes Back to Court
Musk was just recently cleared of wrongdoing in a lawsuit over two tweets he made in 2018 that investors claimed cost them billions of dollars. In the tweets, Musk claimed he planned to take the electric carmaker private at $420 a share and had “funding secured” to do so. The announcement triggered a surge in Tesla’s stocks before they fell back after Musk abandoned the deal. The case was seen as a test of whether Musk could be liable for using Twitter. Musk testified that his tweets were a democratic way to communicate.
This new case is: Lamontagne v Tesla Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 23-00869.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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