Tesla and Musk Sued by Shareholders Over Robotaxi-Related Statements

According to foreign media reports, some Tesla shareholders have recently filed a class-action lawsuit against Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, accusing them of securities fraud and concealing significant safety risks associated with the company’s autonomous vehicles, including Robotaxi.

Previously, Tesla conducted its first public test of autonomous taxis in late June at the company's headquarters in Austin. The test video showed abnormal situations such as the test vehicle speeding, sudden braking, running over curbs, entering the wrong lane, and letting passengers off in the middle of a multi-lane road.

Within two trading days after the test started, Tesla's stock price fell by 6.1%, wiping out approximately $68 billion in market value.

Image Source: Tesla

Elon Musk and Tesla have been accused multiple times of exaggerating the effectiveness and prospects of their autonomous driving technology, thereby boosting Tesla's financial expectations and stock price.

Shareholders claim that this includes Musk's assurance during a conference call on April 22 this year that Tesla is "fully focused on launching a self-driving taxi in Austin in June," and Tesla's statement on the same day that its autonomous driving solution will achieve "scaled and safe deployment across different regions and use cases."

In addition to Musk, Tesla's current Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja and former Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn have also been listed as defendants.

The lawsuit filed on August 4 in the Austin Federal Court is led by Tesla shareholder Denise Morand, seeking compensation from Tesla for shareholders who suffered losses between April 19, 2023, and June 22, 2025.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the above report on August 5th.

For Tesla, expanding its autonomous taxi business is crucial, as the company is facing a decline in market demand due to an aging vehicle lineup and strong opposition triggered by CEO Musk's political stance.

As the world's richest person, Musk hopes to provide autonomous taxi services to half of the U.S. population by the end of this year, but he must get approval from regulatory agencies and assure the public of the safety of his technology.

It is worth noting that on August 1st, a jury in Florida, USA, found Tesla 33% liable for a 2019 accident involving its autopilot software. The accident resulted in the death of a 22-year-old woman and injuries to her boyfriend. The jury ordered Tesla to pay approximately $243 million in compensation to the victims. However, Tesla attributed the accident to the driver and plans to appeal the verdict.