American Consumers Are Suing Tesla For Allegedly Falsifying Its Mileage.

Unlike the dissatisfaction with Elon Musk’s political views, this joint lawsuit by Tesla vehicle buyers in a US court could cost him dearly if it proves to be well-founded.

“By tying mileage to warranty and leasing contracts, Tesla inflates mileage to increase repair revenue, reduce warranty obligations, and force consumers to purchase warranty extensions early,” the indictment states.

Nairi Hinton, one of the plaintiffs from California, told CNBC that in late 2022, he bought a used Tesla Model Y, which was two years old and had almost 38,000 miles (about 61,000 kilometers) on the digital odometer. His experience has shown that the odometer shows at least 15% more distance traveled than it does. He also had his car show that it had traveled 72 miles (about 116 kilometers), even though he was on the way to a place he knew was only 20 miles (32 kilometers).

As is customary, Tesla also provides a warranty to customers for up to 50,000 miles, and of course that expired sooner. After that, he had to pay for all repairs and service out of his own pocket, and they totaled about $10,000 (almost 8,800 euros). Hinton and the other plaintiffs are therefore seeking damages, as well as compensation. In total, more than a million vehicles could be affected, according to court documents.

Tesla has just responded that the lawsuit is “baseless on all important points,” but it now remains for the court to determine whether customers were truly deceived. In the case of Tesla cars, it is ruled out that customers had different tire diameters on their vehicles; Tesla requires customers to buy only tires offered to them by an authorised service center, and if they do not, the vehicle’s computer “goes wild.”

Likewise, in Europe, a vehicle is considered technically defective if the tachometer shows that the vehicle is moving at a lower speed than it is actually moving, which is why in practically all cars it will show an even higher speed than the real one. But this should not have an impact on the odometer, because this number is one of the most important for the value of a used vehicle, which would mean that Tesla probably deceived its customers there as well.

• Read More: Due To Import Taxes, Tesla Has Canceled Two Models In China.