An investor recently filed a lawsuit against Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, accusing the company ofrobotTaxi Robotaxi services have exaggerated the effectiveness of their self-driving technology. The plaintiff pointed out in the complaint that Tesla officially launched its highly anticipated Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on June 22, with only a small number of vehicles in trial operation.
But in the following days, multiple media outlets reported on traffic violations that occurred during the service and attracted the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The regulator has previously launched investigations into Tesla's driver assistance and autonomous driving software.
Affected by the negative reports, Tesla's stock price fell 6.1% in the following two trading days, closing at $327.55 per share on June 25. Plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court in the Western District of Texas on Monday alleging that Tesla, while hyping its technology, concealed the risks that its self-driving cars may pose dangerous driving or violate traffic laws, thereby increasing the likelihood of regulatory scrutiny.
Tesla shares fell slightly by 0.068% to $309.05 on Monday.
Denise Morand, the plaintiff in the case, plans to file a class action lawsuit against Tesla, CEO Musk, current CFO Vaibhav Taneja, and former CFO Zach Kirkhorn. This proposed class action lawsuit seeks compensation for alleged violations of securities laws on behalf of investors who bought Tesla shares since April 19, 2023, the day Musk vigorously promoted Tesla’s driver assistance and fully autonomous driving features during the earnings call.
Tesla was previously ordered to pay $243 million in damages due to self-driving car accidents
Shortly before this lawsuit was filed, Tesla lost a case in Miami involving a fatal autopilot-related crash. The case stems from a fatal car accident caused by Tesla's Autopilot system in 2019, in which a woman died and her boyfriend was also seriously injured.
The jury ruled that Tesla was 33% responsible for the accident and was required to pay US$42.5 million in compensation and US$200 million in punitive damages, for a total of US$243 million. This is Tesla's first major legal defeat related to its driver assistance system. Tesla strongly disagreed with the ruling and said it would appeal.
Tesla’s stock price has continued to come under pressure this year. On the one hand, controversy arose over Musk's role in the Trump administration (he resigned from the position in May), and on the other hand, slowing new car sales weighed on the company's profits.
Previously, Tesla had just approved a temporary stock award plan worth about $30 billion to incentivize Musk to stay on. Musk is the world's richest man and is involved in many corporate fields. Tesla said in a letter to shareholders:
"We believe this award will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla and focus his unparalleled leadership skills on further creating shareholder value."