In a landmark ruling, a German court has found the autopilot system of a Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) Model 3 to be defective and not fit for normal use, according to Handelsblatt. This is the first time a court has confirmed the occurrence of so-called "phantom braking" in Tesla vehicles.
The case was brought to the Traunstein Regional Court by a Tesla customer who reported unexplained sudden braking incidents in his Model 3 when the autopilot was engaged. Tesla defended its vehicle, asserting that it was functioning as designed.
The court's ruling from mid-January, however, disagreed with Tesla's stance. It described the vehicle's automatic control as "defective" and unfit for regular use. The court further stated that the vehicle does not provide any functionality that a consumer would expect from a vehicle in this price range.
The US electric car manufacturer, led by Elon Musk, has been mandated by the court to rectify the defect and ensure that the vehicle no longer engages in unexplained braking. This ruling is the first public confirmation by a German court of the phantom braking issue in Tesla vehicles.