The launch of Tesla’s Autopilot tech suite was one of the highlights of the company’s October 9 press event, even if it did sort-of take a back seat to the introduction of the “D” vehicles – Model S sedans with all-wheel drive and two electric motors. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy about the “D and something else” launch – many Model S owners, particularly recent buyers, haven’t been shy about registering their disgust over the lack of Autopilot and all-wheel drive on their vehicles.
Though there’s nothing buyers can do about the fact that they ordered their vehicles ahead of the “D” launch, their main bone of contention is how they feel they were deliberately misled by Tesla. These customers claim they were convinced by Tesla sales representatives who told them there would be no self-driving options for the Model S, or advised them to buy a loaner model instead of actually ordering the Model S. Going forward, all Model S units will come with the sensors required to make Autopilot work, but this wasn’t the case for buyers who ordered the speedy EV prior to the introduction of AWD and Autopilot.
“If Tesla had said ‘it’s coming, but we can’t say exactly when,’ I would have waited,” fumed Los Angeles Tesla buyer Richard Wolpert in an interview with Mercury News. “With ‘traditional’ car companies we know there are new models every year, and we factor that into our decision. With Tesla there was no talk or disclosure there would be effectively a ‘new’ Model S, so we bought blind.” Wolpert’s petition on Change.org to have Tesla retrofit its Model S sedans with Autopilot has attracted over 500 digital signatures as of this morning.
While Irvine, Calif. customer Eric Brown was fortunate to get a Model S with Autopilot even if he ordered his car before the launch and got it on September 29, two days before Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “D and something else” tweet, he wasn’t happy either upon receiving a conventional front-wheel drive Model S. “The company is moving in the right direction–they just upset some of their customers with the timeframe on the release of the D,” said Brown.