Report: Tesla and Elon Musk Sued Over Self-Driving Claims
Testing revealed safety issues with the Robotaxi and other self-driving Tesla models, but the suit alleges that those weren’t disclosed to shareholders.
Justin BannerWriterMotorTrend StaffPhotographerManufacturerPhotographerAug 05, 2025
Tesla Robotaxi Cybercab 11
Another day, and another story about Tesla and its self-driving features. This time, a lawsuit has been filed by Tesla shareholders over testing its self-driving vehicles including those intended for use as robotaxi services like the aptly named, “Robotaxi.” This suit comes amid similar stories in unrelated cases in Florida and California.
AI Quick Summary
Tesla and Elon Musk face a lawsuit from shareholders alleging they concealed safety issues in self-driving tests. This lawsuit follows others in Florida and California concerning Tesla’s self-driving technology claims. The class action seeks damages for shareholders from 2023 to 2025.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article.
Filed this week according to Reuters, the class action lawsuit by Tesla shareholders was launched in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against both the brand and Elon Musk himself. The suit accuses both the company and its CEO of concealing testing data that showed that Tesla and its self-driving capabilities were overstated and potentially dangerous, thus committing securities fraud against the shareholders. The class action is led by Tesla shareholder Denise Morand in Austin, Texas, and is claiming damages for her and other shareholders between April 19, 2023, and June 22, 2025.
017 2025 Tesla RoboTaxi
This isn’t the only suit that Tesla is under for its self-driving capabilities or safety. On Friday, a Florida jury found Tesla was at least 33 percent responsible for an accident that killed a 22-year-old woman and injured her boyfriend, neither of whom were inside the Tesla that crashed. The automaker was ordered to pay $243 million in damages to the victims, but Tesla continues to blame the driver of its car and does plan an appeal of the verdict.
In California, Tesla is engaged in a suit in which the state DMV alleges that Tesla overstated the capabilities of Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) technologies to consumers. The California DMV is looking to suspend Tesla’s license to sell vehicles in the state for 30 days and possible restitution for owners over the misleading advertising. This suit has been ongoing since late July.
Justin Banner
Having experience in many forms of the automotive industry, Justin Banner has done more than just write about cars. For more than 15 years, he’s had experience working as an automotive service technician—including a stint as a Virginia State Inspector—service advisor, parts sales, and aftermarket parts technical advisor (a fancy way of saying he helped you on the phone when you had trouble fitting your brakes over your aftermarket wheels and the like). Prior to his tenure as a full-time editor, Justin worked as a freelance writer and photographer for various publications and as an automotive content creator on YouTube. He’s also covered multiple forms of motorsports ranging from Formula Drift, drag racing, and time attack, to NASCAR, short course off-roading, and open desert racing. He’s best known for breaking down complex technical concepts so a layperson can more easily understand why technologies, repairs, and parts should matter to them. At MotorTrend, Justin is part of the news team covering breaking news and topics while also working as a judge for MotorTrend Of the Year events and other major comparison tests.
