It seems that Tesla has been rolling the dice by making odometers move faster forward and so avoid repairs covered by warranty. Or at least, that’s what is claimed in a civil class action law suit filed in California and reported on by Reuters.

Tesla has long and rightly been the poster car company for electric vehicles. It’s innovative and wide-spread charging network has been a ground-breaking initiative. Kudos!  

But with growing and longer lasting market share comes a new problem, managing repairs. The law suit alleges that “Tesla odometer readings reflect energy consumption, driver behavior and “predictive algorithms” rather than actual mileage driven. For one Tesla owner that the recorded difference of 20 miles per day versus 70 miles per day.

The company does not need more bad news: 

• Revenue is down 70 percent over a year ago.

• Deliveries were down 13 percent last quarter.

• CEO Elon Musk’s support for far-right movements and politicians has annoyed Europeans the most. 

• The market is also under heavy pressure from Chinese carmakers, which sell more affordable and, in some cases, more technologically advanced electric vehicles.

And while sales of used Teslas are up, the good news comes at a price. According to Forbes, “pre-owned EV sales got a whopping 27% boost last month as average transaction prices dipped by 1.8%. That’s on top of the 10.1% average year-over-year drop in value for Tesla vehicles realized prior to that. A recent report suggests Cybertruck values have dipped by as much as an estimated 35% since its release.”

Will share price volatility be next?