Small claims court cases don’t require much litigation fees or lawyers, but they do set precedents.
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Class action? Tesla is charging $2000 to upgrade 16G RAM for 2021 owners to get steam working in car
- Thread starter Gjy40404
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Leeclanual
Member
Watch the new Lincoln EV commercial… lots of cool stuff that people will never see.
Both my ex wife, and my current GF are attorneys. I understand that nothing is a 'slam dunk'. Where I went wrong with my post, was not reminding myself that there are tons of people on this forum that simply want to argue a technicality, even though they have nothing to do with the conversation.
I could care less about the situation; I'm an adult and have more important things to do rather than play video games in my car.
Leeclanual
Member
Small claims court doesn’t have authority in most states to compel a paid judgement… only a piece of paper to take it to next level. In order to actually get the money from a judgment you’ll have to put on big boy/girl/NB pants and file a General District Court case, litigate it with lawyers, presided by a qualified judge, and possible threat of legal fees if your case fails. Most large corporations don’t do anything until they get a GDC court filing… then they decide either to fight or deal. Oh yeah… terms of purchase says you need to try arbitration first..
Never buy a product based on future “promises”. If the product doesn’t do what is advertised at the time of purchase, don’t buy it. Will save a bunch of heartache.
But Elon and Tesla does have a problem with over promising and under delivering on some things and they should stop that. It’s ridiculous they do it because the products are pretty good as is.
But Elon and Tesla does have a problem with over promising and under delivering on some things and they should stop that. It’s ridiculous they do it because the products are pretty good as is.
zoomer0056
Active Member
In California max small claim suit is $10,000.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Small claims is explicitly allowed in the purchase agreement as an alternative to arbitration.
Leeclanual
Member
But it doesn’t have the teeth to get you any real money… just a small claims decision that is only the start of the real process. You’ll need a real lawyer to attempt to get paid on the SC judgement as Tesla will appeal the judgement to GDC. You’ll be hard pressed to find any lawyer to take a contingency case representing you to be paid if you win… so the real world alternative is you paying a retainer to the lawyer to cover their expected expenses… all this to try and recoup $2k?
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
I know the small claims process varies from state to state but I don’t believe your blanket statement about how it works and the likelihood of payout is accurate. I’m sure there’s at least one person on this board that would disagree and has a first person counterpoint to your assessment.
How to sue Tesla over historical claims
I sued Tesla in small claims and won. Twice! You can too. I had two claims: I have a car with AP2.5. Tesla advertised this car as having “all hardware needed for full self driving capability.” When I went to subscribe to “Full Self Driving Capability,” Tesla required a $1,000 hardware upgrade...
teslamotorsclub.com
Leeclanual
Member
You do what you gotta do… just don’t expect this road to be an easy or cheap one. Good luck.I know the small claims process varies from state to state but I don’t believe your blanket statement about how it works and the likelihood of payout is accurate. I’m sure there’s at least one person on this board that would disagree and has a first person counterpoint to your assessment.
How to sue Tesla over historical claims
I sued Tesla in small claims and won. Twice! You can too. I had two claims: I have a car with AP2.5. Tesla advertised this car as having “all hardware needed for full self driving capability.” When I went to subscribe to “Full Self Driving Capability,” Tesla required a $1,000 hardware upgrade...
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Lol, I’m not going to sue anyone over a video game in a car, that’s a special kind of somebody.
But read @gearchruncher ‘s post - their experience in small claims, against Tesla, is nothing like you claim.
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ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Further evidence to the contrary - in California there is NO process to appeal small claims judgments to “big boy” court. Appeals stay in the small claims system with a few minor changes (either side can have legal representation at the appeal), and the outcome of the appeal is final.
selfhelp.courts.ca.gov
Small claims appeals | California Courts | Self Help Guide
How small claims appeals work Only the side who owes money can appeal the original judge's decision There is a different judge who doesn't know what happened at the first trial Both sides get to present their side and evidence again as if the case was being decided for the first time The biggest...
