"Tesla FSD Updates Itself"...Controversy Erupts Ahead of Refund Lawsuit Verdict

"FSD Lite Installed Despite Blocking Updates"

Lawsuit Participants Make Claims

FSD Option Refund Lawsuit

Seoul Central District Court to Rule on October 29

As the verdict for the lawsuit seeking a refund for Tesla's driver assistance system, 'Full Self-Driving (FSD),' approaches, controversy has erupted over vehicle updates. The plaintiffs have claimed that FSD Lite was installed on their vehicles even though they had blocked automatic updates. The plaintiffs are closely watching whether FSD Lite will be recognized as a “fulfillment” of the original FSD purchase contract.

According to legal and automotive industry sources on September 11, some owners participating in the FSD refund lawsuit alleged that FSD Lite was installed on their vehicles even though they had disabled automatic updates. FSD Lite is a simplified version that allows FSD to run on older vehicles. It was officially released in South Korea on July 10.

One plaintiff recently posted on an online community, claiming that although the automatic update setting was turned off, FSD Lite was downloaded and installed on the vehicle. This owner explained that they had disabled automatic updates out of concern that Tesla might use any FSD-related update as grounds for fulfilling the original contract.

However, the owner asserted that the Tesla app displayed the installation time for an update that they had not scheduled, and at that time, the vehicle was being driven. The owner further stated that FSD Lite was subsequently installed, and upon contacting the Tesla Korea customer service center, they were informed that even if automatic updates are disabled, updates may still be forcibly applied during nighttime hours. Among the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit, there have previously been claims that the distribution of FSD Lite seemed to be excessively concentrated on those suing Tesla.

Tesla has officially launched Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 Lite in South Korea. Tesla Korea SNS

The FSD Lite controversy is closely related to a key issue in the ongoing refund lawsuit. The Seoul Central District Court is currently handling a case in which Tesla FSD purchasers are seeking the refund of option fees. The plaintiffs claim they purchased FSD about nine years ago but have not received its key features, and are therefore seeking to terminate the contract and recover their payment. Their argument is that if they are unable to use this option until the vehicle is scrapped or sold as a used car, it constitutes nonperformance or incomplete performance of the contract.

Tesla has countered that some features have already been delivered and that the timing of availability may differ by country depending on regulatory approval, arguing that this does not constitute a contract breach. There is also a possibility that Tesla may use the provision of FSD Lite as evidence of contract fulfillment.

Hwang Yoonkoo, attorney at Dongin Law Offices, stated that since FSD Lite was provided after the contract was canceled and its features differ from those originally promised, it does not affect the contract termination. The plaintiffs have included this information in documents submitted to the court. The verdict is scheduled for October 29. Whether FSD Lite will be recognized as fulfillment of the original purchase contract is considered a key issue.

Attorney Hwang commented, "Since the Lite version was released after the contract was canceled, even if Tesla claims they fulfilled the contract, it does not affect the validity of the contract termination."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.