May 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected

Tesla's bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Elon Musk's

electric car company of misleading owners into believing that

their vehicles could soon have self-driving capabilities.

The proposed nationwide class action accused Tesla and Musk

of having since 2016 falsely advertised Autopilot and other

self-driving technology as functional or "just around the

corner," inducing drivers to pay more for their vehicles.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco said owners

could pursue negligence and fraud-based claims, to the extent

they relied on Tesla's representations regarding vehicles'

hardware and ability to drive coast-to-coast across the U.S.

Without ruling on the merits, Lin said that "if Tesla meant

to convey that its hardware was sufficient to reach high or full

automation, the plainly alleges sufficient falsity."

The judge dismissed some other claims.

Tesla and its lawyers did not immediately respond to

requests for comment. Lawyers for Tesla vehicle owners did not

immediately respond to similar requests.

The case was led by Thomas LoSavio, a retired California

lawyer who said he paid an $8,000 premium in 2017 for Full

Self-Driving capabilities on a Tesla Model S, believing it would

make driving safer if his reflexes deteriorated as he aged.

LoSavio said he was still waiting for the technology six

years later, with Tesla remaining unable "even remotely" to

produce a fully self-driving car.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for people who since

2016 bought or leased Tesla vehicles with Autopilot, Enhanced

Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features.

Tesla has for many years faced federal probes into whether

its self-driving technology might have contributed to fatal

crashes.

Federal prosecutors are separately examining whether Tesla

committed securities fraud or wire fraud by misleading investors

about its vehicles' self-driving capabilities, according to

three people familiar with the matter.

Tesla has said Autopilot lets vehicles steer, accelerate and

brake in their lanes, and Full Self-Driving lets vehicles obey

traffic signals and change lanes.

But it had acknowledged that neither technology makes

vehicles autonomous, or excuses drivers from paying attention to

the roads.

The case is In re Tesla Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of

California, No. 22-05240.