We all know that Tesla’s Autopilot isn’t good. Apparently, the law agrees as a German court has ordered the EV maker to buy a customer’s Model 3 back after they complained about Autopilot not functioning as it should, Electrek reports.
Since its rushed introduction in 2016, Tesla has been trying to pass Autopilot off as autonomous driving. It’s not. What started as a $US5,000 ($6,941) option in 2016 has now ballooned to a $US12,000 ($16,658) package and includes features like auto lane changing and a summon feature. However, many of those features are not available overseas due to European regulations, and buyers are realising that Autopilot isn’t what Tesla made it out to be.
The buyer in Germany filed a suit against Tesla, essentially saying the software for Autopilot wasn’t compatible with his vehicle. Many of the features in the package he purchased for €6,300 ($US6,983 ($9,694)) didn’t even work in his vehicle. From German news outlet Spiegel:
…assistance functions such as automatically overtaking slower vehicles on the freeway did not work. The steering behaviour at entrances and exits or motorway junctions is spongy and resembles that of a “drunk novice driver”. Traffic lights and stop signs are not recognised.
The lawyer for the plaintiff, who also claims to be a Tesla owner himself, says the case is groundbreaking and sets a precedent for Tesla to “vouch” for its software. Tesla of course disagrees with the ruling saying that any issues with the vehicle and its software could’ve been solved with a free repair or an update.
The court still didn’t buy it and ordered Tesla to refund the buyer the full purchase price of their Model 3: €69,000 or just over $US76,000 ($105,503). Tesla is appealing the decision. This all couldn’t have come at a worse time for Tesla, as the automaker plans to roll out beta testing of Autopilot in Europe.