A U.S. District Court judge has thrown a lifeline to Tesla in its ongoing legal battle over claims of misleading investors about its Full-Self Driving (FSD) technology. The judge, Araceli Martínez-Olguín, dismissed a lawsuit filed by shareholders who alleged that CEO Elon Musk had overstated the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving system.
The judge ruled that the shareholders failed to establish that Musk’s statements regarding FSD were intentionally false or misleading. She noted that some of the alleged overstatements were not false, and others pertained to future plans for the technology. While dismissing the current complaint, the judge gave the shareholders until October 30th to file an updated version with stronger evidence.
Despite this win, Tesla still faces a number of lawsuits concerning its Autopilot and FSD systems. One notable case is a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging misleading marketing practices regarding the company’s self-driving capabilities. Additionally, federal authorities are investigating whether defects in Tesla’s Autopilot system have contributed to fatal accidents.
While navigating these legal hurdles, Tesla remains committed to advancing its FSD technology. The company has recently deployed several software updates for FSD, including implementation on the Cybertruck. Furthermore, Musk has revealed plans for a “We, Robot” event on October 10th in Los Angeles, where Tesla will showcase its autonomous-driving robotaxi technology.
Musk has even hinted that the first unsupervised robotaxi ride could occur before the end of 2024. He acknowledged past optimistic predictions about the timeline for FSD but expressed confidence in achieving this milestone. “It’s difficult, obviously, my predictions on this have been overly optimistic in the past,” Musk said. “…based on the current trend… you could do [it] unsupervised possibly by the end of this year. I would be shocked if we cannot do it next year.”
Tesla’s stock closed Monday’s session up 0.45% at $261.63, reflecting the market’s response to this legal victory. The company remains a key player in the rapidly evolving world of autonomous driving, and its future success will likely be shaped by the outcome of these ongoing legal challenges and its progress in developing and deploying FSD technology.
