Overpaid for FSD, No Early Access - Class Action Time?

[kbecks13]

So like many people, i paid the $3K for FSD when purchasing my car back in fall of 2018. I've been slowly waiting for entry to the Early Access Program as Elon promised (instead of a refund), but it seems that isn't happening. Apparently there are some rumors that Early Access has been totally cancelled too!

I emailed Tesla about getting either a refund or entry to Early Access and received the following:

"I would be happy to provide more information on this for you. Tesla often makes price and package changes to offer more and compelling options to customers. Something we have always tried to be transparent about is how we pass savings along to our customers, and these changes are definitely in the spirit of that.

However, we do not make any changes retroactively to prices offered or grant any other discounts or offers. Please know that we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback on your experience, as we value feedback from those who have helped us get to where we are today. I will absolutely pass along your feedback about these changes.

The Early Access Program is at capacity and the program is no longer accepting additional participants. Should we expand the program, participants will be invited based on a number of factors including car configuration, location and delivery date."

I replied with:

I appreciate the quick response, but this is not what Elon specifically stated would happen. He stated “If anyone already paid $3K, they should get $1K back”

Here is his tweet that says that: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1101738512406188032

Tesla has also stated that Elon can use his twitter to release official company information, so I feel that this should be honored.

And now i've just gotten this back from Tesla which is basically saying "you aren't getting anything":

The tweet you are referring to was for those that had purchased it in early March when first announced. Those who had already purchased the upgrade with delivery do not qualify for a refund. We thank you for being an early adopter of the Autopilot feature, and we apologize for any confusion as we have changed the feature structure and adjusted pricing. At this time, we are unable to make any changes retroactively to prices offered, or grant any other discounts, refunds, or offers. Again, thank you for taking the time to pass this feedback along.

I really think it's about time for some legal action on this front since Tesla has made 2x false claims to owners in my situation:

• Claim that FSD would cost more post-delivery was false and used to coerce buyers into paying more during initial purchase
• Offer to provide early-FSD buyers with access to the Early Access program which never occurred.

I know a lot of people will hate this....but who's with me besides @run-the-joules ? lol

 

[75Shappyt]

not me, sorry, paid 2k in march

 

[Vegaforce]

So like many people, i paid the $3K for FSD when purchasing my car back in fall of 2018. I've been slowly waiting for entry to the Early Access Program as Elon promised (instead of a refund), but it seems that isn't happening. Apparently there are some rumors that Early Access has been totally cancelled too!

I emailed Tesla about getting either a refund or entry to Early Access and received the following:

"I would be happy to provide more information on this for you. Tesla often makes price and package changes to offer more and compelling options to customers. Something we have always tried to be transparent about is how we pass savings along to our customers, and these changes are definitely in the spirit of that.

However, we do not make any changes retroactively to prices offered or grant any other discounts or offers. Please know that we appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback on your experience, as we value feedback from those who have helped us get to where we are today. I will absolutely pass along your feedback about these changes.

The Early Access Program is at capacity and the program is no longer accepting additional participants. Should we expand the program, participants will be invited based on a number of factors including car configuration, location and delivery date."

I replied with:

I appreciate the quick response, but this is not what Elon specifically stated would happen. He stated “If anyone already paid $3K, they should get $1K back”

Here is his tweet that says that: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1101738512406188032

Tesla has also stated that Elon can use his twitter to release official company information, so I feel that this should be honored.

And now i've just gotten this back from Tesla which is basically saying "you aren't getting anything":

The tweet you are referring to was for those that had purchased it in early March when first announced. Those who had already purchased the upgrade with delivery do not qualify for a refund. We thank you for being an early adopter of the Autopilot feature, and we apologize for any confusion as we have changed the feature structure and adjusted pricing. At this time, we are unable to make any changes retroactively to prices offered, or grant any other discounts, refunds, or offers. Again, thank you for taking the time to pass this feedback along.

