US Appeals Court Blocks California Class Action Over Tesla's Self-Driving Claims

A US appeals court threw out an order allowing Tesla customers in California to pursue class action claims accusing the electric vehicle maker of misleading them about its full self-driving technology. Devdiscourse reported the ruling by a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 9th Circuit's Ruling on Class Certification

The panel said there were too many individualized questions about what buyers actually saw before making a purchase, so they could not sustain their lawsuit as a class action. The decision is a win for now for Tesla, which had urged the appeals court to vacate orders by a California judge last year certifying three sets of classes. The ruling means the thousands of California buyers the lower court had grouped together cannot, for now, pursue their claims jointly in a single case.

The ruling is not on the merits of the plaintiffs' lawsuit alleging false advertising, and the case remains pending. The plaintiffs contend Tesla is misrepresenting its vehicles' hardware capabilities for full self-driving, convincing customers to pay extra money for software that they say does not work. In a statement, the plaintiffs' lawyers said "we think the panel did not fully appreciate the unique circumstances here, and the importance of the hardware statement to Tesla's marketing campaign."

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla has denied the plaintiffs' claims. In the underlying case, US District Judge Rita Lin last year ruled that thousands of prospective buyers were likely exposed to Tesla's claim on its website that vehicles sold from October 2016 to the present contained hardware needed for full self-driving capability. But the appeals court panel, Circuit Judges Ronald Gould, Jay Bybee and Daniel Bress, said the plaintiffs could not show that all class members had been exposed to the allegedly false statement. The US Chamber of Commerce filed a court brief in support of Tesla and urged the appeals court to strike the class certification orders. The business advocate said the underlying ruling "threatens to substantially increase the costs to businesses and consumers of overbroad and meritless class proceedings."

Tesla's Berlin Production Expansion

According to akta.pro company records, Tesla announced a 20% production boost at Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg to 7,500 vehicles per week starting October 2026, with 1,000 additional vehicle production hires plus 1,500 for battery cell manufacturing. The same records show Tesla's full-year 2025 revenue was $94.8 billion, the first annual revenue decline in company history, and vehicle deliveries in 2025 were 1.64 million, an 8.6% decline from the prior year.

Earlier Tesla Developments

In October 2026, Nvidia signed deals with Volvo, Mercedes, and Hyundai to deploy its Hyperion self-driving platform, offering Level 2++ functionality comparable to Tesla's Full Self-Driving, 247wallst reported. Also in October 2026, Tesla unveiled a new Roadster with a Cybertruck-inspired angular design, replacing the 2017 concept's curvy body, according to EIN Presswire. In October 2026, Elon Musk demonstrated the Tesla Roadster flying over Cybertrucks and Model Ys using SpaceX thrusters, hitting 60 mph in under a second, Inc. reported.

What Comes Next for the Case

The case remains pending after the appeals court decision, and Tesla has denied the plaintiffs' claims.