Tesla faces another lawsuit over battery throttling. Details here

Tesla is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US from a group of owners of older Model S and Model X electric cars over battery throttling. Reuters reports that these affected owners' Tesla EVs have received a software update that decreased the range of the cars by up t 20 per cent. The affected owners reportedly filed a lawsuit against the EV manufacturer, claiming that the company's updates and their effects violate state and federal laws.

The affected owners of the older Tesla Model S and Model X EVs have claimed in the lawsuit against the automaker that their cars' range has decreased by up to 20 per cent than before due to the software installation. Also, they claim that the software update could cause battery failures as well. The lawsuit says that some of the owners of the affected vehicles may have to replace their batteries at a hefty cost of $15,000.

The lawsuit further argues that the impacted Tesla electric cars are protected computers under the definition outlined in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and that the automatic software updates violate consumers' rights under the law. The lawsuit also claims that Tesla's updates and their effects violate the California Unfair Competition Law and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

The report has quoted Steve Bergman, an attorney representing the affected Tesla owners saying that the Tesla vehicle owners and the lessors are uniquely at the mercy of the automaker and the EV manufacturer imposes software updates without consent whenever their vehicle is connected to WiFi.

This is not the first time Tesla is facing a lawsuit over the same issue. Previously, in July 2021, the auto company agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle claims that a software update temporarily reduced the maximum battery voltage in 1,743 Model S sedans.