Tesla's long-running promises surrounding its "Full Self-Driving" software are now being tested in court in China.
A Beijing court has held its first hearing in what The Beijing News described as China's first group legal challenge over Tesla's FSD claims, Electrek reported. In this case, 10 owners are seeking damages totaling more than 3.95 million yuan (about $583,000).
The Beijing News reported that each of the 10 plaintiffs bought Tesla's Full Self-Driving package for 56,000 yuan (about $7,800) between 2019 and 2021. They say Tesla sales staff and CEO Elon Musk indicated true self-driving capability was near and that the price would later increase, prompting them to buy sooner.
The owners say that is not what happened. When Tesla began rolling out its assisted-driving software in China, it was limited to vehicles with newer HW4.0 hardware, excluding owners of HW3.0 vehicles, including cars produced from 2019 to 2023.
The plaintiffs argue that Tesla marketed capabilities that were not approved for use in China, could not perform as advertised, and were sold without clearly disclosing hardware limitations. Under China's Consumer Rights Protection Law, they are seeking full refunds plus triple damages.
Tesla disputed the claims in court and said some functions are "fully operational," while others are "partially functional" or still being developed.
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The Beijing News says Tesla is estimated to have more than 1 million vehicles in China equipped with the HW3 computer. Any ruling could affect customers who paid for software they say they still cannot fully use.
Tesla's recent decision to rename the system "Tesla Assisted Driving" in China may also bring more attention to whether the earlier "Full Self-Driving" branding created unrealistic expectations.
"Tesla's premature sales of autonomous driving features are a massive financial liability, and the bill is coming due around the world," Fred Lambert wrote.
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