Tesla alters Forward Collision Warnings' significance in Safety Score calculations, in response to ongoing class action litigation
In a recent development, it's important to clarify that there is no publicly reported class action lawsuit specifically citing Tesla’s Forward Collision Warnings (FCW) metric and its influence on insurance premiums. The dominant legal focus remains on Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) safety and marketing issues.
Tesla, the pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer, introduced the Safety Score system in 2021 for Tesla Insurance. This system uses real-time driving telemetry to determine scores for various metrics, including Hard Braking, Aggressive Turning, Unsafe Following, Excessive Speeding, Late-Night Driving, Forced Autopilot Disengagement, and Unbuckled Driving. However, the FCW system in the Safety Score system was controversial due to its tendency to give false positives.
In a significant move, Tesla has removed Forward Collision Warnings (FCW) from its Safety Score formula. This decision could potentially impact an ongoing class action lawsuit against the company over the FCW system, initially filed by a Tesla owner from Illinois. The lawsuit claims that customers are being overcharged on their monthly insurance premiums based on false FCW warnings.
The removal of FCW from the Safety Score formula may affect the ongoing class action lawsuit against Tesla. The company could opt to settle the case now that FCW has been removed, but if the case does proceed, it could limit the plaintiffs' ability to claim ongoing harm.
It's worth noting that Tesla faces multiple pending lawsuits and appeals, but none specifically involving FCW and insurance premiums have been reported in the current search results. For instance, a groundbreaking Florida federal jury verdict assigned Tesla 33% liability for a fatal crash involving the Autopilot system and awarded $243 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla plans to appeal this verdict.
Other lawsuits revolve around alleged false advertising and safety claims of FSD, including actions by the California Department of Motor Vehicles and investor lawsuits regarding FSD safety following Robotaxi operations. However, these cases do not directly link Forward Collision Warnings to class action suits or insurance premium impacts.
As of the most recent update, Version 2.2 of Tesla's Safety Score support page, released last week, now only includes the aforementioned metrics. The company was given an extension to October 2025 to collect evidence for their defense in the lawsuit.
In a related development, Tesla is offering a referral link that provides three months of Full Self-Driving (FSD) when buying a Tesla, if the link is used and the purchase decision was influenced by the content. This offer is separate from the ongoing lawsuit and does not affect the insurance premiums.
In conclusion, while the FCW system may have been a point of contention, the current status is that no publicly reported class action lawsuit specifically citing Tesla’s Forward Collision Warnings metric and its influence on insurance premiums exists or has emerged recently. The legal focus remains on Autopilot and FSD safety and marketing issues.
The removal of the Forward Collision Warnings (FCW) system from Tesla's Safety Score formula could potentially impact the ongoing class action lawsuit against Tesla, as the plaintiffs might find it harder to claim ongoing harm. Interestingly, amidst numerous pending lawsuits against Tesla, none specifically involving FCW and insurance premiums have been reported. This suggests that the industry focus remains on the safety and marketing issues related to Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology.
