First came the self-driving dream. Then came the backlash.
For years, the EV maker has sold its cars with the promise that they would one day drive themselves. Last month, however, CEO Elon Musk dropped a bombshell when he told investors that some older Tesla vehicles will not be able to get unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) without a major upgrade.
The move sparked frustration and dismay among many longtime owners, some of whom have paid thousands of dollars and waited years for fully autonomous FSD.
Ben Gawiser, a director of software engineering at Oracle, took matters into his own hands. The tech executive sued Tesla in a Texas small claims court earlier this year over its failure to deliver unsupervised Full Self-Driving.
At a hearing on April 1, Gawiser was awarded $10,600 in a default judgment and $72.88 in court costs after Tesla failed to appear despite being notified, according to court records viewed by Business Insider.
Late last month, lawyers for Tesla filed a motion asking the court to extend the appeal deadline, saying the company was unaware of the hearing or the default judgment. The judge denied Tesla’s motion, according to court records.
Tesla did not respond to a Business Insider request for comment.
Gawiser, who bought his Tesla Model 3 Long Range in August 2021, told Business Insider he took legal action after becoming frustrated with the lack of communication from Tesla.
“I literally had zero communication from them, pretty much since I bought the car. It has been complete radio silence,” said Gawiser.
He said that Tesla “failed” to deliver on its FSD promises.”I should get my money back,” he added.
Gawiser paid an extra $10,000 for FSD when he bought his car five years ago. The Austin resident shopped around, test-driving other EVs like Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, but he said the promise of Tesla’s advanced technology — including FSD — swayed him.
“I really wanted the Tesla because I wanted the tech,” said Gawiser.
He started to think about taking action in January 2025, after Musk said in an earnings call that Tesla would likely have to upgrade older vehicles equipped with FSD.
After his attempts to reach out to the company went nowhere, Gawiser filed a suit against Tesla in the small claims court in Travis County, Texas, in January.
Since winning via a default judgment, Gawiser said he has sent a letter to lawyers representing Tesla, asking how the company intends to pay the judgment. He added that if the company refuses to pay, he intends to ask the court for a writ of execution, which, if granted, would allow him to seize assets from one of Tesla’s showrooms.
FSD promises
As far back as 2016, Tesla has been selling its cars with the promise that they have the necessary hardware to eventually drive themselves at a safety level “substantially greater” than a human driver.
However, Musk’s self-driving ambitions have taken longer than expected to come to fruition, and the hardware in older models hasn’t kept up.
Many Tesla owners who bought their cars before 2023 have had to settle for a more limited version of the company’s Full Self-Driving technology, which Tesla says allows its cars to drive themselves almost anywhere but requires human supervision.
Last month, Musk confirmed that Tesla vehicles with pre-2023 hardware would not be able to handle the unsupervised version of FSD, which Tesla has deployed in its robotaxi service in Texas but has not yet made available to customers.
The Tesla CEO said customers would be offered a discounted trade-in or a full overhaul of their car’s AI computer and cameras, which would require the company to set up “micro-factories” outside major cities.
Tesla has already been hit with several lawsuits in the US over what owners have described as misleading FSD advertising, and the company is also facing potential legal action from European customers after the supervised version of the software rolled out in the Netherlands in April.
Tesla executives have said they plan to release a “lite” version of the most recent FSD software update for older vehicle owners, expected in June, which will also be available internationally.
But for now, pre-2023 Tesla owners are stuck with a limited version of the company’s flagship software, with fully autonomous driving out of reach.
Gawiser said that he has largely stopped using FSD after a series of incidents involving the tech, including his Tesla failing to slow down in school zones and coming to a halt for no apparent reason.
The Oracle executive said that, having worked in the tech industry for years, he bought his Tesla with the knowledge that new technology can take a while to come to fruition — but said that didn’t excuse what he sees as Tesla’s and Musk’s failure to deliver.
“Your CEO should set a visionary goal for the company. But don’t put it in the contract with your customers,” Gawiser said.
“Most of the people who bought around the time that I bought and paid for full self-driving, I think they have no trust left,” he added.
Despite his dispute with the company, Gawiser said he had no intention of giving up his Model 3.
“I love the car. It’s a great car. It’s the best car that I’ve ever owned. And if it wasn’t made by Tesla, I would totally buy another one,” he said.
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