Tesla (Tesla) Has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for US$1.5 million, which claims that a software update temporarily reduced the maximum battery voltage of some Model S electric vehicles.
As many as 1,743 Model S sedans are affected by the lawsuit. According to the proposed settlement documents filed and obtained in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday, each owner will receive $625 in compensation. Reuters.
According to the document, the attorney of the Model S owner who filed the lawsuit argued that “the voltage limit is temporary. The 10% reduction lasted for about 3 months, and the smaller 7% reduction lasted for another 7 months, until the revised update took effect. Released in March 2020.”
Members of the class action claim that the May 2019 update reduced the performance of the vehicle by temporarily limiting the charging speed, maximum capacity and range of the battery. NBC Finance Channel Say.
At that time, Tesla released an over-the-air update, after Model S catches fire in Hong Kong, issue a statement TechCrunch In other words, “out of prudent consideration, we are modifying the charging and thermal management settings of Model S and Model X vehicles through the wireless software update that will be launched today to help further protect the battery and improve battery life.”
According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed in August 2019, claiming that Tesla had released software updates wirelessly that lowered the maximum charging voltage of certain Model S vehicle batteries.
According to a Reuters report, court documents show that in a subsequent update, about 3% of the battery voltage was restored. The third update released in March 2020 aims to fully restore the battery voltage as the vehicle travels.
Court documents continue to claim that data from Tesla showed that the battery voltage of 1,553 Model S EVs was fully restored, 57 cars had their batteries replaced, and the remaining cars were driven to restore battery voltage over time.
According to CNBC, the settlement agreement also requires Tesla to “maintain the diagnostic software of vehicles under warranty to notify Tesla to determine owners and tenants of vehicles that may require battery service or repair.”
The proposed settlement has been scheduled for a hearing on December 9. According to Reuters, the settlement agreement also includes US$410,000 in fees and the plaintiff’s attorney fees.
As of Friday’s pre-market trading session, Tesla’s stock price was $670.00, down $7.35 or 1.09%.
Photo: AFP/JUNG Yeon-Je
