I think you’re missing the point - This isn’t a case of getting a car and then deciding you don’t like it after you get it home.
@Battpower is taking issue with how Tesla chooses to disable features and hardware that was on his/her car after they bought it. Why should someone need to buy their car because the company changed the functionality and made it less useful after you bought and paid for it?
I can’t disagree - Tesla has a history of deciding to change how a feature works, then rolling out a half-baked version. If they are going to change something they have an obligation to make sure the ‘upgrade’ is at least as good as the version they’re replacing. Touting new features is nice but when it comes to functions like adaptive cruise that are standard in the marketplace, I have no patience for buggy software. The bar on this was set a decade ago.
Okay, let's look at it from another angle:
I bought my Tesla with radar, and I had terrible phantom braking. I joined TMC and found that many others had the same problem, it was a common issue and was being explained as a fusion problem where radar was getting false information back (especially around overpasses and large freeway signs), and disagreeing with cameras.
It got a little better with updates, but still frustrating. Then I was accepted into FSD Beta late last year, which disabled radar for vision only. My PBs got better. And subsequent updates have improved thing dramatically so that now PBs are very minor and fairly infrequent.
For me, removing radar made a very positive impact. Now some people are having the opposite effect, removal of radar has caused more problems for them. Why? Are their cameras misaligned? Is their calibration incorrect? Is there a hardware problem (such as a loose wiring harness)?
Some people are mad and yelling they want radar returned. What about me? Why should I have radar forced back on my car where PBs would then get worse? I don't want radar - it sucked when I had it!
Now that's done, let's think about the company for a moment.
If you honestly think that Tesla is an evil company where hundreds of engineers are working every day to screw up your driving experience, remove features, and cause accidents, then I respect that. Again, my advice to you is to sell the car and purchase something else that will make you happy. Jumping up and down and yelling won't solve anything. Suing won't fix your car, that's not how lawsuits work. You could get some money to compensate you for your experience, but you'll still have the car you don't like. The ultimate solution will be to take that money and sell the car and get a new one.
If you think Tesla is a good company, but just don't agree with how they are proceeding by altering the cars, then my advice would be to see how you can work with Tesla to enhance your experience. It's clear that many people have excellent experiences with vision only. Work with Tesla service and other TMC users to see if you can improve your experience. Some people find hardware problems and get them resolved, or equipment failures, and get the equipment replaced. Some people have found software installation issues, and had software re-installed. Some found a complete factory reset and re-imaging the software fixed issues for them (like rebuilding your Windows PC by re-installing Windows). Some have found that multiple re-calibrations of the cameras, and multiple reboots of the system solved their problem. Some found a complete disconnect of all electrical systems (both 12v and main battery pack), which forces a complete power down (like pulling the power cord from your computer, and removing the battery from your laptop), solved their problem.
I choose to think of Tesla as a market disrupter - a technology company that just happens to make cars. They are changing the car buying experience, and changing how we think about technology in cars. I hear about people getting MCU upgrades and camera upgrades on their cars, which gives them access to newer features. OMG - that's amazing to me. Never has a car company in the past told their customers they can come in and get new technology added/replaced to their car. They have always said if you want new features on our refreshed models, trade in your car and buy the new one. How many other cars even had OTA updates to their cars previously? And now it's so common with Tesla that people are complaining when there isn't a software update for more than 2 months. I chuckle when I read those complaints.
I'll give one final story about a Chevy Bolt I owned (1st gen). After a year or so, the air conditioning went out, and on a terrible day for it too - 100 degrees F. I took it to service and they said the coolant was low. The refilled the coolant and all was well. Then a few weeks later, it went out again. The said there was a leak somewhere, and they kept the car for several days, then said they fixed it. A month or so later, it went out again. They kept it for even longer, and had to work with Chevy corporate, but said they thought they found the problem. They didn't. One last time into service, and they finally found the real leak - a pin-hole sized leak in a very difficult to reach spot. They kept the car for nearly two weeks. They had to remove the dash, parts of the engine, and the windshield just to get at the leak. But they got it. I was seriously inconvenienced, and had a loaner car for nearly a month all total. I had to work with two different dealers, and have frustrating conversations with service managers. I was nearly ready to reach out to a lawyer for lemon law, but got it figured out in the end.
If you try everything to help yourself, and you try service and don't get anywhere, keep trying. Try a different service center, speak with different service people. Reach out to Tesla customer service and explain the issues and ask for help working with the local service centers. In the end, if you cannot get it resolved after all your efforts, seek legal help.
In that case you're quite self-sacrificing.
