{"id":48,"date":"2025-07-22T22:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/?page_id=48"},"modified":"2025-07-23T19:40:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:40:34","slug":"home-page-tesla-arbitration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to arbitration involving Tesla, including FSD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to TeslaArbitration.com – Let me explain why this site exists.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

How Tesla\u2019s Broken Promise on Full Self-Driving Led Us to Arbitration \u2014 And a Refund<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In June 2021, my wife and I purchased our third Tesla\u2014a 2021 Model Y. Our first, a CPO 2013 Model S P85 purchased in 2016, thrilled us with its electric powertrain but lacked any autonomous features. Our second, a CPO 2016 Model S 90D bought in 2019, was dual motor and equipped with Autopilot 1.0 and other features not found on the earlier model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2021, we needed a car that sat higher than a Model S to accommodate my wife\u2019s mobility issues, so we focused on the Model Y. We were intrigued by Tesla\u2019s so-called \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d (FSD) Capability\u2014pitched as the future of autonomous driving. Elon Musk himself claimed in 2019 that cars with FSD would rise in value, unlike human-driven cars (https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/news\/28877\/price-of-future-tesla-cars-with-self-driving-tech-will-rise-significantly-ceo-elon-musk-tweets<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But FSD was more than hype for us. The promise of a car that could drive my wife around gave us hope that she\u2019d maintain independence as her motor skills declined. We paid an extra $10,000 for FSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Lawyer\u2019s Perspective<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve practiced law nearly 40 years (www.dobinlaw.com<\/a>), tried around 100 arbitrations (and handled far more than that), and served as an arbitrator myself. I don\u2019t sue over every slight. But shortly after delivery, it became obvious we paid ten grand for features Tesla would not or could not deliver. Given that FSD was about 15% of our car\u2019s purchase price, this was a material breach of contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most consumers are intimidated by Tesla\u2019s mandatory arbitration clause buried in its paperwork. Many lawyers won\u2019t even touch cases with mandatory arbitration. But as an experienced arbitration lawyer (and a lifelong \u201ccar guy\u201d), I welcomed the forum. An added bonus is that, under AAA\u2019s Consumer Rules, Tesla is required to pay all the costs of the arbitration and the arbitrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivery Day – but was it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When Tesla delivered our Model Y in September 2021, FSD was not active. Tesla later introduced a \u201cSafety Score\u201d system, requiring owners to prove they were \u201csafe\u201d drivers\u2014based on secret, undisclosed criteria\u2014before unlocking a limited FSD beta. This requirement was nowhere in any paperwork related to the purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, our insurance company, State Farm, had a telematics beacon that gave us high safety scores. Tesla\u2019s opaque system never deemed us worthy. Despite careful driving, FSD, even in beta form, stayed locked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, reports<\/a> showed that FSD\u2014even when unlocked\u2014still required driver intervention and had other issues. It was clear Tesla\u2019s \u201cFull Self-Driving\u201d was nowhere near autonomous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding insult, our Model Y\u2019s trade-in value dropped because Tesla disables FSD eligibility when a car is sold, or traded in, to any dealership or auction, instead of a Tesla store. (Tesla doesn’t have franchise dealerships. They have captive “stores”.) Tesla\u2019s practice not only denied us the feature we paid for but also reduced our car\u2019s resale value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla\u2019s \u201cRequired\u201d Settlement Demand \u2014 A Black Hole<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tesla\u2019s agreement required sending a written demand to resolutions@tesla.com<\/a> and waiting 60 days before filing arbitration. We complied with a detailed refund demand, but only received an automated reply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for contacting Tesla. If your concern is related to a legal matter, we will get in touch with you. For all other matters, please Contact Us here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one from Tesla ever contacted us. The requirement appeared designed to delay or discourage consumers rather than resolve disputes. Perhaps it fell into the void left when Tesla dismantled its media relations department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filing for Arbitration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After 60 days passed with no response, we filed a demand with the American Arbitration Association (AAA<\/a>), as Tesla\u2019s agreement required. Tesla initially ignored AAA\u2019s deadline to pay the arbitration fee, delaying the processing of the case\u2014a tactic that can discourage consumers who don\u2019t know their rights. We pressed on, filing a Notice of Readiness on May 31, 2024.  Tesla eventually retained outside counsel and engaged in the arbitration. Four months had already passed since the first email to Tesla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hearing and the Truth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Almost a year after filing, the evidentiary hearing was held via Zoom. Tesla produced one witness: a Field Technical Specialist who admitted he hadn\u2019t checked what equipment shipped with our car, hadn\u2019t reviewed our driving logs, and didn\u2019t know details about the FSD system installed on our car, if any. He hadn\u2019t spoken to any sales rep we dealt with or reviewed the contract\u2019s integration clause.

