The suit stems from safety concerns raised by Tesla’s June robotaxi test in Austin and alleges that the company overstated its autonomous technology capabilities.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sharply lambasted class-action lawyers on Tuesday after the EV maker was hit with a new federal lawsuit accusing the company of misleading investors about the safety and readiness of its self-driving vehicles.
“It’s never actually investors. It’s always sh**y class-action lawyers grifting for their percentage of the verdict,” Musk wrote on X. “They are scum of the Earth. The worst human being I’ve ever encountered.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, was brought by Tesla shareholder Denise Morand, following the company’s first public test of its robotaxi vehicles in June, which raised some safety concerns. Observers noted instances of abrupt braking, wrong-lane driving, curb strikes, and passenger drop-offs in unsafe locations, according to a Reuters report.
The complaint alleges that Musk and Tesla overstated the capabilities of their autonomous driving technology. It cites public statements made in April in which Musk said the company was “laser-focused on bringing robotaxi to Austin in June.”
The suit seeks damages for investors who purchased Tesla stock between April 2023 and June 2025. Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja and former CFO Zachary Kirkhorn are also named as defendants.
This is not the first time Musk has bristled at lawsuits he views as abusive. In January 2024, the Delaware Chancery Court struck down his record $56 billion Tesla compensation package, initially approved in 2018, based on a lawsuit from a shareholder named Richard Tornetta, who reportedly held just nine Tesla shares.
The court ruled that the award was unfair to investors, citing close ties between Tesla’s directors and Musk, as well as insufficient disclosure of the plan’s terms before the shareholder vote.
Musk later argued that the judge applied the wrong legal standard and overlooked the fact that shareholders had approved the plan twice. He also blasted Delaware’s corporate legal environment and later shifted Tesla’s state of incorporation to Texas.
Following that decision, Tesla amended its bylaws in July to prevent shareholders who own less than 3% of the company’s stock from filing derivative lawsuits. This threshold is currently equivalent to approximately 97 million shares, which would be worth roughly $34 billion. The change came shortly after Texas passed a new law allowing companies to set such thresholds.
The law aims to curb what the state describes as abusive shareholder litigation. In contrast to Delaware, which does not permit such thresholds, the Texas amendment effectively prevents lawsuits like the one Tornetta filed, which led to Musk’s original pay deal being voided.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla was ‘neutral’ amid ‘low’ message volume.
Tesla’s stock has declined 18.6% so far in 2025.
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