Futurism reports:

Tesla has been accused of manipulating the odometers in its cars to avoid repair responsibilities and warranty agreements.

As The Street reports, a class-action lawsuit filed in February claims that Tesla has been trying to dodge warranty-related obligations by intentionally overstating the distances its vehicles travel.

The plaintiff, a man in California who bought a used 2020 Model Y with 36,772 miles, noticed an “abnormal spike in average daily miles driven” — despite a “consistent driving routine” — while he was taking it to the shop multiple times for suspension repairs.

As a result, his warranty expired after reaching the 50,000-mile threshold “well ahead of schedule,” according to the lawsuit. However, after the expiry, the “reported average daily miles” suddenly dropped off, becoming “more closely aligned with his historical data on his other vehicles,” making him suspicious that the EV maker was fudging the numbers.

“Tesla Inc. employs an odometer system that utilizes predictive algorithms, energy consumption metrics, and driver behavior multipliers that manipulate and misrepresent the actual mileage traveled by Tesla vehicles,” the lawsuit reads. “In so doing, Defendants can, and do, accelerate the rate of depreciation of the value of Tesla vehicles and also the expiration of Tesla vehicle warranties to reduce or avoid responsibility for contractually required repairs as well as increase the purchase of its extended warranty policy.”

The news couldn’t come at a worse time for the carmaker. Sales have tanked worldwide in large part due to CEO Elon Musk’s abhorrent behavior, embrace of far-right extremism, and gutting of the federal government.

Investors have also had enough. Tesla’s share price formed a “death cross” this week, a chart pattern when a stock’s short-term moving averages cross below its long-term averages. [Continue reading…]