Had a very fast response from Tesla UK to day following my complaint a few days ago regarding non availability of parking functions.
One point to note on the delivery of Vision to replace the USS, its admitted that the update expected at the beginning of the new year has passed. therefore its 2003 and not as one replied which New Year.
The other point that vision acknowledgement does not state configuration that contains USS Sensors, which I don't recall but I don't care if the parking is reinstated using sensors, cameras or magic dust its not been delivered.
The other note is last paragraph that tesla can make any changes but in their opinion the changes has not affected my order..... well when I ordered the vehicle it had Park, Park Assist, Summon and Special Summons in December the vehicle was delivered without those functions therefore it defiantly affected my order.
Kept the rest as don't wish to share it at the moment.
Previous Expectations for the Arrival Time of Tesla Vision
We acknowledge that our previous estimated arrival time for Tesla Vision has now passed. The wider organisation was informed that the Tesla Vision update would arrive at the beginning of the year, hence these expectations were set among the ownership community. Sadly, as you are aware this period has passed, and we are still waiting on the Tesla Vision update to arrive. We appreciate this continues to disappoint and we are terribly sorry for this. It is of course, within our shared best interests to have Tesla Vision ready as soon as possible. Trust you will be notified as soon as any progress is made in this regard.
Deception
Please know we do not wish to deceive our customers or prospective customers in this regard. Every customer who has an order booked receives the Tesla Vision acknowledgement and their configuration does not state that the vehicle contains Ultra-Sonic Sensors.
Technically Advanced Vehicles
The Motor Vehicle Order Agreement which you agree to adhere to at the time of purchase it states, ‘As we are continuously improving our vehicles, we may make changes, including changes to the manufacturing technologies or materials applied to, or used for, any Vehicle components, to your Vehicle to the extent those do not, at our reasonable discretion, materially affect your order”. Therefore, any software changes or improvements made to your vehicle, are done so in line with the above agreed terms and any surrounding agreements that Tesla have with you in relation to your vehicle. Like any products, changes can be made at any time.
Like you, I paid for Park Assist as part of the base cost of the car and haven't got it, and I paid extra for Enhanced Autopilot consisting of Navigation on Autopilot, which I got, and Autopark, Summon and Smart Summon which I haven't got. (And then they dropped the price by £3k from my order price . . . ) I accept that I clicked the button acknowledging that these missing features would be available and, iirc, linking to the Tesla Vision article which said and still says:
"
For a
short period of time during this transition, Tesla Vision vehicles that are not equipped with USS will be delivered with some features temporarily limited or inactive, including:
- Park Assist: alerts you of surrounding objects when the vehicle is traveling <5 mph.
- Autopark: automatically maneuvers into parallel or perpendicular parking spaces.
- Summon: manually moves your vehicle forward or in reverse via the Tesla app.
- Smart Summon: navigates your vehicle to your location or location of your choice via the Tesla app.
In
the near future, once these features achieve performance parity to today’s vehicles,
they will be restored via a series of over-the-air software updates. All other available Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capability features will be active at delivery, depending on order configuration." (My emphasis).
Now, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, being an implementation of European legislation, is horribly convoluted and complex. but s9 says:
9Goods to be of satisfactory quality
(1)Every contract to supply goods is to be treated as including a term that
the quality of the goods is satisfactory.
(2)The quality of goods is satisfactory if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking account of—
(a)
any description of the goods,
(b)the price or other consideration for the goods (if relevant), and
(c)
all the other relevant circumstances (see subsection (5)).
(3)The quality of goods includes their state and condition; and the following aspects (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—
(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied;
(b)appearance and finish;
(c)freedom from minor defects;
(d)safety;
(e)durability.
(4)The term mentioned in subsection (1) does not cover anything which makes the quality of the goods unsatisfactory—
(a)which is specifically drawn to the consumer's attention before the contract is made,
(b)where the consumer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or
(c)in the case of a contract to supply goods by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.
(5)
The relevant circumstances mentioned in subsection (2)(c) include any public statement about the specific characteristics of the goods made by the trader, the producer or any representative of the trader or the producer..
(My emphasis again).
So I bought a car expecting that the features I had paid for would be made available after
a short period of time and
in the near future.
I concede that the contract was made when I confirmed the order on 29 October 2022 and nominally completed when I took delivery on 7 December 2022. As I write, it is 3 months and 6 days since I took delivery. I think it is at least arguable that the
short period of time has elapsed and the
near future is now in the past.
It seems to me that I am in a situation that is not really contemplated by the authors of the legislation.
The first line for the consumer is the short term right to reject. This is set out in s22:
"
(3)The time limit for exercising the short-term right to reject (unless subsection (4) applies) is the end of
30 days beginning with the first day after these have all happened—
(a)ownership or (in the case of a contract for the hire of goods, a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sales contract) possession of the goods has been transferred to the consumer,
(b)the goods have been delivered
, and
(c)where the contract requires the trader to install the goods or take other action to enable the consumer to use them, the trader has notified the consumer that the action has been taken.
I think that it is arguable that there is a right to reject the car under the short term right. There is a weaker argument that there is a right to repair or replacement.
Similar arguments can be made for s10 - Goods to be fit for a particular purpose and s11 - Goods to be as described.
Incidentally, the online handbook has been updated today. The section on Park Assist has had these words added to the start:
This feature may be temporarily limited or inactive until it is enabled with a future software update for vehicles manufactured as of approximately October 2022.
I am a somewhat retired and no longer practising qualified and academic lawyer. Unfortunately, I don't have the time just now to do a full legal opinion, but I am happy for anyone who wants to to take these views and show them to their solicitor or otherwise run with them.
Personally, I am inclined to hang on for now as returning the car would be too much of a pain in the backside, but there will be a limit to my patience.
