Tesla Owners Sue, Say Car Not 'Insane' Enough

Tesla owners in Norway are suing the electric-car maker, claiming the car's "insane mode" of acceleration is too, well, sane. The lawsuit filed by 126 owners of the P85D version of the Model S sedan says it falls short of claims it can go from 0 to 60mph in 3.1 to 3.3 seconds. The Model S "has too low horsepower," lawyer Kaspar N. Thommessen tells Bloomberg, "and of course, it affects the car's performance, according to the consumers." He said the car hit 469 horsepower instead of the promised 700hp. But a Tesla rep denies those claims, saying the company's tests indicate the Model S meets performance standards. The suit is seeking unspecified reimbursements. In June, Norway's Consumer Dispute Commission ruled that five owners of the Model S P85D should be reimbursed up to $600 apiece for slow acceleration.

Norway is one of the biggest markets for Teslas, where the hefty price tag of up to $96,000 is defrayed by state subsidies designed to encourage car owners to go electric, per Bloomberg. For owners not challenged by "insane mode," the subsequent P90D model also features a "ludicrous mode" that promises 0 to 60mph in 2.8 seconds, per Tech Times. The legal action is the latest headache for Tesla, which has had to answer questions about its "Autopilot" feature after several crashes, including one in May in which a driver was killed after slamming into a tractor-trailer. CEO Elon Musk said this month that improvements were coming, including more reliance on radar and less on cameras. (More Tesla stories.)