• Full Self-Driving was recently legalized in the Netherlands
• Furious Dutch Model 3 owner feels many are being left behind
• Thousands of participants have joined a growing petition against Tesla

There is mounting pressure on Tesla to compensate buyers after a dutch Model 3 owner took to X to vent his anger at the company for failing to recognize those customers that had already paid for Full Self-Driving (FSD), but can’t use it due to owning older hardware.

Mischa Sigtermans, a self-confessed owner of one of the first Model 3 vehicles in the Netherlands, says he paid for Full Self-Driving back in 2019, when Tesla was prepared to take €6,800 (around $7,500) of his money on the promise that highly autonomous driving technology would be available at some point in the near future.

“I waited 7 years. SEVEN years!” the angry owner wrote on X, followed by a link to a petition he has started that is attempting to file a collective claim against Tesla.

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Back in 2019, when Sigtermans purchased the Model 3, Tesla publicly advertised that “every Tesla is equipped with the hardware needed in the future to make the vehicle fully self-driving in almost all circumstances”.

Seven years later and, despite the technology finally being approved by the Dutch vehicle authority RDW, only those vehicles running the latest AI4 chip will be capable of Full Self-Driving.

What's more, Elon Musk just announced an AI5 chip that is said to be far more powerful than existing technology and will eventually go on to underpin future iterations of FSD.

The collective claim already has some 2,939 verified participants, with many owners in other European countries eager to join, as they know that their vehicles likely won’t be compatible if and when FSD rolls out to wider European markets.

“The more people sign up, the more weight this carries when we sit down with Tesla. Or stand up in court,” the collective claim states.

Analysis: Legal pressure is mounting on Tesla

The alleged false advertising claims with regards to Full Self-Driving aren’t just limited to Europe, as Electrek reports that there is an estimated $100m-$500m in class action lawsuits currently ongoing surrounding the technology.

This is a drop in the ocean compared to the $14.5 billion in lawsuits that Electrek cites if you consider the phantom braking, Autopilot/FSD crashes, wages and hours violations, odometer manipulation, range claims inflation and many more cases that have been widely reported in recent years.

However, a staggering four million vehicles have been sold on the promise that they have “all hardware needed” for Full Self-Driving, which is rapidly turning out not to be true.

Now, with a growing number of Europeans feeling let down, Tesla might have a new front to be fighting on. Not great timing, as it plans to roll FSD out to the wider European markets.

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Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.

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