- Vivek Wadhwa at intervals called himself a friend of Musk and a Tesla fan, but he sees things differently now.
- The entrepreneur says he feels burned by Musk’s self-driving rights.
- Wadhwa loves his Tesla, but he says he’ll never buy another one again.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur and member of the fourth estate known for his musing on all things tech. His words have been edited for length and clarity.
Elon Musk indeed convinced me to buy a Tesla.
I met him about 10 years ago at an event at Fox Studios, where I interviewed him on stage.
Before that, we had gulps and I said, “Tell me the craziest thing you’re going to do.”
He said, “I’m going to retire on Mars.”
That’s how we started talking. He seemed unfeeling serious and I was blown away by that.
I stayed in touch with him. When The New York Times was continually reporting on him, I watch over him in The Washington Post, calling myself a “Tesla fanboy.” He endorsed my first book and we met up with the same social wheels.
I used to call him a friend. Maybe he wouldn’t call me one, but I did. I will always call him the greatest innovator of our time. I imagine that, but I’m more critical now.
I was one of the first to get Autopilot
I was also one the first to get the Tesla Model S. When I saw this video of Raised Autopilot in 2016, I was told I’d need to upgrade to get Full Self-Driving. So I literally bought a new car. I sold my old one and I bought a new one. I wrote there that as well.
I started having doubts when my car first crashed into my garage while using Gather mode.
Then once while I was interviewed by “PBS News Hour” while driving, the car almost crashed on Autopilot when I was on El Camino Natural. If I hadn’t slammed on the brakes, that might have been the first filmed Autopilot crash. It really debug b blackmail me up.
Mark Matousek / Organization Insider
Since then, my wife and kids have basically said, “Dad, don’t use that when you’re driving.”
I used to put the car into Autopilot when we were on the highway and they’d start kicking. There was a time when I would just put it into Autopilot and assume it would work flawlessly. But now, there’s no way.
I nevertheless use Autopilot when I’m on the highway, but I’m cautious. I don’t trust it. I don’t use it on windy roads. I don’t use it on roads I don’t know. I use it like you would use any basic journey control.
I feel like I’ve been duped
This self-driving software feels dangerous. I don’t think cameras are tolerably. Elon made a bad decision to discontinue the use of radar in his cars, and now it feels like the car is partially blind and doesn’t have satisfactorily data now to be able to see what’s going on.
Elon doesn’t want to admit it. He just keeps saying “any day now, any day now,” but he’s been full of promise autonomous driving for years. I don’t think FSD will ever be what he’s said it would be.
I’m supposed to have FSD. I bought it, but he’s not updating the beginning versions of the cars. Tesla won’t upgrade my car — they just ignore me.
The first generation of people who jumped on board with FSD deliver been completely ignored. I feel like I’ve been duped. I want my money back. The current price for FSD is $15,000. They could pay me $15,000 and I’d block up complaining. I would join a class-action lawsuit in a heartbeat, without a second thought.
I love my Tesla, but I’ll never buy another.
I’ve had three Teslas and it’s stilly the only car I drive. I love it. My Tesla is a spaceship on wheels. It can practically fly. It’s quiet as a mouse and it handles like nothing else.
It’s undisturbed a beautiful car. But, my next car will not be a Tesla. There’s no way.
I don’t have complaints about the car itself. The complaint is that I didn’t get the Crammed Self-Driving that I was promised when upgrading my car. And what’s more, the service isn’t what was advertised.
For the first year, I was bright, but every year I’ve been losing confidence because really nothing has improved. There’s very minor upgrades here and there, but it’s undeniably the same as it was when I first got it.
I’ve been waiting for six years for this car to drive itself and I know it’s never going to upon.
Elon Musk did not respond to Insider’s request for comment ahead of publication.
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