Tesla sold the dream of Full Self-Driving to Chinese consumers for as much as RMB 64,000 per vehicle. Years later, those buyers are still waiting for the car to actually drive itself.
Ten Tesla owners in China have filed a lawsuit in Beijing’s Daxing District People’s Court, alleging deceptive advertising and consumer fraud tied to the company’s Full Self-Driving package. The plaintiffs purchased FSD between 2019 and 2021, paying between RMB 56,000 and RMB 64,000 (roughly $7,800 to $8,900) based on what they say were promises from Tesla and its sales staff that fully autonomous driving was right around the corner.
What the owners are claiming
The total damages sought exceed RMB 3.95 million. Nine of the ten plaintiffs are seeking refunds plus triple damages on their FSD purchases specifically, a remedy available under Chinese consumer protection law for fraudulent commercial practices. The tenth plaintiff is going bigger, seeking the same triple-damages formula applied to the entire cost of the vehicle.
The core of the complaint is straightforward: Tesla marketed a feature called “Full Self-Driving” that, in practice, amounts to what the owners describe as “Intelligent Driving Assistance.” That gap between the name on the box and the product inside it is what the lawsuit hinges on.