I really think it's about time for some legal action on this front since Tesla has made 2x false claims to owners in my situation:

• Claim that FSD would cost more post-delivery was false and used to coerce buyers into paying more during initial purchase
• Offer to provide early-FSD buyers with access to the Early Access program which never occurred.

I know a lot of people will hate this....but who's with me besides @run-the-joules ? lol

Prepare to be eaten alive from Tesla/Elon hot heads with this post lol.

Well, I did complain about several similar issues with Tesla's pricing. I had to bite the bullet and go on. Thankfully it was not to the level of thousands of dollars. You should be happy that you only paid $3k for FSD (it is $6K now).

I do not know what you get in return with this purchase I did hear stories from Model S owners how bought FSD early on then they were ditched by Tesla, but not sure about the validity of them.

Class Action Suite over $3k? You be the judge of that, but if I were you, I will look into the contract of when I bought the car for the FSD program. If there is no statement about Tesla giving you access to the Early Access Program or upgrading your HW to the latest 3.0, then congrats my friend, you have been punk'd (by Elon Musk this time).

 

[kbecks13]

You should be happy that you only paid $3k for FSD (it is $6K now).

That's because now people get AP standard and not EAP (which i got) so it's not really apples to apples.

I will look into the contract of when I bought the car for the FSD program. If there is no statement about Tesla giving you access to the Early Access Program or upgrading your HW to the latest 3.0

Correct there isn't, but there was clear language on the website that said it would cost more later. Whether that is considered legally binding is certainly dubious at best, but its certainly not a good look for Tesla.

Prepare to be eaten alive from Tesla/Elon hot heads with this post lol.

Bring on the hate and disagree votes, i don't even care at this point lol I honestly cannot think of another product where customers were lied to like this.

 

[ewoodrick]

I'm pretty sure that you are going to need to show some sort of contract that indicates a breach.

Since there isn't anything, just go with what you have been told.

A one-way tweet does not represent a binding agreement.

 

[75Shappyt]

I paid 5K for EAP in 2017 for my car, then paid 2K for FSD in March 2019, in the hope I get upgrade to HW3, I paid 7K like everybody else then, now for both it's 6K, I think you got a fair deal, not great. but fair

 

[kbecks13]

A one-way tweet does not represent a binding agreement

For sure, but what makes this more interesting and complicated is how Elon uses his Twitter to disseminate official company information. They have stated this in documents filed with SEC and that's the main reason he got in trouble for saying "funding secured".

By his own choosing, his Twitter is not simply a place for his personal expression and instead is also a mouthpiece for Tesla as a company.

Can anyone provide examples of another product that EXPLICITLY stated it would cost more later but then ended up costing less to stoke additional sales? Or perhaps a company offering someone compensation for something via official company channels and then not doing so?

 

[ElectricLee]

I am willing to wait for FSD, Tesla will get there. I have FAITH! Now Tesla..... Take MY Money for the TRUCK. I am going to Starlink and saying BYE BYE to COMCAST.

 

[M109Rider]

My advice;
Just sell your car, and move to a gasoline car where they have absolutely no price changes (aside from varying prices from dealer to dealer at the time of purchase).

No OTA updates, so you don’t have to worry about access programs at all.

No involvement from the CEO, so you don’t have to worry about what’s going on with your car, they don’t tell you.

No changes to your cars capabilities after purchase, so you don’t have to worry about which upgrades piss you off.

Also, the regular auto makers only sell cars that stay the way they are the day they are sold, so there is no risk of them not meeting expectations, because none are set once the car is sold.

I’m not sure you should have bought a first gen car, from a new manufacturer, with new technology. These things tend to change and evolve. It’s not for everyone.

Tesla has missed on time lines for sure. He will get there. He’s also had to back out of some things that he tried to accomplish, but couldn’t.
Many here are willing to wait and work through these things. Some aren’t. Your choice.

You’ll be so much happier with a regular car I’m sure. You can put all the torture of owning this car behind you.

