Tesla shareholders take company, Musk to court over misleading statements on robotaxi

Tesla shareholders have filed a federal lawsuit this week against the electric vehicle manufacturer and CEO Elon Musk, accusing them of making "materially false and misleading statements" regarding the safety of the company's newly launched robotaxi program.

Filing on August 4, the legal action is related to the level of regulatory oversight required for autonomous vehicles, Caliber.Az reports citing Gizmodo.

The lawsuit follows the June 22 launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, where each vehicle includes a human “safety monitor” in the passenger seat and operates within a limited, geofenced area.

Despite these safety measures, multiple videos have surfaced online showing the robotaxis behaving unpredictably on Austin streets. The lawsuit references a June 23 Bloomberg article titled “Tesla Robotaxi Videos Show Speeding, Driving Into Wrong Lane”, which claims the vehicles were violating traffic laws from the very first day of service.

The complaint also cites another June 23 article, “Tesla Robotaxi Incidents Draw Scrutiny From US Safety Agency,” which reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Tesla after social media posts highlighted various road safety incidents involving the robotaxis. The lawsuit notes that Tesla’s stock price dropped following reports of these issues in Austin, suggesting that investors were misled about the readiness and safety of the robotaxi rollout.

By Nazrin Sadigova