Tesla Vehicles

Tesla charges thousands for features that don’t work — and when they fail, they refuse to take responsibility. In 2022 I paid $10,000 for Smart… Read more

Summon and FSD. Years later, Tesla now calls it “Dumb Summon” until "Actual Smart Summon" is available. Which is it? Smart Summon when you’re taking my money, or Dumb Summon now that you’ve admitted it doesn’t work?

When I used the feature in a wide, close to empty car park, my Tesla — under its own control — swerved hard left and hit a parked car that was parked DIRECTLY next to it. From where I stood, I could see it moving but had no reason to think it would clip the vehicle beside it until it actually did. That simple manoeuvre caused over $5,000 in damage to two cars. Tesla’s only response: “The sensors are working fine.” If the sensors were fine, why did the car still drive directly into a stationary object it could clearly see? Just imagine if that were a toddler or a child!

I reported it, it was investigated, and they found 'no fault' with the car. I then requested escalation to senior management and asked for an urgent callback. That was over two weeks ago. No one has even bothered to contact me, and they closed the service request.

And this isn’t the first failure. On my mother’s Tesla, Sentry Mode failed to capture two separate hit-and-run incidents. Despite the car being damaged and Sentry active, Tesla claimed “no issues found” and refused to act without third-party video TWICE. Meanwhile, Sentry drains huge amounts of power and adds to daily charging costs, yet it can’t be trusted to record major impacts. A basic dashcam does the job better.

Two cars, two serious failures, the same outcome: Tesla doesn’t stand behind its products. Their technology is unreliable, and their customer service is nonexistent.

If it's not safe, the technology shouldn't be implemented.

And now they want us to trust their Assisted Full Self-driving at the cost of $10k? Just IMAGINE what they WON'T do if there is an accident whilst that is engaged.

Great ideas, great cars (when they work), appalling service and care for their customers. I was on the hunt for a new performance Y, which is now off the table. I cannot support a company that only cares for its customers up until the cheque clears.

The much maligned Telsa has a driving feature few others have in Australia. Touted as autonomous driving features....well almost. One MUST be in full… Read more

