Tesla Argues Vehicle Range Suits Should Shift to Arbitration (1)

Tesla Inc. urged a US judge to send to arbitration claims that it fudges the distance people can drive its electric vehicles on a single full-battery charge.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the US District Court for the Northern District of California focused questions on consumer sophistication, whether it has the authority to decide the issue of arbitrability, and a California contracts rule during a hearing Tuesday in an Oakland federal court.

“All consumers buy cars, but not all consumers buy Teslas,” Gonzalez Rogers said. Trademark cases also look at sophistication. “So, it’s not as if the law doesn’t take ...