Tesla agrees to pay $1.5 million to settle claims over battery voltage discount

Tesla Inc has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle claims a software program replace briefly lowered most battery voltage in 1,743 Model S sedans, court docket paperwork present.
Owners of the automobiles will get $625 every, which is “many times the prorated value of the temporarily reduced maximum voltage,” in accordance with the proposed settlement paperwork filed Wednesday in US District Court in San Francisco.
Tesla didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Lawyers for the homeowners who sued mentioned the “voltage limitation was temporary, with a 10% reduction lasting about 3 months, and a smaller 7% reduction lasting another 7 months before the corrective update was released in March 2020.”
A US choose set a Dec. 9 listening to on the proposed settlement.

The swimsuit filed in August 2019 alleged Tesla launched an over-the-air software program replace that lowered the utmost voltage to which batteries on some Tesla Model S automobiles could possibly be charged.
A subsequent replace restored about 3% of the battery voltage in these automobiles, and a 3rd replace launched in March 2020 was designed to totally restore the batteries’ voltage over time because the automobiles are pushed, the settlement paperwork mentioned.

Company knowledge exhibits 1,552 automobiles had most battery voltage absolutely restored and 57 have had battery replacements and for different automobiles the utmost voltage ought to proceed to be restored over time, the settlement paperwork mentioned.
The $1.5 million settlement consists of $410,000 charges and prices for the plaintiffs’ attorneys.