Tesla is being sued in China over not delivering self-driving to HW3 cars
Owners in China are suing Tesla over not delivering the promised self-driving capability on vehicles equipped with Tesla’s older HW3 computer (manufactured from 2019 to 2023).
Tesla claimed that all vehicles built since 2016 have the hardware capable of achieving “full self-driving” (FSD). The company has been selling a software package called “Full Self-Driving” (FSD), which it claimed would deliver unsupervised level 4-5 self-driving capabilities, but it hasn’t.
When it comes to cars produced up until 2024, vehicles equipped with its HW3 computer, Tesla has admitted that the hardware won’t support unsupervised autonomous driving as promised.
CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla would offer retrofits, but owners have serious doubts due to the scale and complexity, and the fact that Musk first admitted the hardware wouldn’t support the promise in January, and Tesla hasn’t shared a word about plans to make things right since then.
This has led to a class action lawsuit in the US.
Now, Tesla owners in China are also turning to courts to force Tesla to make things right.
Earlier this year, Tesla launched its “Full Self-Driving” software in China, but the rollout has been less than stellar.
Shortly after Tesla launched FSD in China, the American automaker had to pause its rollout due to updated requirements from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Tesla was forced to change the name of its software package after authorities found it to be misleading.
Owners using FSD racked up thousands of dollars in fines due to FSD making mistakes
Finally, only owners of Tesla vehicles equipped with the HW4 computer (2024-) received the FSD software. Those who paid for FSD with prior vehicles only received limited features, and they are unsurprisingly unhappy.
Chinese blog My Drive reports (translated from Chinese):
One plaintiff revealed to the media that he spent 56,000 yuan in August 2019 to purchase a Tesla FSD feature equipped with HW3.0 hardware. He made the purchase partly because he was a Tesla fan and trusted Musk’s promise of achieving fully autonomous driving within two to three years. He also bought it because the salesperson had insider information about an imminent price increase.
The “insider information” likely refers to Tesla CEO Elon Musk claiming that Tesla’s FSD package price would continue to increase over time as the system gets better.
That turned out to be false. The price of the FSD packaged peaked at $15,000 in 2023 and has since fallen to $8,000:
Tesla is estimated to have over 1 million vehicles equipped with the HW3 computer in China.
Now, seven Tesla owners who purchased the FSD package have filed a lawsuit in the Daxing District People’s Court of Beijing, suing Tesla Motors Sales and Service (Beijing) Co., Ltd. on the grounds of sales contract disputes.
They claim that Tesla is not delivering what it promised, and they are asking to be refunded and be paid damages worth 3 times what they paid, which means Tesla could owe up to 256,000 yuan ($36,000 USD) to each person who purchased FSD, depending on when they bought it.
Electrek’s Take
I have been emphasizing this for a long time, but it is worth repeating: Tesla’s rollout and premature sales of autonomous driving features are a significant liability.
By the time this is all said and done, I believe that Tesla will have paid billions of dollars in reimbursements, settlements, and punitive awards. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in the tens of billions.
A good time to be a lawyer.
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First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Environment
Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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