Car owners revolting over Tesla's self driving promises

[Luxus]

Just going to leave this here.

Wall Street Journal

Unfortunately you need a subscription to read the entire article. But there is enough there to get the gist. After years and years of broken promises, people who bought Tesla FSD have had enough and are suing.

A good lesson for Rivian to be mindful of what they promise to people. Not that they have been overpromising like Elon has.

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[KBabione]

A good lesson for Rivian to be mindful of what they promise to people. Not that they have been overpromising like Elon has.

I have a Gen 1...No FSD ever, but when we ordered it was coming...

 

[Luxus]

I have a Gen 1...No FSD ever, but when we ordered it was coming...

That's fair. I should have worded that differently. They should be mindful about future tech they sell now. Specifically thinking about Autonomy+ which is supposed to be improved in the near future.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Having experienced this first hand it does make it way less likely that I'll fall for that trick again.

I'm in no mood to pre-purchase Self-Driving technology.

Instead I'll make the purchasing decision based on what its capable of today.

I hope RJ knows that those of us that came from Tesla are likely going to be resistant to any self-driving promises.

 

[strykerwsu]

It does work now or are these HW3 people suing?

 

[Dweezil]

I think (hope) RJ and the entire Rivian design team are wiser than making promise after promise they know they can’t fulfill…which, to date, seems to be a large part of Elon’s schtick. I had a Model Y Performance that I had the “pleasure” of having FSD for a month. To me, it was a party trick at best, and downright dangerous at worst. It “worked”, but it also pissed off everyone around me and was great at steering me right into potholes…damaging one of my wheels once. Until FSD and/or Autonomy+ are actually WORTH spending the extra money for, they should be free (or available to no one). Until these systems are fleshed out and safely/reliably operate as intended, the drivers are paying for the privilege of being Guinea pigs. It should really be the other way around.

I’m not saying that I don’t like the concept of FSD or Autonomy+, but rather the cost of owning either of these systems is vastly overvalued in current state. The basic lane centering and adaptive cruise on my Gen 1 R1T suits me fine…just like what Tesla used to call “autopilot”. I don’t need a car that drives me everywhere, but I can fully see how that technology could be well suited for others. My biggest beef is don’t charge for it and make promises if it doesn’t work reliably and as advertised TODAY. To me it’s nothing more than the ol’ bait and switch. I hope Elon gets what he deserves for stringing so many people along for such a long time (not that it will have any impact on him as a person)…oops, I meant to say meme lord. But, YMMV.

 

[KBabione]

That's fair. I should have worded that differently. They should be mindful about future tech they sell now. Specifically thinking about Autonomy+ which is supposed to be improved in the near future.

FSD with Gen1 is a mixed bag...Yes, we were told that the Gen1 would be FSD-capable, but we didn't explicitly pay for the functionality. We knew when we bought the car that it didn't have FSD and we didn't have a date when it would become available. I'm disappointed, but I'd rather have a safe car that I drive myself then flaky FSD that would have me tense and stressed each time I use it. We had a 2-hour drive this morning, mostly on 4-lane highways, and driver assist helped me more than any other car I've ever had.

With that said, I'm really looking forward to taking delivery of our R2 and the promises it offers for FSD at some point. Having never had a vehicle with FSD, I picture myself using it primarily on longer trips and not to simply run to the grocery store, but who knows?

 

[SactownD]

I test drove a model y two weeks ago. Definitely not flaky. I felt way safer with it driving than my wife. Pretty sure my wife would say the same thing about me. It was flawless and I’ll definitely be trading my gen 1, R1S in as soon as it’s approved for unsupervised driving. The ability to not worry about traffic and just take it easy is not over rated.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

... I’ll definitely be trading my gen 1, R1S in as soon as it’s approved for unsupervised driving.

I hope you like your R1S, @SactownD. You may be keeping it for a long time.

FSD (from any vendor) seems to be increasingly excellent -- until it isn't.

When it malfunctions, FSD appears capable of committing the car to a lethal outcome before the human can (1) realize there's a problem; (2) resume control; and (3) get out of the situation.

Powerful as our brains are, it takes them a while to move from inattention, to attention, to analysis, and then to action.

Now add in the physical effects of momentum and inertia, and you have an idea of the safety challenges faced by autonomous vehicles -- actively supervised or not -- in the real world.

Very best wishes!

 

[s4wrxttcs]

as soon as it’s approved for unsupervised driving.

But, you're wise enough to hold off UNTIL its approved.

Which means you're in the "prove that it can and I'll buy it" camp.

You might be more optimistic, but you're still one of us.

 

[rinconryder]

My wife drives a 23 Tesla Model S. After the most recent update the self driving is really really good. Like one poster above said - nearly flawless. I would trust it to drive me over someone I don't know. It took a few iterations to get there and I may discover something down the line that I don't like but I haven't seen it yet. I pay the $90 a month and will happily continue to do so.

The Rivian autonomy plus is okay but it's young in the development cycle so I am not knocking it at all. You do have to be way more prepared/vigilant to take over the wheel - I have experiences some pretty sketchy phantom braking and random off ramp exits from the freeway. I like it for the purposes of highway driving on long trips and that is about all.

 

[Luxus]

The ability to not worry about traffic and just take it easy is not over rated.

If you live in a big city, public transportation is available. Just sayin'.

 

[electruck]

Funny, saw a post just this evening on Instagram from some law firm looking to spin up a class action against Rivian for supposedly promising level 3 autonomy for Gen 1 but not delivering the hardware to support it.

 

[skyguyscott]

Tesla will likely settle before trial, as it has done in the numerous wrongful death cases, so as to avoid further public scrutiny, establish legal liability and risk limiting legislation. While the consumer frustration with Elon's fraudulent technology claims are understandable, the hundreds of people actually injured, and dozens of fatalities are more concerning.

Some background from the net on notable settlements or judgments involving Tesla and Autopilot/FSD:

In 2018, Walter Huang, an Apple engineer, died in a Model X crash while using Autopilot. Tesla settled the lawsuit, avoiding a public trial.

In 2019, a 15-year-old boy was killed in a crash involving a Tesla Model 3. Tesla settled the case just before trial, with terms kept confidential.

An April 2019 crash involved a Tesla Model S with Autopilot engaged, resulting in the death of pedestrian Naibel Benavides Leon and severe injuries to her boyfriend. The jury found Tesla partially liable.

In 2025, a crash in Florida killed a pedestrian and injured another while the Tesla was in Autopilot mode; jury found Tesla partly liable, awarding $243 million in damages.

In 2025, a separate case involved a fatal crash in the Florida Keys; jury found Tesla's Autopilot defective, awarding $329 million in total damages.

Teslas in autonomous mode continue to injure, maim, and kill both owners, passengers and innocent pedestrians, and drivers and passengers of other vehicles. I do not believe the technology is sufficiently safe or ready for deployment, and if Tesla's leadership had any sense of responsibility, integrity or concern they would immediately disable the faulty technology and restrict it to testing and further development.

Perhaps if Elon had not so irresponsibly or sensationally falsely branded the features as "autopilot" and "Full Self Driving" he would not have as much blood on his hands, not that it appears to bother him.

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