Tesla has remotely disabled driver assistance features on a used Model S after it was sold to a customer, Jalopnik reports.
The features were enabled when the dealer bought the car, and they were advertised as part of the package when the car was sold to its owner.
It’s a peculiar situation that raises hard questions about the nature of over-the-air software updates as they relate to vehicles.
Tesla is claiming it can yank access to software features using OTA updates.
But because Tesla can update its vehicles remotely, the Model S and other Tesla vehicles can apparently lose key features.
Tesla has recent identified instances of customers being incorrectly configured for Autopilot versions that they did not pay for.
The value of the self-driving features that were supposed to remain active in the Model S comes out to about $8,000. »