Australian Judge Sets July Deadline for Tesla to Complete Discovery in Class Action

An Australian judge on Friday questioned whether Tesla Motors, led by Elon Musk, is taking the discovery process seriously in a class action lawsuit and warned the automaker of potentially severe consequences for non-compliance.

The warning from Federal Court Justice Tom Thawley came after lawyers representing 10,000 Australian Tesla owners complained the U.S.-listed company had produced only 2,000 documents following an eight-month discovery period.

The lawsuit, filed by Brisbane law firm JGA Saddler, accuses Tesla of misleading Australian consumers regarding issues such as phantom braking, battery range, and autonomous driving capabilities. Tesla has stated its product descriptions are not false.

During a pre-trial hearing, JGA Saddler lawyer Rebecca Jancauskas argued the case requires Tesla to provide documents concerning its engineering software, computer systems, and complaints from outside Australia, but the firm has received insufficient materials to date.

"Based on the information we currently have, we are unable to brief our experts," Jancauskas told the court. "The lack of evidence is causing significant delays to the investigative work."

Justice Thawley stated that the request for detailed documents from Tesla was reasonable, adding the automaker has the right to request redactions for confidential or sensitive materials.

"I am shocked that Tesla has only produced 2,000 documents, and I question whether Tesla is taking this seriously," he said.

He further noted he believes it is "necessary to review engineering drawings and reports provided by others, as well as investigations that may or may not have been conducted."

Tesla's lawyer, Imtiaz Ahmed, stated the defense has manually reviewed approximately 100,000 documents, with about 75,000 documents still pending review. He added the automaker is concerned about disclosing confidential and sensitive information, including personal names that plaintiff lawyers might access.

Justice Thawley gave the automaker a deadline of July 31 to complete the discovery process, adding, "If discovery is inadequate, you will face a very bad situation. I will investigate thoroughly what happened and whether your discovery was proper."

He scheduled another case management hearing for September 1.