Angry Tesla owners are mounting a legal battle against the electric vehicle giant, accusing billionaire CEO Elon Musk of misleading them about the cars\u2019 self-driving capacity.<\/p>\n
Tom LoSavio \u2013 an 80-year-old retired attorney living near San Francisco and leading a class-action lawsuit against Tesla \u2013 paid more than $100,000 for a Tesla Model S in 2017.<\/p>\n
He also shelled out an extra $8,000 for lifetime access to the company\u2019s self-driving tech \u2013 but he\u2019s accusing Tesla of flaking on its promise that the hardware in older models would eventually be compatible with fully autonomous software.<\/p>\n
Furious Tesla owners are mounting legal battles against Elon Musk\u2019s electric vehicle maker. REUTERS<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife and I talked about what a great thing it would be if we could just get in a car and have it drive us places,\u201d LoSavio told the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to believe that you\u2019re not a fool,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Nine years after LoSavio\u2019s initial purchase, his rideand many other early Tesla autos still aren\u2019t capable of true autopilot, according to the lawsuit, which includes a class of roughly 3,000 people in California.<\/p>\n It excludes many Tesla owners who signed agreements with the company that prevent them from suing, and Tesla is appealing the case\u2019s class-action status.<\/p>\n Tesla and Musk\u2019s lawyer did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n Musk has been promising that fully autonomous capabilities are within reach for years, keeping Tesla\u2019s stock price high even as Chinese rivals take a bite out of the EV seller\u2019s market share.<\/p>\n The company has launched pilot programs of driverless robotaxis<\/a> and is eyeing Cybercab volume production this month \u2013 but it appears to have no path to full self-driving technology in the millions of Tesla vehicles that are estimated to be on the road with outdated hardware, according to the suit.<\/p>\n A Tesla owner is accusing the company of overpromising and under-delivering on self-driving capabilities. REUTERS<\/p>\n LoSavio\u2019s lawsuit is seeking a refund for customers who bought or leased new Tesla vehicles between 2016 and 2024 and paid extra with the expectation that the cars would eventually be fully self-driving.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is also seeking to ban Tesla from marketing its products as fully autonomous.<\/p>\n An Australian law firm has also assembled a class-action case accusing Tesla of misleading consumers about its self-driving technology, while a Tesla owner in the Netherlands is attempting to organize a legal battle involving European customers.<\/p>\n LoSavio\u2019s lawsuit is seeking a refund for customers who bought older Tesla models and the add-on FSD package. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n The Netherlands last week approved the use of Tesla\u2019s self-driving technology for the first time \u2013 but only for the latest version of its software, meaning early Tesla adopters are out of luck.<\/p>\n Tesla\u2019s \u201cFull Self-Driving (Supervised)\u201d technology is available as a $99 monthly subscription<\/a> that allows cars to navigate most roads, change lanes and park as long as a driver supervises the journey and periodically touches the steering wheel.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s vehicles are equipped with cameras and computers that allow the use of the self-driving tech. But earlier models have required repeated updates to use the autonomous features.<\/p>\n By 2020 to 2021, Tesla\u2019s older models needed new equipment to handle its self-driving technologies, so the company offered free upgrades to some customers and charged others a one-time fee of $1,000.<\/p>\n In 2023, Tesla upgraded its hardware for the fourth time \u2013 meaning customers like LoSavio found themselves once again with outdated equipment.<\/p>\n Musk has repeatedly pushed back his deadlines for the firm\u2019s lofty driverless ambitions. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n In January 2025, Musk said customers who bought the lifetime Full Self-Driving guarantee would need their computers updated again.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the honest answer and that\u2019s going to be painful and difficult. But we\u2019ll get it done,\u201d he said during an earnings call.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I\u2019m kind of glad that not that many people bought the FSD package.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the tech titan has repeatedly pushed back his deadlines for the firm\u2019s driverless ambitions.<\/p>\n He promised in October 2015 that \u201cfull autonomy\u201d<\/a> would happen in three years. Just a few months later in December, he said it would take just two years<\/a>.<\/p>\n