 

[75Shappyt]

M109 is right, some people are just kill joys, no matter how good something is, they try to find away to kill it, you can give them 100 dollar bills, and they would bitch they were wrinkled. just go with the future. and have FUN

 

[kbecks13]

I’m not sure you should have bought a first gen car, from a new manufacturer, with new technology. These things tend to change and evolve. It’s not for everyone.

Why does everyone say this? I'm not mad the pricing changed, that would be asburd. I am mad that they explicitly stated it would cost more as a method of coercing people into buying when that was not true.

They also said we would get a free software benefit which has not occured.

All i'm asking for is for Tesla to do what they said they would do, nothing more.

 

[Daniel in SD]

You've already gotten 50% more value out of FSD than people who paid $2k.

 

[Lakeshow24]

oh nooo another one of those "I feel ripped off" post. For me if it's not black and white on a contract then there is nothing you can do.

 

[kbecks13]

oh nooo another one of those "I feel ripped off" post. For me if it's not black and white on a contract then there is nothing you can do.

Like black and white saying it would cost more post delivery?

This is not the typical "omg price changed" complaining because I yell at those people too, this is Tesla explicitly not doing what they said they would do TWICE on this topic.

 

[Chris350]

I paid full price for EAP and FSD... I paid allot...

I did this back in July of 18...

It is what it is...

I've moved on.... I await my HW3 upgrade...

And I'm happy...

 

[Daniel in SD]

I don't think it's reasonable to expect a company to guarantee that the price of a product will never go down. When you bought the car the price of FSD after purchase was higher than what you paid. Did the wording actually say that it would always be higher?
A class action would probably get you almost nothing (look at the Autopilot class action lawsuit). It seems like getting a refund for something that still hasn't been delivered is a better option. You should look into the arbitration clause in your purchase agreement. People have gotten arbiters to force Tesla to replace their yellowing screens, for example.

 

[run-the-joules]

You've already gotten 50% more value out of FSD than people who paid $2k.

Schrodinger's Value: This math both does and does not check out.


People who paid $2k for FSD have gotten 0 value out of it, because they already had EAP and FSD doesn't add anything over EAP.

People who paid $3k for FSD have also gotten 0 value out of it.

However, 0 * 1.5 = 0, so technically we are getting 50% more value. We've also gotten 100 times less value, though

 

[kbecks13]

I don't think it's reasonable to expect a company to guarantee that the price of a product will never go down. When you bought the car the price of FSD after purchase was higher than what you paid. Did the wording actually say that it would always be higher?
A class action would probably get you almost nothing (look at the Autopilot class action lawsuit). It seems like getting a refund for something that still hasn't been delivered is a better option. You should look into the arbitration clause in your purchase agreement. People have gotten arbiters to force Tesla to replace their yellowing screens, for example.

Appreciate your comments (a bunch), I'm definitely worked up and pretty frustrated about this and am using this post to gauge community feeling. I realize there are the super strong defenders of Tesla, but this really does seem quite different than the typical price change complaints since they said it would cost more post delivery.

I think we can all agree they were insinuating it would always cost more if ordered post delivery to motivate people to buy it up front (and it got me!).

If price changes happen all the time, how come people who ordered FSD in March of 2019 were given refunds? They got what they paid for right?

Then when they offered early access I got my hopes up AGAIN of being made whole, but alas...

 

[run-the-joules]

who's with me besides @run-the-joules ? lol

Honestly I wouldn't bother. Class action lawsuits never benefit anyone but the lawyers.

My hope (of which I have little, but there's still a tiny spark of it) is just that when it comes time for me to buy another car, they do THE RIGHT THING and let those of us who have gotten nothing for our money with a FSD purchase get FSD for free on our next car.

I have essentially zero belief they're going to upgrade our computers or deliver any significant FSD-only features in the next 12-18 months.

 

[75Shappyt]

everything goes up, and so will FSD, by how much no one knows, and sometimes there are sales, I don't care, I'm having so much fun driving my car