The actual complaint :<p><a href="https://www.classaction.org/media/hinton-v-tesla-inc-et-al.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.classaction.org/media/hinton-v-tesla-inc-et-al.p...</a>
Tesla gives you access to precise trip data, surely this would be blatantly obvious when matched with gps on something like teslafi.com. Sounds like just a silly lawsuit.
Ok this one was an interesting rabbit hole...But I hope plaintiff is not spending his own money, or is being well advised. The sad truth is that this Tesla Odometer Lawsuit exposes a regulatory gray area, both in the US and in the EU...<p>- <i>Existing laws focus on tampering, not manufacturer accuracy.</i><p>Both the US and EU have strict laws against odometer tampering (e.g., CA Vehicle Code §28050 [1], EU Directive 2014/45/EU [2]), but they are focused on resale fraud, not manufacturer calibration. Accuracy standards are largely voluntary (e.g., SAE allows ±4% variance) [3], and terms like "manufacturer’s tolerance" are undefined in law. This lets companies like Tesla exploit algorithmic wiggle room.<p>- <i>There is a precedent: Honda had a 2006 settlement.</i><p>Honda settled a class action for speedometers overreporting by 2–4% [4]. Tesla alleged 15–117% overcount (via energy-based algorithms) is far more extreme [5], but the legal framework hasn’t evolved to address software-driven discrepancies.<p>- <i>The Lawsuit</i> - <a href="https://www.classaction.org/media/hinton-v-tesla-inc-et-al.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.classaction.org/media/hinton-v-tesla-inc-et-al.p...</a><p>The plaintiff alleges Tesla’s odometers inflate mileage to void warranties prematurely, citing a Tesla patent [6] confirming mileage is derived from energy use, not physical distance.<p>Data showing his Model Y logged 117% more miles than his driving history [5].
Claims include violations of CA odometer law, UCL/FAL false advertising, and breach of contract.<p>- <i>This is a longstanding complaint from Tesla owners.</i><p>Tesla drivers have noted odometer discrepancies for years [7]. The patent admits the system uses "dynamic multipliers" (e.g., penalizing aggressive driving with higher mileage counts), a far cry from traditional odometers.<p>- <i>Also journalists noted the same before.</i><p>"...Besides the disappointing result in the range test, the Tesla Model 3 had quite an unusual issue–its onboard trip meter was way off and essentially lied about the distance covered..." - [8]<p>- <i>Tech bros should think about the Ethical implications of their code.</i><p>This will likely settle quietly, but it <i>should</i> go to trial. The engineers who designed this system prioritized warranty cost savings over transparency. Naming them might deter similar "creative accounting" in the industry.<p>- <i>I judge they have low odds of success.</i><p>Tesla’s defense will lean on:<p>- Software ≠ a "device" under tampering laws.<p>- No legal definition of "tolerance" for algorithmic odometers.<p>- EU lawsuits would face the same regulatory voids (and lower payouts).<p>Concluding: Yet another reason...( nr:128th ?? ) to avoid Tesla. If you own one, expect accelerated depreciation, and pray your warranty isn’t voided by phantom miles.<p>[1] - <a href="https://www.defend-me.com/california-vehicle-code/california-vehicle-code-section-28050-28053.asp" rel="nofollow">https://www.defend-me.com/california-vehicle-code/california...</a><p>[2] - <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/45/oj/eng" rel="nofollow">https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/45/oj/eng</a><p>[3] - <a href="https://standardsworks.sae.org/standards-committees/odometer-speedometer-standards" rel="nofollow">https://standardsworks.sae.org/standards-committees/odometer...</a><p>[4] - Honda Speedometer Litigation Settlement - <a href="https://blog.goosmannlaw.com/risk-manager-on-your-side/how-accurate-is-your-car-speedometer" rel="nofollow">https://blog.goosmannlaw.com/risk-manager-on-your-side/how-a...</a><p>[5] - Hinton Research Dashboard - <a href="https://nyreehinton.com/pages/tesla/tesla-research-dashboard" rel="nofollow">https://nyreehinton.com/pages/tesla/tesla-research-dashboard</a><p>[6] - Tesla Patent US8054038B2 - <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US8054038B2/en" rel="nofollow">https://patents.google.com/patent/US8054038B2/en</a><p>[7] - "Tesla odometer mileage vs actual miles discrepancy" - <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ModelY/comments/106m2dz/tesla_odometer_mileage_vs_actual_miles_discrepancy/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/ModelY/comments/106m2dz/tesla_odome...</a><p>[8] - <a href="https://insideevs.com/news/747548/ev-winter-range-test-norway-2025/" rel="nofollow">https://insideevs.com/news/747548/ev-winter-range-test-norwa...</a>