San FranciscoTesla and its chief executive Elon Musk were sued Monday by shareholders who accused them of overestimating the effectiveness and safety of Autopilot and fully self-driving technology in electric vehicles.
In a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court, shareholders believe Tesla may have been responsible for multiple fatal crashes and how the company’s technology “results in serious accidents and injuries.” It created a risk,” he said in a false and misleading statement covering four years of fraud. “
They said Tesla’s stock price fell several times as the truth came out, including after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the technology and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Musk’s Autopilot It contains reports that it is investigating the allegations of
Shares also fell 5.7% on Feb. 16 after NHTSA forced a recall of more than 362,000 Tesla vehicles with full self-driving beta software.
Tesla said it disagreed with the NHTSA’s analysis but agreed with the recall.
“Plaintiffs and other class members have suffered material losses and damages as a result of defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions and the precipitous decline in the market value of our common stock,” the complaint said.
Tesla, which does not have a media relations department, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Monday’s lawsuit, led by shareholder Thomas LaMontagne, seeks unspecified damages against Tesla shareholders from February 19, 2019 to February 17, 2023.
Tesla shares rose $10.75, or 5.5%, to close at $207.63 on Monday, but have lost about half of their value since peaking in November 2021.
Musk, the world’s second-richest person, will be touting the company’s artificial intelligence capabilities and expanding its vehicle line-up on Tesla’s March 1 Investor Day.
The action is Lamontagne v Tesla Inc et al, United States District Court, Northern District of California, No 23-00869. – Reuters
