Tesla agrees to pay US$1.5 million to settle claims over battery voltage reduction

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Tesla has agreed to pay US$1.5 million to settle claims a software update temporarily reduced maximum battery voltage in 1,743 Model S sedans, court documents show.

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Owners of the vehicles will get US$625 each, which is “many times the prorated value of the temporarily reduced maximum voltage,” according to the proposed settlement documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lawyers for the owners who sued said the “voltage limitation was temporary, with a 10-per-cent reduction lasting about 3 months, and a smaller 7-per-cent reduction lasting another 7 months before the corrective update was released in March 2020.”

The suit filed in August 2019 alleged Tesla released an over-the-air software update that reduced the maximum voltage to which batteries on some Tesla Model S vehicles could be charged.

A subsequent update restored about 3 per cent of the battery voltage in these vehicles, and a third update released in March 2020 was designed to fully restore the batteries’ voltage over time as the vehicles are driven, the settlement documents said.

Company data shows 1,552 vehicles had maximum battery voltage fully restored and 57 have had battery replacements and for other vehicles the maximum voltage should continue to be restored over time, the settlement documents said.

The $1.5 million settlement includes $410,000 fees and costs for the plaintiffs’ attorneys.