Tesla Remotely Removes Autopilot Features From Customer's Used Tesla Without Any Notice

https://jalopnik.com/tesla-remotely...es-from-customer-1841472617?rev=1580941196331

This is a facinating article as the car in question was purchased used FROM TESLA, with the feature installed... (it's on the sticker). Tesla went back into the car and remotely removed it, after it was sold -- without asking or telling the new owner! Some might suggest this story is about the dangers of technology - not me... I think it's a great example of consumer protections being 5 to 10 years behind technology and of a corporation that doesn't feel accountable to it's customers. Can you imagine if GM tried this...

Worth a read!

 

Way to many ads to try and read. It's getting to be an ad between every word. Eff that noise.

 

I hate techno cars.......

I myself am not pleased that people will be exiting their cars and having it park itself while they stand there smiling and being all cute. Inevitably one day one of these self driving/ self parking features will go haywire and Kill someone.

I understand people do this to each other on a daily basis, but I would still rather only have to evaluate other people and nature when trying to avoid death and injury, having to be mindful of some guys unmanned Ford Festiva isn’t my idea of a good time.

 

I'll never own a Tesla. They are the Apple of cars and I'll never own an Apple phone either.

 

At one time I was worried about the potential of someone hacking in to Onstar and shutting vehicles down. I didn’t expect to worry about the manufacturers themselves! One more reason not to own (?) a Tesla and to keep an older, off the grid car.
Patrick

 

You don’t like good looks and rock solid reliability?

 

tell it to the couple guys driving around without a head because their autopilot didn’t recognize the tractor trailer up against the pretty sky.....

 

We won’t consider how many are driving around without heads for doing the same with human error. Of course it’s natural to sensationalize something you don’t like

 

I respect your thoughts, what I was trying to point out is that “I” do not like technology taken to such extremes. I like to know what to expect to some degree, and with the progression of technology at an alarming rate, I am no longer comfortable with any of it.

A guy got in a minor car accident in Florida in his Tesla, his electronic doors malfunctioned and wouldn’t let anybody in or out. His bad luck, the battery started on fire and cooked him alive while people helplessly tried to open doors that had no handles and were electronically locked.

Multiple Tesla’s have spontaneously combusted while parked and turned off and unplugged. While this isn’t the biggest deal in the world, what if that happens in your garage at 2am when you are sound asleep, you could die in your sleep thanks to a car that isn’t even in use or running.


These are issues that are happening to these cars when they are virtually brand new! I am fearful of how these autopilot cars operate in 10 years or 15 years when it has 214,000 miles on it and it’s now in the hands of some teenager for their first car.

I question how this will all turn out as these things fall apart and age, it’s not like a Ford Pinto where the owner knows not to back into a mailbox for fear of blowing up, when a car has features that control its acceleration and braking and steering that sounds like a really risky business to me.


In closing I am not here to knock anybody’s opinion, but I should be free to voice mine that I do not like all these techno cars, I fear the unknown (or watched the Terminator movies one too many times).

 

The list is long in automotive history of demon cars that have been linked to issues, Audi 5000 sudden acceleration, several Ford models which burst into flames in people’s garages, Toyota’s sudden acceleration. Often short of the really publicized events, they go unheard of. Tesla is under a microscope so every event regardless if it is actually a Tesla error or not becomes front page news. Having been one of the test drivers in the Uber program in Pittsburgh(sat behind wheel as a dummy driver and to monitor riders) I was very comfortable being driven all over the city of Pittsburgh. I’ve experienced Tesla’s system as well and was comfortable. We must remember, the system does not invite you to sit in the backseat and sleep, you are supposed to be alert and aware while using the system. So if that is not being followed then wouldn’t that fall on human error?

