Judge May Grant Expert Access to Tesla’s Engineering Systems
Synopsis
Victoria’s government moves to scrap its independent infrastructure advisory body, sparking concerns over transparency and facing pushback from opposition parties.
Key Highlights
- An Australian judge is mulling over a ruling forcing Tesla to allow an independent expert access to the automaker’s internal engineering platforms.
- The move is intended to expedite a stalled discovery process in a class-action lawsuit against Tesla.
- The lawsuit claims “phantom braking” issues and overstated self-driving and battery range claims The lawsuit was filed in February 2025.
- The lawsuit includes some 10,000 owners of Teslas.
An Australian federal court judge has suggested he might order Tesla to allow an independent expert access to its internal engineering systems as part of the class action lawsuit against the company. The move is designed to avoid another long, drawn-out discovery phase that has delayed the case.
Filed in February 2025, the lawsuit accuses Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles of experiencing “phantom braking,” while alleging that the company misrepresented its self-driving capabilities and battery range.
Lack of technical details raises flags with lawyers
After lawyers for around 10,000 Tesla owners complained that documents Tesla had given omitted key technical information they needed to advance their case, federal Court judge Tom Thawley suggested the appointment of an independent expert.
Bringing in an independent expert, both sides could agree on solves the discovery issue and an independent expert would be able to access anything needed, Thawley told the court during a hearing Tuesday. Nor did he say that he would eliminate the expert’s ability to examine certain materials simply because one side complained. If there is a passenger, Tesla says its systems do not create permanent records
The legal matter has yet to go to trial amid disagreements over how the parties will conduct discovery. Tesla has said it has provided thousands of documents in good faith, but that its engineers work with live and updated software platforms that do not record fixed-point-in-time records or operate generating scripted-style Venezuelan documents.
Access to Experts ‘Faster and Cheaper’ Than the Appearance of Trial Judge
Thawley argued that although courts had ruled there would be a document review over Tesla's systems design, having a single court-appointed expert in each relevant technical field who’d have direct access to the company’s systems would save time and money. He said he would even order this approach over the two parties’ objections.
Lawyers for both sides said they required additional guidance on the proposal. Imtiaz Ahmed, representing Tesla, said his side would also give that idea some thought – “but in our defence,” he added, “Tesla’s systems are very secret.“Applicants’ lawyer Fiona Roughley called the suggestion sensible.
The lawsuit is set to go back to court November 12.
Source: Reuters
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