Tesla (TSLA) has to replace the ‘self-driving’ computer inside about 4 million vehicles or likely compensate the owners of those vehicles.
The liability could be more significant than the largest automotive recall in terms of cost.
In 2016, Tesla claimed that all its vehicles in production going forward have “all the hardware necessary for full self-driving capability.”
Tesla’s use of the term “full self-driving” has changed over the years, but at the time and for years later, CEO Elon Musk claimed that it would mean Tesla owners would eventually receive a software update that would turn their vehicles into “robotaxis” capable of level-4-5 self-driving, which means unsupervised autonomous driving even with no one in the cars.
Almost 10 years later, this has yet to happen and won’t happen soon in most of the cars Tesla has delivered over the last decade.
Archive link: https://archive.is/kJO23
Tesla: LOL our CEO owns the president.
That tends to happen when everything’s computer
TLDR: the marketing lies about full self driving are problematic given the computers of the last few gens are only marginally more capable then a toaster. Some lawsuits have made Tesla pay up, many more might.
Opinion: do not let your car kill you. Do not use full self driving.
Don’t let your car kill other people, if your expensive deathtrap kills you I feel bad but I can’t say it’s unexpected.
Great point!
Full self driving isn’t full self driving anyway. You’re expected to sit in the drivers seat ready to take action anyway. Sucks that it kills people, but it’s a problem with the marketing, not the tech which is comparable to other cars adaptive cruise with lane keep assist. Musk should be held fully responsible because the fact that it’s a marketing issue makes it even worse to me.
Full self driving isn’t full self driving anyway.
Yeah, Elon is forever banned from the tautology club.
This is just one guy saying this. There’s no judge or government ordering a recall.
It’s clickbait.
Yep, my first thought on seeing this was … ‘and who will be enforcing this?’
No one, the answer is no one.
While the information about Elon’s history of making false claims, hardware and software details are accurate… there is no official body that has ruled as the title of the article suggests.
A more accurate headline would be ‘should’ not ‘has to’.
There is basically zero chance that this guy’s desire would be effectuated in the US … as the US agency that regulates cars… was recently gutted by Musk’s DOGE idiots.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/04/car-safety-experts-at-nhtsa-which-regulates-tesla-axed-by-doge/
Maybe the EU or China or other governments could… legally agree with the author, and order a similar command…
But uh yeah, the Trump admin is currently blatantly telling the Supreme Court to go fuck themselves, the law will soon be whatever the hell Trump and his orbiters want it to be, has already told the entire world to go fuck themselves and also beg and grovel at the same time.
Elon would just… continue doing whatever the fuck he wants, even if another country mandated a recall/replacement.
Sorry, but uh yeah, we have a fascist government now, the rule of law is dead, the law is now whatever the fuck the Trump admin says it is.
That agency apparently creates new safety regulations but doesn’t do oversight. I think that’s up to the courts? Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Technically, its complicated, but basically, NHTSA both sets the standards by which a manufacturer should assess whether or not to do a recall… and they also issue recalls themselves.
They do investigations, compile data, and if it looks like a certain make and or model has a serious flaw, they’ll issue a recall if the manufacturer hasn’t.
If they are gutted, specifically as they have been by Musk, well then there are no more people actually investigating self driving capabilities and onboard computers, there are no more updates to any of those policies, and nobody issues a recall for such a category of defective vehicle.
‘and who will be enforcing this?’
No one, as long as their CEO is President and dismantling all the organizations that were barely checking him in the first place.
Yeah, Musk got rid of the people who could actually tell him to do this.
You forgot the third option, “Or ignore the courts.”
Tesla’s use of the term “full self-driving” has changed over the years, but at the time and for years later, CEO Elon Musk claimed that it would mean Tesla owners would eventually receive a software update that would turn their vehicles into “robotaxis” capable of level-4-5 self-driving, which means unsupervised autonomous driving even with no one in the cars.
Almost 10 years later, this has yet to happen and won’t happen soon in most of the cars Tesla has delivered over the last decade.
Well yes, he’s a liar. https://elonmusk.today/
As another user said, it’s just a random blogger that said this.
Musk quote:
I mean, I think the honest answer is that we’re going to have to upgrade people’s Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought full self-driving, and that is the honest answer and that’s going to be painful and difficult but we’ll get it done. Now I’m kind of glad that not that many people bought the FSD package.
Musk says that replacing all the computers will be “painful,” and he is “glad” that “not that many people bought the FSD package.”
Lol, he isn’t going to do shit.
Elon Musk claimed that it would mean Tesla owners would eventually receive a software update that would turn their vehicles into “robotaxis” capable of level-4-5 self-driving
Wait… so he actually knows what the standard levels 4 and 5 are??
:-)
Can’t tell you, that’s Level 6 classified. Sorry bud.
G-14
He knows the words.
Maybe he asked his leveling guy from POE2?
It is always a stock market manipulation grift.
He knows how to repeat sounds now! That’s good.
Level 5 is easy to understand even for musk, it’s a fully autonomous robot that requires no human supervision or intervention yet is capable of navigating every single possible traffic situation. That’s what he has been claiming is just a few years away for over a decade.
And as long as he insists that the only sensors a tesla has are cameras, that goal is simply impossible, with cars driving under semi-truck trailers and through walls with pictures of the road painted on it.
Level 5 is easy to understand even for musk
Disagree.
He says “all” and he probably thinks “all”, but the meaning of it is always “nearly all”. I say, he is unable to grasp that the standard’s requirement actually includes all the rare conditions that happen in the real world.
Rain, snow, thunderstorm, earthquake, vomit on the dashboard, no internet…
That’s the drawback when “everything’s computer” in a Tesler
Was looking for this comment. Was not disappointed.
Shit vehicles
That’s going to cost quite a bit, what with tariffs on electronics and all. Wait, I had a tissue around here somewhere…
It’s going to cost him nothing. Trump justs writes an executive order that the customers can go fuck themselves, and there’s that.
It is right next to the world’s tiniest violin
Did you come as well?
Toastla
The only people he’s going to have to upgrade are those who purchased it. In the past there’s been some small claims court cases where someone won about being upgraded for a subscription, but if that is truly a concern, Tesla could stop the subscriptions for a few years and let the cars age out. They have no obligations to offer a subscription, it wasn’t a thing when the original promise was made.
Also, they only need to upgrade cars when it’d actually be capable. The promise is to upgrade cars to capable hardware, not upgrade cars with every hardware iteration, so as long as hw4 can’t actually do it, they’re likely in the clear as well.
Given most people don’t think they can actually make fsd work, then they’re in the clear.
If they somehow make it work, the upgrade cost is going to be peanuts compared to the insane amount of money they’d start printing.
So it’s not much if a story.
You gotta love Tesler. It is all a computer.
