--- title: "Tesla Is Remotely Removing Autopilot Features From Used Cars" description: "A man bought a 2017 Tesla Model S in December last year from a third-party dealer — but in the end, he didn't quite get what he paid for." date: "2020-02-07" modified: "2020-02-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-remotely-removing-autopilot-features-used-cars" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "autopilot" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Is Remotely Removing Autopilot Features From Used Cars ![A man bought a 2017 Tesla Model S in December last year from a third-party dealer — but in the end, he didn't quite get what he paid for.]() *\Image: raneko/Victor Tangermann\* ## Buying Used A man bought a used 2017 Tesla Model S last year from a third-party dealer — but in the end, he didn't quite get what he paid for. The dealer had bought the vehicle directly from Tesla via auction in November. Three days later, the electric car company "audited" the vehicle — and then removed both Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self Driving Capabilities from the vehicle, options that add up to roughly $8,000 in value, [*Jalopnik* reports](). ## Company Line The owner reached out to the company and got an eyebrow-raising reply. "Your vehicle is one of the vehicles that was incorrectly configured for Autopilot," read a company statement, as quoted by *Jalopnik*. "We looked back at your purchase history and unfortunately Full-Self Driving was not a feature that you had paid for." ## Enhanced Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot feature adds a number of self-driving features, including Summon, a feature that allows drivers to "summon" their cars in parking lots. Full Self-Driving (FSD) Capability is an additional $,6000 option that promises to eventually add advanced autonomous functionality including autonomous city driving. It's a troubling vision of the experience of buying a used car when new features can be added — or removed — via remote software updates. *Jalopnik* has yet to receive a response from Tesla at press time. **READ MORE:** [Tesla Remotely Removes Autopilot Features From Customer's Used Tesla Without Any Notice]() \[*Jalopnik*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Elon Musk Admits He Worried “Nobody Would Buy” Tesla’s Cybertruck]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()