by belter | 2025-04-19 12:56:56+00:00
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...

- Existing laws focus on tampering, not manufacturer accuracy.

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.

- There is a precedent: Honda had a 2006 settlement.

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.

- The Lawsuit - https://www.classaction.org/media/hinton-v-tesla-inc-et-al.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.

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.

- This is a longstanding complaint from Tesla owners.

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.

- Also journalists noted the same before.

"...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]

- Tech bros should think about the Ethical implications of their code.

This will likely settle quietly, but it should 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.

- I judge they have low odds of success.

Tesla’s defense will lean on:

- Software ≠ a "device" under tampering laws.

- No legal definition of "tolerance" for algorithmic odometers.

- EU lawsuits would face the same regulatory voids (and lower payouts).

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.

[1] - https://www.defend-me.com/california-vehicle-code/california...

[2] - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/45/oj/eng

[3] - https://standardsworks.sae.org/standards-committees/odometer...

[4] - Honda Speedometer Litigation Settlement - https://blog.goosmannlaw.com/risk-manager-on-your-side/how-a...

[5] - Hinton Research Dashboard - https://nyreehinton.com/pages/tesla/tesla-research-dashboard

[6] - Tesla Patent US8054038B2 - https://patents.google.com/patent/US8054038B2/en

[7] - "Tesla odometer mileage vs actual miles discrepancy" - https://www.reddit.com/r/ModelY/comments/106m2dz/tesla_odome...

[8] - https://insideevs.com/news/747548/ev-winter-range-test-norwa...