[ad_1]
Tesla is being sued by a customer who claims the automaker has unlawfully monopolized parts and repair services.
Two class action suits (via Transportation Topics) were filed Tuesday and Wednesday in San Francisco on behalf of two Californians who own Model S EVs. The plaintiffs allege that Tesla violated antitrust laws by limiting competition by forcing owners to use company-approved service centers, and seeking parts from Tesla.
2023 Tesla Model S – Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
Modern cars are generally more difficult for independent repair shops to work on due to the need to access vehicle data and proprietary software, but Tesla also has more control over the mechanical and digital aspects of auto repair.
Tesla sells cars directly to customers without franchised dealers, meaning the company also operates its own network of service centers. Tesla has also been known to strictly control the supply of parts, forcing independent shops to stock older cars on the road without factory backing.
Other fledgling automakers, including Lucid and Rivian, are also eschewing franchised dealerships, but they have a much smaller population of vehicles on the road today than Tesla.
2023 Tesla Model Y – Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
These policies have caused Tesla owners “to suffer lengthy delays in repairing and maintaining their electric vehicles, only to pay sub-competitive prices for those parts and repairs once they are finally made available,” the filing said.
The lawsuits come as the right-to-remedie law is gaining more traction with lawmakers.
Massachusetts is leading the way, passing a right-to-repair law in 2012 and expanding that law in 2020 to include vehicle data. President Biden has shown support for a right to remedy policy, and a federal law is being introduced in the House of Representatives in 2022.
[ad_2]
Source link
