Tesla Owner Wins $10K in Court Over FSD Lies
A Texas Tesla owner has won a small claims court judgment against Tesla over its Full Self-Driving software promises, and the company is now doing everything it can to avoid paying. The Tesla Full Self-Driving court ruling adds to a growing wave of legal pressure against the automaker over one of the most contentious product promises in automotive history.
Ben Gawiser bought a Tesla Model 3 in August 2021 and paid $10,000 for the Full Self-Driving software, which Tesla claimed would evolve into a Level 5 autonomy system capable of driving without human intervention. After nearly five years, the software remains at Level 2, requiring active driver supervision and intervention. Gawiser reported his car stopping in the middle of the road, failing to slow for a school zone, and repeatedly asking him to take over within minutes of activation.
Tesla Ignored the Lawsuit Until It Was Too Late
After being served with the lawsuit, Tesla did not respond, so a court date was set for a default judgment hearing. The court made a judgment in Gawiser’s favor for $10,672.88, covering the amount he paid for FSD, including taxes and court fees. After the default judgment filed on April 1, Tesla had three weeks to file a response and missed the April 22 deadline.
Tesla then filed a late extension request, claiming it never received notice of the hearing. Gawiser has since filed a writ of execution, which would allow Texas law enforcement to seize and sell enough of Tesla’s property to satisfy the judgment.
The Tesla Full Self-Driving court ruling sits within a much larger legal landscape. Tesla is currently facing up to $14.5 billion in lawsuits, with hundreds of additional non-fatal Autopilot and FSD crash cases working through the courts. Gawiser’s case, small as it may be, is a signal that individual owners are no longer willing to wait quietly for promises that may never arrive. Read the full breakdown at Electrek.
