Why the lawyers though? I don't think anyone feels like Tesla deliberately lied in order to take the money and run. It's not like a Kickstarter project where the founder of some project skips town with everyones money.
I also find it odd that it's always the rich people who lack a technical understanding that are the sue happy ones. Is it your pride, and not wanting to ever have the short end of the stick? I admit I can't even imagine the humiliation I would feel if I bought into FSD full hook line and sinker.
Just so we're clear, I haven't decided yet whether or not to file a lawsuit. I will file a lawsuit IF I don't see substantial progress towards AP2 functionality in the coming weeks AND IF I don't get any acceptable remedies directly from Tesla. I reserve the option to pursue legal action at anytime, however.
@S4WRXTTCS - My opinion is Tesla did DELIBERATELY lie to consumers about AP2. It's a classic bait and switch. I did test drive an AP1 car a year or two ago and felt it was awesome. My mistake was trusting Tesla (their website, their advertising, their salesmen, and even their CEO). I was reasonably led to believe that given additional years to perfect the AP1 technology and the addition of a substantial sensor suite, that AP2 would be far superior to the AP1 I had tested. I was led to believe that Tesla had the technical know-how to release AP2 with functionality at minimum equal-to AP1, and as they claimed significantly greater functionality than AP1 which was available in the years prior.
This belief was reinforced by Tesla in claiming AP2 would use an additional 4-8 cameras to perform its tasks.
This was further reinforced by Tesla's own website, which claimed the features would be available December 2016 subject to regulatory approval (and not the fact that they hadn't written the software yet).
This belief was further reinforced in October 2016 or thereabouts by Tesla showing a likely phony video of a car full-self-driving around the neighborhood without disclaimers that the video was an artist rendering.
This was further reinforced by Tesla claiming to be setting up their own ride-sharing service that would hail rides autonomously, and releasing language stating you could not use Uber etc. in lie of the Tesla driving network.
This was further reinforced by Tesla claiming autonomous coast-to-coast driving would be demonstrated by end of 2017.
This was further reinforced by Tesla accepting payment for not only "enhanced autopilot", but "full-self-drive" capability, knowing full-well that they did not have the technical capability to deliver on these promises.
All of the above represent a deliberate act to over-promise in order to induce sales. That is the definition of false-advertising and fraud.
What Tesla should have done, is not generate "fake news" and stuck to the facts. They could have simply stated cars will be shipped with better hardware, but we don't know when (or if) functionality will ever be activated, and invite people to VOLUNTARILY participate in pre-release alpha testing. Of course, regular people like myself would not have purchased a car in that case.
Forgive me for asking, but after reading most of your posts I am honestly puzzled and terribly curious as to why you still own and drive this car. For someone who apparently has as much money as you do and who has a "lawyer they keep on retainer", I assume that you have lost $30k on some investments/purchases over the course of your lifetime. This likely isn't the first time and probably wont be the last. (I know, a car is not an investment) Sell the car, take the loss and move on. It seems that the car causes you nothing but anger and frustration. The amount of money you save in legal fees chasing Tesla alone will make up for the 30k loss you would likely suffer by selling the car now.
Life is too short to waste time and energy on something you have so much disdain for, particularly for someone who has the means by which to purchase another vehicle that is clearly superior in your eyes to the Tesla. Think of the aggravation that you will avoid by not having to wake up every morning and see this car in your garage. Seriously, why deal with it on a daily basis? If there was something that was causing me so much anger and grief, I would do whatever I possibly could to get it out of life as quickly as possible and move on. And yes, even at a financial loss. Money spent/lost can be replaced. And I am not a rich man. To purchase my Tesla, I will probably be eating catsup sandwiches for a few meals in the coming months.
I am not familiar with the laws that you reference or the Business and Professional Code in California, but I assume that both you and your lawyer are. Do the laws that you reference and Code that you cite require you to own the car at the time you file suit? Perhaps not as the "damage" has already been suffered and realized. If you don't have to own the car to file suit, you can sell the car now, save the daily aggravation and frustration, take the loss and then use your actual monetary damages (loss on the sale of your car) to further support your claim against Tesla. In fact, it may make your case stronger by being able to show the court your actual financial damages.
In addition, think about the extra time and energy you will save by getting rid of this "albatross" around your neck. I bet the minute you sell the car and sit down in your new vehicle, whatever that may be, you will instantly feel better. You will no longer be reminded of your Tesla every time you drive somewhere.
No more wind noise, shoddy craftsmanship, slow superchargers, broken promises, lack of features found on every other luxury car, disappointment in not having Auto Pilot, your list goes on and on...
As the late, great Gene Wilder said, "time is a precious thing, never waste it".
@Gibson - Your post is incredibly wise. I appreciate the time (and thought) that went into you posting it, and in exchange will offer you an introspective post.
It's a love-hate relationship with the Tesla Model S. I love the concept of freedom from the gas pump and even the product itself isn't that bad. Helping the environment is a plus. I'm getting used to "wind noise, shoddy craftsmanship, slow superchargers, lack of features found on every other luxury car." I'm still stinging from the "broken promises and disappointment in not having AP".
I view money as something to be used as a tool and don't have a particular attachment to it. You can always just make more money. The logical thing to do from an financial and time point-of-view is as you suggest - dump the car, cut my losses, and move on with life.
However, I really don't like the feeling of getting swindled. I have burned hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation to prove a point, knowing full-well I would never recover the money. I guess I believe strongly in principle and right and wrong. I am not a greedy person but perhaps vindictive? More than anything, purposeful lying really ticks me off. It is my "gut" feeling that I have been severely lied to but of course there is a chance I am wrong. Every day I wake up checking these forums hoping my gut feeling is wrong, and there is a substantial firmware update for AP2 around the corner proving me wrong and the fanboys right.
While I appreciate their "mission", I'm not a fan of Tesla as a company, particularly in regards to the way it treats customers and its shady business practices. (Surreptitiously reducing power & performance after a set number of launches, lying about actual battery capacities, throttling superchargers, charging idle fees, refusing to fix paint imperfections on new cars, charging non-refundable deposits, refusing to make build changes several months ahead of assembly, false-advertising, providing car magazines with ringer cars using altered firmware, etc.) These practices need to stop or it will kill the company in the long run. The masses won't tolerate BS like that.
I'll have to ask the attorney if Prop 64 requires me to still own the car in order to still have a legal standing under UCL. Having said that, I'd still prefer to keep the car if the features worked as advertised, despite its flaws. I fear Elon is too busy worrying about his rockets to care much about yesterday's news (electric car company).
What I really need are some honest answers from Tesla, particularly, when does Tesla reasonably expect AP2 to function at a level exceeding AP1? If not anytime soon, what is the reason for that? Assuming it won't be released soon, how will Tesla compensate the victims of this false-advertising? What steps will they take to prevent this in the future? Why do they continue to promote and accept money for features that are inoperative?
