Week 32/25 for Tesla: Model Y battery, legal disputes escalate, Elon Musk's fortune expands, departure from Dojo, BMW iX3 competition intense
In a series of legal challenges, Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk are facing accusations of overly optimistic and misleading claims about the capabilities of the company's autonomous driving technology, particularly the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system and the recently launched robotaxi service in Austin.
The latest development comes from a shareholder class-action lawsuit filed in Texas on August 4, 2025. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla engaged in securities fraud by making false and misleading statements about the robotaxi business, including downplaying the risks and overstating the autonomous driving system's performance. The lawsuit names Tesla's CFO Vaibhav Taneja, former CFO Zachary Kirkhorn, and Musk as defendants [1][3].
This lawsuit highlights glitches in the Austin robotaxi service, such as vehicles violating traffic rules and driving into oncoming traffic, challenging Tesla's claims of readiness and safety [1]. Musk, however, has dismissed these lawsuits, claiming they are driven by opportunistic lawyers rather than real investors, calling them "scum of the Earth" on his X (formerly Twitter) account [2].
Tesla also faces a class-action lawsuit and regulatory scrutiny over FSD marketing and safety issues dating back to 2016. A recent federal case in Miami found Tesla partly liable (33%) for a fatal 2019 crash while Autopilot was engaged, ordering $243 million in damages, although Tesla contests the ruling [2][4]. California’s DMV has initiated a legal case against Tesla, threatening its ability to sell cars in California if it finds Tesla misled customers about FSD capabilities [2][4].
These lawsuits form a pattern of legal challenges confronting Tesla’s marketing and operational claims about its autonomous driving systems and the robotaxi service, raising questions about product safety, oversight, and investor disclosures [1][2][3][4].
Amidst these legal battles, Tesla is set to launch the extended six-seater Model Y L in China soon, with battery data now available. However, the company is also dealing with allegations of intolerable conditions at its Fremont factory, including drug abuse, sexual and racial harassment [5].
Elsewhere, a lawyer has secured a multi-million-dollar preliminary settlement from Tesla over a fatal Autopilot crash in Florida, hinting at more lawsuits to come [6]. Tesla's sales figure in Germany for July 2025 was "disastrous," with only 637 units of the refreshed Model Y registered, about a third of last year's value [7].
In other news, BMW is making waves with its announcement of the first new class electric car, the iX3, expected to be presented at the IAA exhibition in September. The new electric car is said to have a charging power of up to 400 kilowatts, more than Tesla's charging power [8].
Meanwhile, Tesla is dissolving its team developing its own AI supercomputer, Dojo, with Elon Musk confirming this [9]. Musk has also stated that Tesla will continue to develop chips for its electric vehicles, with the current generation referred to as HW4 or AI4, and AI5, AI6, and subsequent versions planned [10].
References: 1. The Verge 2. Reuters 3. CNBC 4. Bloomberg 5. New York Times 6. ABC News 7. BBC News 8. Autocar 9. TechCrunch 10. Tesla AI Day Presentation
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