Musk pushes back against Tesla FSD beta customer criticism – TechCrunch

Elon Musk hasn’t taken kindly to recent criticism of the beta version of Tesla’s FSD software — an updated $15,000 version of the advanced driver assistance system that the CEO promises will one day provide full autonomous driving capabilities is coming soon.

When the Tesla owner publicly criticized the latest FSD software beta update, Musk clapped back via Twitter.

“Unfortunately, I have to say that I still have to step in to fix it #FSDBeta 10.69 in my area,” Tesla owner James Locke tweeted Tuesday. “There is still a lot of work ahead. I know this is probably not a popular opinion, but focusing on the ‘Chuck’ complex on the left preempts the needs of some more basic control issues.”

Lock also tweeted that FSD still struggles with right turns and other basic tasks. Musk recently announced about increasing the cost of FSD software from $12,000 to $15,000, starting Sept. 5, an increase that Locke said was “a little premature given the current challenges in many situations.” The customer wrote that he spent it over $32,000 multiple payment system.

“10.69 is in limited edition for a reason,” Musk replied. “Please don’t ask to be included in early betas and then complain.”

Tesla’s FSD, aside from apparently not handling right turns well, isn’t really a fully autonomous control system. It still requires drivers to be alert and ready to seize the vehicle at any moment. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of falsely advertising its ADAS systems, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration currently under investigation several accidents, some of them fatal, involving Tesla’s Autopilot system, a less-than-sophisticated driver assistance system.

Much depends on the success of Tesla’s FSD system, which Musk said will mean the difference between a company being “worth a lot of money or virtually nothing.” Musk said last month that the service was “ridiculously cheap” considering how good the service is, and that he expects to “solve the question of full self-driving” by the end of this year.

Musk has an active presence and following on Twitter, with a host of loyal responders ready to drag down anyone (including journalists) who dares to criticize him or Tesla. To prevent any backlash, Locke’s theme also included faith that Tesla would solve these problems.

“I just know I get some angry comments about my comments like this,” Locke tweeted. “I am honored to be a beta tester for this wonderful product.”

Locke did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for more information.