Tesla Lawyers Dismiss Elon Musk's Claim in Germany, State the Cars Last Only 130,488 Miles

This story begins with Tesla customers that decided to cancel their purchases due to defects or flaws in their cars. German law dictates that they can do so but have to pay compensation for use. It is proportionally calculated depending on how much the vehicle ran compared to its expected lifespan. In other words, the larger the lifespan, the lower the compensation for use is.

Christoph Lindner and Jennifer Hofmann kindly shared the information they had on four cases in which these disputes happened. The TeslaAnwalt (Tesla Attorney) and his team thought it was relevant to share the strategy of the EV maker’s German lawyers to try to get higher compensations in these reversed sales. Lindner revealed Tesla sold vehicles with cracked jacking spots in June 2022 and has helped in more than 200 lawsuits against the EV maker.

The first case comes from the Regional Court Darmstadt (Landgericht Darmstadt), and it is filed under the number 26 O 490/20. The unidentified customer bought a Tesla Model 3 in April 2019 and withdrew the deal in June 2020 after driving the EV for about 21,000 km (13,049 mi). His attorneys used what Musk said his vehicles could last to establish the compensation.

The EV maker’s lawyers quickly tried to refute that by claiming the Model 3 would last “between 200,000 km and 250,000 km according to the prevailing case law.” That’s equivalent to 124,274 mi and 155,343 mi. Tesla apparently did not state which prevailing case law applies to this case. However, it later established them to be the same ones for combustion-engined cars, with interesting plot twists. Be patient: we’ll get there.

The plaintiff changed their lawyers, and Tesla again disputed the lifespan Musk suggested the battery pack could have. Its attorneys increased it a bit, though, to something between 250,000 km (155,343 mi) and 300,000 km (186,411 mi). They also mistakenly took what the Tesla CEO said as part of an interview with Business Insider. It wasn’t: the outlet just reported what he stated at Autonomy Day.

Finally, Tesla’s lawyers wrote that “it must be countered that this statement does not constitute a binding statement. Rather, the sensational statement is to be understood as product pricing in the sense of an advertising statement.” In some countries, saying that could render the EV maker a false advertising accusation – with severe implications.

The German court didn’t buy it and ruled that the expected lifespan for a Model 3 was 800,000 km, as Musk said in 2019. Tesla appealed, claiming the lifespan of a Model 3 is not higher than 210,000 km (130,488 mi). The case is now with the Higher Regional Court Frankfurt am Main/Darmstadt (Oberlandesgericht Darmstadt), filed under the number 22 U 64/22.

The second lawsuit involves a Model 3 ordered in December 2019 and delivered in March 2020. The customer withdrew the purchase on February 2022 after driving it for about 77,000 km. The case was filed at the Regional Court of Berlin (Landgericht Berlin) under the number 28 O 119/22.

In this newer lawsuit, Tesla attorneys argued again that the vehicle’s lifespan would not exceed 210,000 km. However, the new strategy was so aggressive that it made Tesla’s cars look like lousy goods. According to the company’s lawyers, “due to advanced mechanization and electrification, electrically powered vehicles are generally more prone to failure than conventional internal combustion vehicles.” Yes, you read that right.

The EV maker also told the court that “almost all other components and parts of the Tesla Model 3 resemble conventional motor vehicles and are just as relevant for the overall mileage as those parts that make up an electrically powered vehicle.” In other words, the claim is that the vehicle would not live as long as its battery pack because other components would fail before it did. The Tesla attorneys in Germany did not mention which parts would probably kill the car before the battery pack did.

The third lawsuit repeats the same claims. It is filed under the number 19 O 78/22 at the Regional Court Hannover (Landgericht Hannover) and involves a Model S ordered in May 2020. In this case, the EV maker’s lawyers tried to argue that Musk said that reaching 800,000 km was a mere possibility because the CEO said “maybe.” Anyway, it would be absurd to achieve such a high mileage because the car would need 50 years to get there. In the second lawsuit, Tesla’s attorneys said the Model 3 would need 53 years to reach 800,000 km. Again, the EV maker insisted its cars can last only 210,000 km.

If you are familiar with Tesla warranties, you’ll see there is something wrong here. In Germany, Tesla gives a warranty (regardless of the model) of four years or 80,000 km (49,710 mi), whichever comes first.

When it comes to the battery packs, the Model S and Model X have eight years or 240,000 km (149,129 mi). The period is the same for all models, but the mileage is not. The RWD Model 3 and Model Y count on only 160,000 km (99,419 mi), and the Performance and Long Range derivatives have 192,000 km (119,303 mi). Summing up, Tesla lawyers in Germany said the expected lifespan for the Model S and Model X is lower than the battery pack warranty.

The last case involves a Model X delivered in March 2017. Instead of establishing 800,000 km as the expected lifespan for the electric SUV, the Regional Court of Munich I (Landgericht München I) decided to set a higher mileage than that for combustion-engined vehicles: 350,000 km. That’s because “the previous standard of 250,000 km (for combustion engines) does not sufficiently take into account the increased life expectancy of vehicles resulting from improvements in production.”

Although that is lower than the 480,000 km Musk said the battery pack would last, the German court stated in the lawsuit number 4 O 3834/19 that “the CEO Musk is known in public for grandiose statements, which to a large extent are obviously to be regarded as advertising measures.” The judge also said that “it is not the sense and purpose of a civil lawsuit to punish defendants for boastful statements made by the CEO of their parent company.”

As positive as it may sound that Musk’s lack of credibility helped Tesla in this verdict, the company appealed it, and the case is now with the Higher Regional Court of Munich (Oberlandesgericht München) under the number 18 U 4051/22. Tesla insists that the first instance court should not have assumed its vehicles can last more than 250,000 km.