control, ready to take action when necessary to avoid accident of injury or traffic fines......completely normal right? In the good ól US of A, it seems to be on the brink of full automation, with many reports of drivers reporting having not even touched the steering wheel in months of regular even cross-country travel. The car can drive you to your destination, drop you off, and go find a parking spot by itself. Alas, here Downunder, we have neither the data nor the Gov approval......yet. Things will change, but the question is when. So I took the opportunity to have a drive first hand, went online and booked a "drive along" where a Tesla staffer would show me the ropes, and accompany me. We drove from the Chatswood Showroom to Willoughby Park, only a few klms away. The car was very cautious, and very courteous....streets were quite narrow, and it was bin day.....the car waited patiently as the oncoming garbo did his rounds, and only when safe to do, the car moved forward and around.....perfect! We did a parallel park manoeuvre and the car shimmied its way to a perfect spot, and we returned to the office...my 30 min was up, Way to short for a real taste of the software. I politely asked If I could extend the test ride, and ....if I could take the car without the staffer....Yes, a bold request!! I quick check on the scheduling for that day, and a check with the boss, and off I went, with wife and sister in tow, I set the destination as Eastwood. Straightaway, 100m from the Tesla office, the car unexpectedly entered a roundabout infront of a vehicle already in the roundabout, after waiting for 3 vehicles prior.....personally I would've wait for this 4th. Anyway, this reinforced in my mind, that I really needed to pay attention at all times. FSD performed brilliantly, maybe a little slower than myself driving, but certainly safe...ultra safe. Seeing Eastwood is one of my regular shopping destinations, I wanted to see how the car would handle the local conditions. For those that know Sydney, we travelled vis Eastern Valley Way, along Boundary Rd, turned left onto Pac H'Way, and right into Fullers Rd/Delhi Rd, then onto Epping Rd. The car's navigation continued past Balaclava Rd, where I normally turn left, and elected to head towards Epping station. Iet it do it's thing. Nearing Epping Station, the car moved to the left turn only lane, but the mapping showed it was to enter High St, which is the first road over the rail bridge, however, I knew the correct path was to turn into the road BEFORE the rail bridge, Blaxland Rd, which incidentally, was the correct lane we were in. The lights turned green.....trucks and cars on my right, moved straight ahead, my Tesla attempted also to drive straight ahead (following the projected incorrect mapping), crossing unbroken lane markings and into traffic. I had to take immediate control....a critical intervention so to speak, otherwise, there would've been a fender-bender in my opinion. The staffer from Tesla mentioned that should an intervention be required, I should hold the microphone button, and record verbally , what had just happened. The cameras would fill in the rest. After rounding the corner, and entering Blaxland Rd, I re-engaged FSD, and the car returned us to the Tesla showroom, with only one comment.....driving through Chatswood, and I knew we'd have to turn right at Boundary Rd.....this turn requires one to get into the right hand lane, at least two blocks early, as it often get banked up......the car stayed in the centre lane until only 160m before the intersection, I manually pushed the turn signal, initiating an auto lane change. Back at the showroom I made my reports, FSD was like a learner driver, unfamiliar with certain situations, and expecting "late lane changes" would be normal, and got confused when Google maps (used by Tesla) conflicted with GPS/vision. I think this was a local incident, and FSD had never been at the intersection before. Here lies my main issue, FSD needs a lot more practice in Australia to be really useful. I've been told that log trips, FSD is a real boon, and if one travels a certain route regularly, like going to work and home, the car will learn all the nuances of that route, and will drive you better that what you could yourself....eventually. I've got a new Tesla Model y, and I love it, but do I want to spend $10100AUD on a system which, in Australia , has a lot of learning to do......There is an option to subscribe as a monthly price of $150, but this WILL rise in time, and the outright purchase option is going away real soon...end of Feb 2026?? Oh and one last thing, when purchasing, it payment must be made in one transaction..... Yep, I found out and wanted to buy it after the test ride, I was impressed, but alas, my credit card limit would not allow this purchase.

Good news, I bought it on Thursday night 12th Feb.

So yesterday, my Tesla drove me from my home, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, to Centennial Park, in the Eastern Suburbs with only two minor adjustments (non-critical interventions). It drove me along Boundary Road, Roseville, left at Pacific Highway, then right into Longueville Road. The mapping, (and voice navigation), indicated we were to turn left at Centennial Ave, Lane Cove, but the car's lane choice was incorrect, remaining in the left turn only lane heading towards Burns Bay Road. I had to prompt the car to move to the middle lane, by manually clicking the indicator stalk to merge right. The car merged safely by itself. Again, a similar issue when, after the Cross City Tunnel, we crossed the Anzac Bridge, and entered the CBD along Bathurst Street, it moved to the right-most lane, turned into Elizabeth Street, but needed to immediately turn left into Liverpool Street. There are two lanes turning right into Elizabeth Street, and the car should've remained in the left lane to turn right, in order to immediately turn left into Liverpool St. The remainder of the ride to The Column Gardens coffee shop was perfect, with the car parallel parking itself after I selected a spot. Note, my route preferences are to avoid tolls. In summary, I would rate it over 90%-95%, and it's early days. It was 100% safe, was a little slow at times,... I didn't know there were so many 30Kph, 40Kph and 50Kph zones in Sydney's suburban streets!!! If you "know" Sydney's streets, and know when and where to merge into appropriate lanes, then this software is fantastic. My insurance company, YOUI, also agreed to include cover for the software package. (an extra $56pa)

Make America Great Again More like make Tesla Great Again Nothing but issues sold within 3 months at 28 thousand loss bad cars should have bought BYD much better Show details