Chris Woodyard

USA TODAY



Tesla's Autopilot partial self-driving system is flawed, causing cars to steer erratically when it is engaged, and the electric automaker hasn't been timely in delivering promised safety features, a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges.

"Autopilot capabilities that consumers paid $5,000 extra to obtain are anything but 'safer' and 'stress-free'," alleges the lawsuit on behalf of three Tesla owners. "Many owners report the Autopilot is essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous."

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., seeks class-action status. In reaction, Tesla, based nearby in Palo Alto, Calif., dismissed the suit as a "disingenuous attempt to secure attorney’s fees posing as a legitimate legal action," and said it misrepresents many facets of its systems.

Tesla is among the automakers that are deeply involved in trying to develop systems that allow cars to drive themselves. The government has been supportive of the industry's efforts, saying self-driving cars are critical to cutting accident rates and highway deaths.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has touted his company's Autopilot system as one of the most advanced. It relies on a network of sensors and radar to help keep the car in its lane, braking and speeding up with traffic and allowing the car to change lanes on its own.

But the suit alleges that Autopilot and other safety systems haven't lived up to their billing. It says owners were told systems like automatic braking and collision avoidance were going to be flashed to cars via over-the-air updates by December, but the updates didn't come through as planned.

Instead, owners were given a "dangerously defective" Traffic Aware Cruise Control system and limited front collision warning that lacks the automatic braking function found in rivals' cars, many of which cost much less, the suit says.

The suit, filed by the Seattle-based firm of Hagens Berman, says its plaintiffs have found Autopilot hasn't worked as promoted. When owner Dean Sheikh had the Enhanced Autopilot system flashed to his car in February, his Model S sedan "operated in an unpredictable manner, sometimes veering out of lanes, lurching, slamming on the brakes for no reason and failing to slow or stop when approaching other vehicles or obstacles." Sheikh, according to the suit, found the system unsafe to operate.

Tesla says it has made owners fully aware that its Autopilot system is evolving, with continuous improvements being beamed to cars.

"We have always been transparent about the fact that Enhanced Autopilot software is a product that would roll out incrementally over time, and that features would continue to be introduced as validation is completed, subject to regulatory approval," Tesla said in its statement.

Tesla said it was updating its Autopilot system last year after a May incident in which an owner was killed in his Tesla while the system was in operation. The system apparently didn't recognize a truck crossing its path on a freeway. The car slammed into the truck, killing the driver.

Tesla, however, has repeatedly warned owners that they need to be ready to intervene when their cars are operating in Autopilot mode.



