Tesla sold the dream of Full Self-Driving to Chinese consumers for as much as RMB 64,000 per vehicle. Years later, those buyers are still waiting for the car to actually drive itself.
Ten Tesla owners in China have filed a lawsuit in Beijing’s Daxing District People’s Court, alleging deceptive advertising and consumer fraud tied to the company’s Full Self-Driving package. The plaintiffs purchased FSD between 2019 and 2021, paying between RMB 56,000 and RMB 64,000 (roughly $7,800 to $8,900) based on what they say were promises from Tesla and its sales staff that fully autonomous driving was right around the corner.
What the owners are claiming
The total damages sought exceed RMB 3.95 million. Nine of the ten plaintiffs are seeking refunds plus triple damages on their FSD purchases specifically, a remedy available under Chinese consumer protection law for fraudulent commercial practices. The tenth plaintiff is going bigger, seeking the same triple-damages formula applied to the entire cost of the vehicle.
The core of the complaint is straightforward: Tesla marketed a feature called “Full Self-Driving” that, in practice, amounts to what the owners describe as “Intelligent Driving Assistance.” That gap between the name on the box and the product inside it is what the lawsuit hinges on.
There’s also a hardware problem. The plaintiffs allege that the FSD feature, to the extent it functions at all, is restricted to vehicles running Tesla’s newer HW4 hardware. Their cars, purchased during the 2019 to 2021 window, came equipped with HW3 hardware, which Tesla used from 2019 through 2023.
The Beijing court is actively hearing the case.
A global pattern emerges
China isn’t an isolated front. In the US, a class action related to FSD was certified in 2025, consolidating the complaints of American buyers who feel they paid premium prices for vaporware. Similar claims have surfaced in Australia and Europe, all centered on the same basic grievance: Tesla charged thousands of dollars for a feature that doesn’t do what its name implies.
A series of small-claims court victories have already been won by individual Tesla owners seeking FSD refunds.
Tesla’s position, broadly speaking, is that FSD has been partially implemented and that additional features remain under development.
Why China matters more than other markets
China is Tesla’s second-largest market and a critical pillar of its growth strategy. Domestic EV makers like BYD, NIO, and XPeng are all pushing their own advanced driver-assistance systems in the same market.
The financial exposure from this particular case, at RMB 3.95 million, is essentially a rounding error on Tesla’s balance sheet. The real risk is precedent. If these ten owners succeed, every FSD purchaser in China who bought the package on similar promises has a roadmap to follow.
