“Nothing was wrong with the vehicle”
After Perez complained about the car’s actual mileage, a Tesla rep told him the advertised range was calculated “without use of any other electronics in the vehicle (including, for example, use of air conditioning, use of the radio, etc.) and without accounting for weather, headwinds, temperature, traffic, amount of passengers, and other driving conditions,” the lawsuit said.
Previously, when Perez ordered the car, Tesla never told him that the estimated range “required the driver not to use other vehicle features (including other electronics), did not account for normal, expected driving conditions, or that it was exaggerated,” the lawsuit said.
Estepanian, a resident of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, bought a 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range vehicle for $62,000. He test-drove the car and spoke with a Tesla dealership representative, “discussing various features of the vehicle, including its range. However, at no point did the Tesla representative warn or explain to Plaintiff Estepanian that the advertised range did not account for normal driving conditions or that it was exaggerated,” the lawsuit said.
Estepanian’s round-trip commute is 140 to 150 miles, but his car “consistently loses approximately 189 miles of range during his daily commute,” the lawsuit said. After he complained, “Tesla representatives performed a mobile diagnostic on his vehicle and explained to him that nothing was wrong with the vehicle,” the lawsuit said.
The Tesla car’s advertised range “was one of the most important factors Plaintiff Perez considered when choosing to purchase his Tesla vehicle,” the lawsuit said. Although he is disappointed in the car’s performance, the complaint said that “Plaintiff Estepanian would consider buying another Tesla vehicle in the future if Tesla were ordered to truthfully reveal the actual range of the vehicle, based on normal driving conditions.”