Thousands of Tesla owners join class action over Full Self-Driving misrepresentation in Australia
Thousands of Australian Tesla owners have joined a class action lawsuit alleging the company made false claims about the capabilities of its Full Self-Driving system. The lawsuit covers Model 3 and Model Y owners who purchased or leased vehicles between May 2021 and February 2025, claiming Tesla misrepresented safety and autonomous driving features despite hardware limitations acknowledged by CEO Elon Musk.
What happened
Thousands of Tesla owners in Australia joined a class action lawsuit against Tesla over allegedly false claims about the 'Full Self-Driving' (FSD) package. The lawsuit covers Model 3 and Model Y owners who purchased or leased their vehicles between May 2021 and February 2025.
Tesla claimed in 2016 that all vehicles produced from that point forward would have 'all the hardware for full self-driving,' but CEO Elon Musk later admitted that Hardware 3 (HW3), introduced in 2019, is not capable of unsupervised self-driving. Musk promised retrofits for earlier buyers, but no widespread upgrade has materialized.
Reported impact
Law firm Shine Lawyers stated that Tesla made promises about vehicle safety, performance and features such as Full Self-Driving that 'are falling flat.' The plaintiffs seek financial compensation for misleading claims about self-driving performance and safety.
Vehicle owners who did not purchase the FSD package may see their vehicles' value affected if promised capabilities never arrive.
Index analysis
Tesla has been facing multiple class action lawsuits over advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) claims globally, including lawsuits in the United States and China. A US judge recently blocked Tesla's attempt to shut down a Hardware 3 class action lawsuit.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.