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Nyree Hinton, a Tesla owner in California, filed a lawsuit against Tesla in Los Angeles County recently, alleging that Tesla manipulated the odometer in his car in order to shorten the warranty period of the vehicle. The suit seeks t make all Tesla owners in California part of a class action. Those who are familiar with the novels of John Grisham know that trial lawyers love class action lawsuits because they can lead to massive legal fees — far more than from a suit involving just one plaintiff. Tesla will argue that its customers have all given up their right to sue the company and must submit their claims to binding arbitration instead, which would put the kibosh on the class action gambit.
All that legal maneuvering aside, Hinton claims he bought a Model Y second hand with less than 37,000 miles on the odometer. Within six months, the odometer registered more than 50,000 miles, which would take it beyond the bumper to bumper warranty period. However, he alleges that he never drove more than an average of about 6,000 miles in any six month period in any of the three cars he owned previously.
The following year, Hinton’s commute got longer, but he clams in his lawsuit that his car actually recorded 800 fewer miles per month once it was no longer under warranty. During his first six months of ownership, Hinton says the car displayed an average of 2,217 miles of use per month. For the 12 months following the expiration of the warranty and with a longer commute, the Model Y displayed an average of just 1,415 miles a month.
According to ArsTechnica, the lawsuit alleges that Tesla “employs an odometer system that utilizes predictive algorithms, energy consumption metrics, and driver behavior multipliers that manipulate and misrepresent the actual mileage traveled by Tesla Vehicles” and that his car “consistently exhibited accelerated mileage accumulations of varying percentages ranging from 15 percent to 117 percent higher than plaintiff’s other vehicles and his driving history.” In other words, the odometer did not record actual miles, it projected what it “thought” the mileage would be based on past driving experience, which presumably included data from the prior owner. Ars reports similar complaints have been made by Tesla owners on Reddit.
No Cheaper Tesla For You!
The saga of Tesla timelines that get constantly delayed is continuing, with reports this week that plans to produce a smaller and less expensive version of the Model Y, known internally as E41, have been pushed back — again. Based on information supplied by three people with knowledge of the company’s plans, Reuters reports that production of the E41, which reportedly costs 20 percent less to manufacture than the existing Model Y, will start several months later than announced just a few weeks ago.
The sources gave Reuters a list of revised production targets that move things back to the third quarter of this year or even into early 2026. The reasons for the delays were not made clear. Two of the people said Tesla aimed to produce 250,000 of the cheaper Model Ys in the United States in 2026, with production in China and Europe to begin thereafter. Tesla will report its first quarter financial results on April 22, and questions about its plans for new vehicles are likely to be a central concern for investors.
The less expensive mass-market vehicles have been widely anticipated by Tesla fans and investors who hope they will attract a fresh group of customers and reverse the EV maker’s falling sales and eroding market share. Tesla also has refreshed its original Model Y with exterior and interior changes. Reuters reported in April that production of the E41 in Shanghai is now expected to begin in 2026.
All US automakers are now grappling with the prospect of rising prices and supply chain disruption, after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on vehicles and auto parts imported from outside the United States. Tesla has increased North American sourcing for many parts of its models over the last two years, which would decrease tariff exposure for the E41, two people aware of the matter said. It recently suspended plans to ship components from China to the United States for the Cybercab and Semi truck due to tariffs, one person told Reuters recently.
Cybertruck Chaos
Back in December, workers on the Cybertruck assembly line were asked not to come to work for three days. The internal memo sent to employees that month also announced there were going to be some team changes starting in January and workers were asked to complete a survey asking them what work assignments they preferred. According to Business Insider, part of the Cybertruck production staff at Tesla’s Austin factory has now been moved to the Model Y assembly line.
In the memo asking employees to complete the survey, Tesla indirectly admitted it would be building fewer Cubertrucks when it said, “As we continue to assess schedules to meet business needs, we’ll be making a change to Model Y and Cyber schedules, and we want to ensure that your preferences are considered.” Nonetheless, one employee said not enough people agreed to move and so “some people were forced to switch over.”
The biggest problem contributing to the lack of demand for the Cybertruck is its image. It doesn’t appeal to traditional truck buyers and it has come to be associated with the toxic policies of Elon Musk. Even after recent price reductions and generous lease deals, it’s just too expensive to make sense as anything other than a novelty showoff toy, according to InsideEVs.
Some might suggest that Tesla is drifting while its head flits around the country and around the globe promoting his authoritarian views and warning about a “woke mind virus” that is eating the brains of anyone who doesn’t agree with him. The company’s board of directors has done nothing to earn their extravagant compensation for the past 5 years and has been content to let Elon be the ringmaster.
There is no clear signal that the company is going to go bankrupt anytime soon, but there are few signs it is being managed in a way that will take it to new heights either. It seems to be stuck in limbo, which hardly seems to justify it’s still lofty stock price. The world will be anxiously waiting for signs on the Q1 earnings call that better days are ahead for the company, but at the moment, there are no signs that will happen.
Tesla is is like the boy who cried wolf. Every time it makes promises it doesn’t keep, its reputation suffers. Most major corporations care passionately about their reputation, but such things do not seem to concern the great and powerful Musk or the Tesla board of directors.
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