US appeals court blocks class actions over Tesla’s self-driving claims

The US appeals court has blocked a class action lawsuit against Tesla over claims that the company misled customers about the capabilities of its full self-driving technology. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there were too many individualized questions about what buyers actually saw before purchasing a vehicle to allow the lawsuit to proceed as a class action.

The decision is a victory for Tesla, which had sought to vacate orders certifying three groups of class members. The plaintiffs allege that Tesla falsely advertised its vehicles' hardware capabilities, convincing customers to pay extra for software that does not function as promised. While the ruling does not address the merits of the plaintiffs' claims, the case remains pending.

Tesla has not yet commented on the decision. The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that the court did not fully consider the significance of the hardware statement in Tesla's marketing campaign.