As someone that won a small claims case against Tesla, this is completely untrue.
1) Tesla did the right thing and paid quickly once informed of the judgement.
2) At least in WA, I would have had multiple avenues to collect if they had not, none of which needed a judge.
3) As mentioned, small claims in WA cannot be appealed to a higher court. That's literally the point of small claims.
Leeclanual
Member
Keep giving people false hope that judicial system is a slam dunk… not as easy a process as the handful of jailhouse lawyers are peddling on here. Go the arbitration route it’s their best bet and no cost to owners.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
it’s definitely not a slam dunk - but it’s pretty easy, low stakes, and faster than arbitration (which you could still do if things don’t go your way).
I’m less concerned about instilling false hope than I am the patently false facts you’re peddling about how the small claims system works. You’re telling people things that are just plain wrong.
I don't understand the issue with the people who aren't affected by this problem in this thread... Ever consider to just gtfo? Find another thread to spew your nonsense in? Do you just need to see yourselves talk or something, even when you have nothing useful to contribute to the issue? I don't believe this thread was created to play devil's advocate or to argue on people's value of in-car gaming. This was created for forum members to figure out a way they could address the issue on something they are shorted on.
If you think in-car gaming is childish, well that's good for you, we might think whatever feature you like sucks donkey sack, but we don't go into your threads trying to ruin the vibe.
If you think in-car gaming is childish, well that's good for you, we might think whatever feature you like sucks donkey sack, but we don't go into your threads trying to ruin the vibe.
My 2 cents on unkept promises…
I believe Tesla should upgrade the MCUs at no charge to make them capable of the promoted features (gaming) that they claimed the car would have with future updates.
The tilting screen falls into this category as well. However, with the reports of rattles… I feel lucky not to have one.
And frankly it seems unnecessary. Great visibility from any angle. I would rather see bigger fonts with more contrast in the UI.
The New Headlights are not in this category.
Moving the horn to the center of the yoke isn’t either, however I believe it is a safety issue that Tesla should also resolve at no cost.
That said…as a result of price increases I paid $23,547 less than I would pay today when I took delivery of my Red Model S Plaid with 19” wheels & FSD in September 2021.
So if I have to begrudgingly fork over another 2k to get it up my MCU upgraded, I will. Not entirely to gain Access to Steam Games.
I suspect future un-promised features will appear down the road that won’t work without the 16gb.
I believe Tesla should upgrade the MCUs at no charge to make them capable of the promoted features (gaming) that they claimed the car would have with future updates.
The tilting screen falls into this category as well. However, with the reports of rattles… I feel lucky not to have one.
And frankly it seems unnecessary. Great visibility from any angle. I would rather see bigger fonts with more contrast in the UI.
The New Headlights are not in this category.
Moving the horn to the center of the yoke isn’t either, however I believe it is a safety issue that Tesla should also resolve at no cost.
That said…as a result of price increases I paid $23,547 less than I would pay today when I took delivery of my Red Model S Plaid with 19” wheels & FSD in September 2021.
So if I have to begrudgingly fork over another 2k to get it up my MCU upgraded, I will. Not entirely to gain Access to Steam Games.
I suspect future un-promised features will appear down the road that won’t work without the 16gb.
Arbitration is a good option too, and one that costs Tesla money, so it's got that benefit.
However, your statements about small claims don't match my experience. Small claims is very different all over the country however. What state are you in and what has your experience been with small claims?
I called tesla and they agreed to fix my model s plaid for free. That was my argument as well. Call them if you bought it after June of 2022 they actually did the right thing. I had called better business bureau etc and was willing to spend my own money to see it through due to principal of situation. But once I explained the issue they said we were wrong you should have a 16gb ram in your car instead of 8gb and now my cars in shop as we speak being upgraded for free.
I was pleasantly surprised but they did the right thing. Grant it you have to be proactive
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