Right after James Porter received his new Tesla compact SUV — bought in large part for its advertised 303-mile range — he charged it up and hit the road to visit family. Less than 100 miles later, he arrived with a charge of only 40%, according to a lawsuit accusing the electric-vehicle maker of inflating driving-range estimates and dodging owners’ complaints.
Porter and two southern California Tesla Model 3 sedan owners who are co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Bryan Perez and Dro Estepanian, are seeking class-action status to bring into the lawsuit everyone in California who has bought a new Tesla Model 3, Y, S or X. Tesla not only misrepresented the distance its cars could drive on a charge, it created a special department to divert complaining owners away from service appointments that would cost Tesla money, Porter, Perez and Estepanian contend.
But Porter, Perez and Estapanian are alleging range issues that go far beyond those normal expectations. “The Tesla representative explained that it was normal and expected that the Tesla vehicle’s range would drop below the advertised range with normal driving conditions and use of other vehicle features,” the lawsuit alleges. “The Tesla representative claimed that there was nothing wrong canceled the service appointment to review the vehicle and confirm whether the vehicle or battery was, in fact, malfunctioning.