NEWTOWN, Pa., March 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Edelson Lechtzin LLP is investigating securities fraud claims on behalf of all purchasers of Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: TSLA) common stock between February 19, 2019 and February 17, 2023 (the “Class Period”).

Tesla investors may move the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to appoint them as lead plaintiff, no later than April 28, 2023. Current holders of Tesla stock may pursue corporate governance reforms. Please contact Edelson Lechtzin LLP at 1-844-696-7492 to discuss your investment losses, or by e-mail at elechtzin@edelson-law.com. A copy of the class action complaint can be viewed HERE.

Background on Tesla, Inc.

Tesla is a multinational automotive, clean energy, and artificial intelligence company headquartered in Austin, Texas and incorporated in Delaware. The Company operates “six huge, vertically integrated factories” across three continents. They build, design, sell, and service a range of products such as electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems.

The Securities Fraud Claims

In 2014, Tesla announced Tesla Autopilot, a suite of purportedly advanced driver-assistance system (“ADAS”) features, including automated lane-centering, traffic-aware cruise control, lane changes, semi-autonomous navigation, and self-parking. In September 2014, Tesla cars started shipping equipped with the sensors and software necessary to support the Autopilot system. Since then, Tesla has touted refinements and enhancements to its ADAS and Autopilot features, including so called “Full Self-Driving” (“FDS”) software, which allegedly enables Tesla vehicles to drive autonomously to a destination entered in the car’s navigation system.

The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendants had significantly overstated the efficacy, viability, and safety of the Company’s Autopilot and FDS technologies; (ii) contrary to Tesla’s representations, the Autopilot and FDS technologies created a serious risk of accident and injury associated with the operation of Tesla vehicles; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, Tesla was subjected to an increased risk of regulatory and governmental scrutiny and enforcement actions, as well as reputational harm.

On April 18, 2021, multiple media outlets reported that a Tesla vehicle with “no one” driving it had crashed into a tree, killing two passengers in Texas in a “fiery” crash. On this news, Tesla’s stock price fell $25.15 per share, or 3.4%, to close at $714.63 per share on April 19, 2021.

On August 16, 2021, media outlets reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) had opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles. This investigation included 765,000 vehicles, which was nearly every vehicle that Tesla has sold in the U.S since the start of the 2014 model year. On this news, Tesla’s stock price fell $31.00 per share, or 4.32%, to close at $686.17 per share on August 16, 2021.

On June 3, 2022, it was reported that the NHTSA issued a formal inquiry to Tesla about the Autopilot and FSD features for certain models of its vehicles after receiving more than 750 complaints from owners of the vehicles about sudden breaking with no immediate cause. On this news, Tesla stock plummeted $71.45 per share, or 9.22%, to close at $703.55 per share on June 3, 2022.

On January 27, 2023, it was reported that the SEC was investigating statements made by Tesla and its CEO, Defendant Elon Musk, concerning the Autopilot system. On this news, Tesla’s stock fell $11.24 per share, or 6.32%, to close at $166.66 per share on January 30, 2023.

On February 16, 2023, media outlets reported that the NHTSA ordered a recall of almost 363,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD “beta” software. On this news, Tesla stock fell $12.20 per share, or 5.69%, to close at $202.04 per share on February 16, 2023.

Finally on February 18, 2023, it was reported that a Tesla vehicle had crashed into a fire truck that was responding to an accident, killing the driver, and injuring a passenger and four firefighters. They attributed the crash to poorly performing ADAS technologies, which increased market and public concerns about the Autopilot system. On this news, Tesla’s stock price fell $10.94 per share, or 5.25%, to close at $197.37 per share on February 21, 2023, the next trading day.

For more information, please contact:

Marc H. Edelson, Esq.
Eric Lechtzin, Esq.
EDELSON LECHTZIN LLP
411 S. State Street, Suite N-300
Newtown, PA 18940
Phone: 844-696-7492 or 215-867-2399 ext. 1
Email: elechtzin@edelson-law.com
Web: www.edelson-law.com

About Edelson Lechtzin LLP

Edelson Lechtzin LLP is a national class action law firm with offices in Pennsylvania and California. In addition to cases involving securities and investment fraud, our lawyers focus on class and collective litigation in cases alleging violations of the federal antitrust laws, employee benefit plans under ERISA, wage theft and unpaid overtime, consumer fraud, and dangerous and defective drugs and medical devices.