According to Reuters, Tesla has agreed to pay $1.5million to settle a lawsuit that claimed it used a software update in order to lower the maximum battery voltage of some Model S sedans.Plaintiffs claimed that the software update was released in 2019. It caused slower charging speeds and reduced range for approximately 1,743 vehicles. Tesla agreed to pay $625 each to the affected vehicle owners as part of the settlement.Tesla agreed to pay $625 each to the owners of affected vehiclesThe court document states that this amount is many times the value prorated of the temporarily reduced maximum potential voltage and therefore represents an excellent and efficient outcome for the Settlement Class. The Settlement Class will release all claims related to software updates that were applied and then restored the maximum voltage.The owners' lawyers stated that they had conducted an investigation and found that the voltage limitation was temporary. A 10% reduction lasted for about three months. A smaller 7% reduction lasted another seven months. The vehicles voltage improved steadily over time after the second update.It is not yet clear how plaintiffs will be paid by Tesla. On December 9, a US District Court Judge will hold a hearing about the settlement. Tesla's PR department was disbanded in 2019 and a spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request.This is not the first time Tesla has had to pay customers for slowing down their vehicle's charging speeds. For slowing down charging speeds, Tesla was ordered to pay 136,000 Kroner ($16,000) each customer in Norway last May.
