In brief: Elon Musk has long pushed Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology as one of the company's big selling points. But according to a new survey, the FSD system not only fails to attract buyers, it actually puts people off purchasing a Tesla.
According to the Slingshot Strategies' Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report for August, which surveyed more than 8,000 Americans, only 14% of consumers say FSD makes them more likely to buy a Tesla vehicle. Around a third of participants (35%) said it makes them less likely to do so, while 51% said it makes no difference.
The survey also showed that 48% of people strongly or somewhat believe FSD technology should be illegal, as opposed to the 35% who somewhat or strongly believe it should be legal. The rest weren't sure.
Almost half the participants believing FSD should be illegal aligns with more consumers stating that car companies should be held responsible for accidents involving self-driving or driving-assistance systems. Two-thirds of consumers say that Tesla should compensate victims of crashes involving these features, and 44% believe FSD was entirely to blame in accidents involving the tech – of which there are many.
While FSD is a paid upgrade, every Tesla comes with Autopilot drive assistance as standard. It's limited to adaptive cruise control and autosteer, and drivers must keep both hands on the wheel while it's active, which is why 49% of consumers say the "Autopilot" name is misleading and doesn't accurately reflect its capabilities.
Tesla started phasing out radar and ultrasonic sensors in its vehicles in 2021, transitioning entirely to a camera-only system. But only 3% of survey participants support this model, with 70% saying that autonomous cars should have both LiDAR and cameras. 71% want the government to mandate both in these vehicles.
Tesla is currently embroiled in a personal injury trial over a fatal Autopilot crash that happened in 2019. Lawyers for the plaintiffs claim that Musk and Tesla made false statements to customers, shareholders, and the public about the safety capabilities of Autopilot, thereby increasing drivers' reliance on the system. Plaintiffs have asked the jury to award damages of around $345 million.
The survey is the latest piece of bad news for Tesla. The company's sales have crashed this year, especially in Europe, following Musk's stint in his role as head of DOGE. It will also have to deal with the elimination of the $7,500 tax credit for EVs, which is likely to affect US sales.