'I've waited seven years!': Tesla owners in Europe demand $7,500 refund as full self-driving blocked for older vehicles

Full autonomous 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 growing pressure on Tesla to compensate buyers after a Dutch Model 3 owner took to

Mischa Sigtermans, self-confessed owner of one of the first Model 3 vehicles in the Netherlands, says he paid for full autonomous driving in 2019, when Tesla was willing to accept 6,800 euros (about $7,500) of his money on the promise that highly autonomous driving technology would be available at some point in the near future.

April 14, 2026

In 2019, when Sigtermans purchased the Model 3, Tesla publicly announced that “every Tesla is equipped with the hardware necessary in the future to make the vehicle fully autonomous 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 able to drive fully autonomously.

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

The class action claim already has some 2,939 verified participants, and many owners from other European countries are eager to join, knowing that their vehicles will likely not be compatible when FSD launches into broader European markets.

“The more people who sign up, the more weight this will have when we sit down with Tesla or go to court,” the class action lawsuit states.

Analysis: Legal pressure is increasing on Tesla

(Image credit: Tesla)

Alleged false advertising claims regarding autonomous driving are not just limited to Europe, as Electrek reports that there are currently an estimated $100 million to $500 million worth of class action lawsuits underway surrounding this technology.

This is a drop in the ocean compared to the $14.5 billion in lawsuits Electrek cites when you consider phantom braking, autopilot/FSD crashes, wage and hour violations, odometer tampering, range claim inflation, and many more cases that have been widely reported in recent years.

However, a staggering four million vehicles have been sold with the promise that they will have “all the necessary hardware” for fully autonomous driving, which is quickly turning out to be untrue.

Now, with a growing number of Europeans feeling disappointed, Tesla could have a new front to fight on. It’s not good timing as it plans to launch FSD into broader European markets.

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