[legion]

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“Many owners report the Autopilot is essentially unusable and demonstrably dangerous,” the complaint states, referring to the versions rolled out at the beginning of 2017. The plaintiffs contend that rather than acknowledge problems, Tesla regularly posted optimistic notices of coming updates. The lawsuit refers to the self-driving technology as “vaporware,” tech jargon for software that doesn’t exist.

Dean Sheikh, one of the lead plaintiffs, was first introduced to Tesla when his wife was searching for a replacement for her 2006 BMW X3. In early 2017, an over-the-air update was sent to Sheikh’s brand new Tesla, allowing him to engage the Enhanced Autopilot. “The system operated in an unpredictable manner, sometimes veering out of lanes, lurching, slamming on the brakes for no reason, and failing to slow or stop when approaching other vehicles and obstacles,” Sheikh alleged. A second update didn’t significantly improve matters.

Tesla puts “safety at the core of everything we do and every decision we make,” the company wrote in a statement. By all accounts, the software is now much improved over when the lawsuit was first filed in April.

Almost a year earlier, in May 2016, a Tesla Model S crash in Florida killed the driver. The accident was blamed, in part, on the old Autopilot’s failure to see a semi trailer crossing its path. Tesla responded over the next few months with updates requiring more driver awareness and a radar upgrade that would have prevented the crash. This year, Edmunds again ranked Tesla vehicles by far the safest based on available active safety features.

During last year’s unveiling of Autopilot, Musk announced a planned demonstration drive from California to New York, with no driver interaction—not even to charge the battery. That’s supposed to take place before the end of this year. So far, Musk is sticking with that forecast, mostly. “It is certainly possible that I will have egg on my face,” he said on an earnings call in August. “If it’s not at the end of the year, it will be very close.”

Meanwhile, the competition is closer than it appears in his rearview mirror. GM is rolling out its impressive Super Cruise hands-free highway driving with the 2018 Cadillac CT6, as well as deploying a fleet of fully autonomous test vehicles in multiple states. The company recently became the first car maker authorized to test an autonomous fleet in New York.

GM will be ready to deploy driver-free cars “within quarters, not years,” analyst Rod Lache told clients in a note Sept. 24, putting it “potentially years ahead of competitors.” In the last six weeks, GM’s stock jumped 25 percent, adding almost $15 billion in market value.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla may still have the best driver-assistance program, outperforming such rivals as GM and Nissan in most driving conditions, but any lead it has in the quest for autonomy is probably measured by months rather than years. Before Tesla can move forward—let alone fully reclaim its self-driving crown—it must first catch up with its own promises.