Monarch Tractor has been accused of overpromising on the autonomous capabilities of its tractors, according to a new lawsuit.
Burks Tractor, a dealership located in Idaho, has sued Monarch for breach of contract and allegedly violating its warranty because the California-based startup’s tractors were “unable to operate autonomously.” The dealership also says the 10 tractors it purchased “continue to experience significant problems,” and calls them “defective.”
Monarch Tractor CEO Praveen Penmesta and a lawyer for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Monarch has denied the allegations in a court filing.
The previously unreported lawsuit, which was filed in September in Idaho state court and has since moved to federal court, is the latest trouble for Monarch.
The company has spent a few years trying to get its tractors — which are electric and supposed to be autonomous, or as Monarch calls it, “driver optional” — to catch on at wineries and dairy farms. But it’s gone through multiple rounds of layoffs over the last two years. The Ohio factory where its tractors were being built by Foxconn is now being renovated into an AI data center, and Monarch has been trying to pivot to software and tech licensing.
Burks Tractor says in its complaint that it purchased the 10 tractors from Monarch in early 2024 with the intent of being one of the California startup’s first dealers. During those negotiations, Burks Tractor claims Monarch “expressly represented” the tractors would be fully autonomous, and the autonomy features “were not limited by location or time.”
Monarch even provided demo videos to Burks Tractor that showed the equipment performing autonomous tasks, according to the complaint.
Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | WAITLIST NOW
Burks Tractor paid Monarch $773,088 for the tractors and financed the purchase, according to the lawsuit, meaning it is still paying interest. The dealer also purchased spare parts. Monarch delivered the first five tractors in April 2024, and the remaining five in June 2025.
The lawsuit claims that problems began right away.
... continue reading