 

That "sudden acceleration" syndrome is kinda real I think.
These drive by wire throttles are VERY slow to react, I've tromped on the throttle, then instantly to the brake, THEN the throttle decides to respond WHILE I have my foot on the brake.
I'll take fuel injection, but control the throttle with a cable, a stick, or a 2x4

 

If our spouses behaved like Tesla did in that article, we’d get home from the honeymoon and still have to do many of the things we did when we were single, because “you didn’t propose to that (or didn’t say “YES!!!” to that) and it wasn’t included in the wedding vows, so it was deleted with this new status update.” I’m very thankful my wife isn’t into new technology.

 

Saw an interesting theory as to why it was deactivated, often dealer demo's have it turned on and upon purchase it is transferred to the new owner if the owner pays for the software. The car in question was bought from a 3rd party dealer who bought it from Tesla, the 3rd party dealer did not pay for the software upon their purchase of it so it did not transfer with the car

 

...and all this time I was hoping it was because owner had bad driving record...

 

I was abut to say something similar to the last sentence of your post, Keith. Tesla specifically informed customers that the car must be continuously monitored while the autopilot feature was being used. The driver of the Tesla that hit the trailer truck was obviously not doing that, so I would agree that this was human error and not Tesla error. I have no intention of purchasing a Tesla or any other electric car until it has a 350 mile range under conditions that are real-world (AC or heater/defroster operating, headlights and radio on) and can be recharged fully in 10 minutes, or is not taxed nor will any registration, inspection, or insurance be charged. The electric would have to be an addition to my fleet, not a replacement for any vehicle in it. I would love to have a good electric car, and I probably could use it for 90 % of my driving, but there are missions where it would not be an acceptable replacement for my gasoline car. I'm not going to incur the cost of adding an electrical vehicle to my vehicle fleet until it can replace a present vehicle unless it would incur me no additional operating costs other then maintenance.

 

Hey @My3Buicks Keith, I thought it was interesting that the dealer purchased the car from Tesla with the feature listed on the Window sticker (the car was returned under the Lemon Law because of a defect that Tesla corrected and then resold the car). I didn't see any sign that the dealer was at fault. The autopilot is like an 8K feature so I would think the price would have reflected whether it was included.... Curious where you saw it ---such an interesting story. I'm not a huge Elon Musk fan or a big fan of their smaller car but the S is an awful nice machine... I would drive one ;-)

 

I was talking to a lawyer friend about this and basically he said that there isn't enough information to determine who was wrong. There could be unmentioned things lost in contract language. If you asked the buyer, he says that it was advertised with the feature active (which it sounds like it was). The dealer who sold it saw the feature active and may have thought that it comes with the car, not realizing that it has to be paid for - thus advertising something that he shouldn't have as being included. Maybe Tesla is at fault for not turning off the unpaid for feature prior to the auction.

None the less, there's a lot of information missing to determine who screwed whom. If nothing else, it seems like the buyer should be able to either return the car for a full refund, or have the dealer pay for it to be activated ($8K). Although not as a high of a cost option, it's kind of like Sirius satellite radio. It came for free for three months on my car. However, I didn't pay for it but got it for longer. Then it was shut off eventually because I didn't pay for it. These features in the Tesla vehicles may be a similar sort of thing - either subscription or paid up front. And I would assume there's a contract that would spell out whether or not that feature would carry over to the next owner.

 

Couple places on the Tesla forums. I have been hanging out on them, I have been looking for a used Model X so absorbing as much info as possible

 

As a guy who was in sales for years I can tell you when you demo anything, you make sure it has every bell and whistle available. It makes sense to me that that option was activated. I'm shocked it wasn't communicated clearly to the dealer and salespeople that it was a trial only..

Also I find it a bit perplexing that Tesla would put all the neccessary sensors and other hardware in each car for autodrive even if the option is not turned on. It must add a good buck to the base price.. a waste of money for the buyer who doesn't want autodrive. It's a kin to buying a 4wd truck and simply removing the dial or lever for the transfer case and calling it a 2wd truck.....

 

If it’s there it would be more tempting for the consumer to purchase it at some point even a year or two down the road, if they activate it it’s a win for Tesla, an even a bigger win would be the next owner activating it, a big windfall for Tesla for flipping a switch