California

Tesla faces coordinated class-action litigation across multiple jurisdictions from owners of Hardware 3-equipped vehicles manufactured between 2016 and 2024. The plaintiffs allege that Tesla and Elon Musk made false representations that these vehicles would achieve full self-driving capability through software updates alone. A spring 2026 software release exposed Hardware 3's technical limitations, effectively excluding millions of owners from advanced autonomous features now reserved for newer Hardware 4 systems. The lead case, brought by retired attorney Tom LoSavio, centers on buyers who paid $8,000 to $12,000 for full self-driving capability that is now incompatible with their vehicles without costly hardware retrofits Tesla has not formally offered. Similar suits have been filed in Australia, the Netherlands, across Europe, and in California, where one action involves approximately 3,000 plaintiffs. Globally, the disputes affect roughly 4 million vehicles.

The Federal Trade Commission's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees took effect on May 12, 2025, requiring companies to disclose total prices upfront for live-event tickets and short-term lodging, including all mandatory fees. The rule has accelerated an already-steep rise in junk fee litigation across ticketing, hospitality, banking, and rental industries. Class actions and mass arbitrations alleging "drip pricing"—the practice of hiding or misrepresenting fees until late in transactions—have spiked since 2022, with potential exposures exceeding $10 million per case. California's SB 478, effective July 1, 2024, compounds liability by imposing penalties up to $2,500 per violation. Plaintiffs' firms are pursuing coordinated mass arbitrations against ticket sellers, banks, landlords, and online retailers, often bypassing class-action waivers through arbitration clauses.