Subtitle: FSD is sold as a life-saving technology — but Elon Musk only activates it if you pay him thousands. Even though the hardware is already installed, and the public already subsidized it.
Tesla markets Full Self-Driving (FSD) as a cutting-edge, life-saving technology. Elon Musk says it will be safer than human drivers. And every new Tesla comes with the hardware capable of running it: the cameras, the onboard computer, the wiring, even the steering actuators. It’s already there. It’s already paid for. And in many cases, taxpayers helped cover the cost.
But Musk won’t turn it on unless you pay him $12,000.
Which means every time a Tesla without FSD gets into a wreck, Musk has a simple excuse:
You didn’t pay enough.
It doesn’t matter that you paid for the hardware. It doesn’t matter that your driving data trains Tesla’s AI whether you pay for FSD or not. And it doesn’t matter that the cameras are always on, that the car is already tracking your every move, that there is no real marginal cost to “wiggle the steering wheel” and prevent an accident.
This isn’t about server costs or data limits. FSD is advertised as running on the car itself. If it truly worked as Musk claims, he could be saving lives at no extra cost to Tesla. Instead, he’s choosing to let people crash — unless they pay the ransom.
That’s not innovation. That’s extortion.
To understand how absurd this is, imagine Volvo installing airbags in every car — but refusing to activate them unless you pay a subscription. Or BMW charging you for brake lines that only work if you pay extra every month. We’d call that criminal negligence. With Tesla, it’s just another Tuesday.
Musk likes to say that Tesla exists to save lives and make the world better. But the data says otherwise. Teslas already have more fatal accidents per mile than the national average. Phantom braking, sudden acceleration, and misidentification of objects are constant complaints. FSD beta disengagements are frequent. And the so-called “Autopilot” has become notorious for failing in the very situations it was supposed to prevent.
If FSD worked, it would be immoral to withhold it. If it doesn’t work, it’s fraudulent to sell it.
And while Musk hoards billions in personal wealth, including over $55 billion from his Tesla pay package and hundreds of millions funneled into pro-Trump political causes, he refuses to give his own drivers a safety feature that supposedly works.
You already paid.
The hardware is already installed.
The cameras are already watching.
The system is already learning.
The only thing missing is Elon’s permission.
He doesn’t save lives unless you pay him. Even though you already did.
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