He was a service technician, not a lawyer or salesperson. But that\u2019s who Tesla brought to the hearing. At the end, I genuinely felt bad for him because Tesla set him up to be a human punching bag\u2014someone unprepared to answer key questions, forced to defend a system he clearly didn\u2019t understand. While I was examining him, a Tesla in-house lawyer sat silently, while the company\u2019s outside counsel tried to soften the blows of the witness\u2019 testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s right, Tesla had two lawyers on the arbitration Zoom to take on the defense of a $10,000 case.

I testified about the Safety Score, which Tesla never mentioned in the contract. Tesla\u2019s own production included a 24-page PDF of a webpage about the Safety Score\u2014equivalent to 22 feet of printed paper\u2014but the Tesla witness couldn\u2019t explain how it worked or where, when, or if, it was disclosed.

Critically, Tesla\u2019s purchase agreement contained a standard integration clause stating that only terms in the contract (or documents explicitly referenced) were binding. Tesla\u2019s attempt to rely on unreferenced webpages\u2014including some retrieved from the Wayback Machine (www.archive.org<\/a>)\u2014backfired. As any lawyer knows, integration clauses exist to exclude outside promises from controlling the contract.

Meanwhile, a January 2025 earnings call confirmed our suspicions: Elon Musk acknowledged that Hardware 3 (HW3), the computer in our Model Y, could not support the promised FSD features. Musk admitted upgrading HW3 would be \u201cpainful and difficult\u201d for Tesla. He expressed that he was somewhat relieved that a relatively small number of customers would need to be upgraded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Final Award<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On June 30, 2025, the arbitrator ruled Tesla breached the purchase agreement by failing to disclose the Safety Score prerequisite. The arbitrator wrote, \u201cthe evidence is persuasive that the feature was not functional, operational, or otherwise available,\u201d and ordered Tesla to refund $10,600 <\/a>(the $10,000 FSD option price plus tax) within seven days. Tesla also had to pay the AAA and arbitrator fees of $7,975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We have received and deposited the check. Tesla has satisfied the award.

Considering the likely cost of Tesla\u2019s outside counsel and internal time spent, the company probably spent far more than our refund defending a clearly indefensible practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The math doesn\u2019t math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons for Other Consumers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My situation is unique: I\u2019ve spent my career litigating and arbitrating. Most consumers won\u2019t know how to navigate this. But if you bought FSD, were blocked by Tesla\u2019s Safety Score, and lost value on trade-in, don\u2019t assume you\u2019re powerless. Write to resolutions@tesla.com<\/a> and demand a refund\u2014Tesla might have learned its lesson. Or you may get the same response that I did and still have to file an arbitration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to learn more about making a claim against Tesla<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to TeslaArbitration.com – Let me explain why this site exists. How Tesla\u2019s Broken Promise on Full Self-Driving Led Us to Arbitration \u2014 And a Refund In June 2021, my wife and I purchased our third Tesla\u2014a 2021 Model Y. Our first, a CPO 2013 Model S P85 purchased in 2016, thrilled us with its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-48","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76,"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48\/revisions\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teslaarbitration.com\/home-page-Tesla-Arbitration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}