Monarch Tractor is facing a new lawsuit that accuses the company of overpromising on the autonomous capabilities of its tractors. Burks Tractor, a dealership in Idaho, has sued Monarch for breach of contract and allegedly violating its warranty. The lawsuit states the California-based startup’s tractors were unable to operate autonomously. The dealership also says the ten tractors it purchased continue to experience significant problems and calls them defective.
Monarch Tractor CEO Praveen Penmesta and a company lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Monarch has denied the allegations in a court filing.
This previously unreported lawsuit was filed in September in Idaho state court and has since moved to federal court. It represents the latest trouble for Monarch. The company has spent several years trying to get its electric tractors, which are supposed to be autonomous or driver optional, to catch on at wineries and dairy farms. However, it has 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 ten tractors from Monarch in early 2024 with the intent of being one of the startup’s first dealers. During negotiations, Burks Tractor claims Monarch expressly represented the tractors would be fully autonomous and that the autonomy features were not limited by location or time. Monarch even provided demo videos that showed the equipment performing autonomous tasks.
Burks Tractor paid Monarch over seven hundred seventy-three thousand dollars for the tractors and financed the purchase, 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 immediately. Upon receiving the tractors, Burks Tractor discovered they did not perform as represented and were unable to operate autonomously. The dealer flagged this to Monarch, and the startup’s sales team worked with Burks Tractor to try to make the tractors work autonomously, but failed.
Burks Tractor claims Monarch’s sales team then admitted both verbally and in writing that the tractors’ autonomy was limited and the tractors were unable to function autonomously indoors. The dealer then says it went months without any support or follow-up to make the tractors work as promised, despite numerous attempts to have Monarch repair or replace the defective tractors. The tractors continue to experience significant problems and do not operate autonomously. Burks Tractor demanded Monarch take back the defective tractors, but Monarch has refused to do so.