— A Tesla hardware class action lawsuit alleges customers have been bamboozled about vehicles equipped with Tesla Hardware 1, 2, 2.5, and 3.
The Tesla hardware lawsuit was filed by Kentucky plaintiff David Waller who purchased a 2020 Tesla Model S in 2020 for $81,790 and paid an additional $7,000 for “Full Self-Driving Capability.”
Mr. Waller says he relied on statements from Tesla and CEO Elon Musk that vehicles sold with Hardware 1, 2, 2.5, and 3 came equipped with the hardware necessary to support full self-driving.
The plaintiff complains Tesla's statements have never matched reality.
The class action lawsuit includes vehicles sold and equipped with Tesla Hardware 1, 2, 2.5, and 3 onboard sensor and computer systems.
Tesla purportedly has been deceptive and misleading when marketing its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technology called Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving Capability (FSD). Tesla and CEO Elon Musk allegedly fooled customers into believing the vehicles have hardware to support self-driving autonomous vehicles.
But the class action claims nothing but false promises have been offered which keeps customers wasting their money for non-existent abilities.
Statements from Musk and Tesla get media attention, but the plaintiff complains the vehicles simply cannot deliver on Tesla's promises.
"From 2016 until at least 2025, Tesla and its CEO Musk consistently represented that the hardware systems included in all Tesla vehicles were capable of supporting fully autonomous self- driving, or SAE Level 5. At the same time, Tesla offered consumers the option to pay an additional amount for 'Full Self-Driving [FSD] Capability' as part of their purchase of Tesla vehicles. The price of this feature ranges as high as $15,000 per purchase." — Tesla hardware class action lawsuit
Much of the Tesla lawsuit repeats statements from Musk and Tesla regarding driverless technology and the available and required hardware.
"Basic news is that all cars exiting the factory have hardware necessary for Level 5 Autonomy so that’s in terms of Cameras, Computer Power, it’s in every car we make on the order of 2,000 cars a week are shipping now with Level 5 literally meaning hardware capable of full self-driving for driver-less capability." — CEO Elon Musk, October 2016 press conference
The Tesla class action also references the Tesla website where advertising for Full Self-Driving said:
“All Tesla vehicles produced in our factory, including Model 3, have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.”
The lawsuit continues:
"All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go. If you don’t say anything, the car will look at your calendar and take you there as the assumed destination or just home if nothing is on the calendar. Your Tesla will figure out the optimal route, navigate urban streets (even without lane markings), manage complex intersections with traffic lights, stop signs and roundabouts, and handle densely packed freeways with cars moving at high speed." — Tesla website, 'Full Self-Driving Hardware on All Cars'
However, the class action alleges on an April 2026 earnings call, Musk admitted Tesla vehicles equipped with Hardware 3 and previous Hardware configurations are "incapable of achieving Tesla’s promised Full Self Driving capacity."
“Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD.” — Elon Musk
The Tesla Hardware class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: David Waller v. Tesla Inc., et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.