Once a friend of Elon Musk and a “crazy fan” of Tesla, the American businessman vowed not to buy another Tesla

Mr. Vivek Wadhwa used to be a ‘friend’ of Elon Musk and a ‘fan’ of Tesla. But now he doesn’t let emotions overwhelm reason.

Business Insider this week had the opportunity to interview Mr. Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur and well-known writer in the field of technology. The following article is rewritten from his point of view.

Elon Musk’s “Friend”

Elon Musk convinced me to buy a Tesla. I had the opportunity to meet the American billionaire in person about 10 years ago at Fox Studios, where I was in charge of interviewing him.

Before the interview, I sat down for a drink and asked the billionaire about the craziest idea he would ever come up with. Musk replied that he was “retiring on Mars” very seriously.

After this, I still maintain contact with Musk. When the New York Times repeatedly criticized Musk, I defended him on the Washington Post and called myself a “fanboy” of Tesla. On the contrary, Musk also buys my books and we also meet often.

I used to call Musk a friend, although I don’t know if he thinks of me as a friend. I used to call Musk the greatest inventor of his time and I still believe it, only now I see the critical points.

Thoughts on Tesla cars

When Tesla launched, I was one of the first people to buy a Model S. When it introduced the high-end Autopilot in 2016, I contacted Tesla but they said Autopilot usually can’t be upgraded to the high-end. Regardless, I sold my old car and bought a new car just to get access to this technology.

However, I began to doubt the company’s “self-driving” technology when the car itself crashed into the garage when using the call feature to the user.

Another time, while giving an interview to PBS News Hour , I had to brake hard when Autopilot mishandled. The entire incident was then filmed live, and it may have been the first Autopilot accident on record.

Since then, my wife and children have always advised not to use that feature anymore. Now, I only dare to use this technology on roads that are recognized by the system and … straight lines, or in other words, no different from normal Cruise Control.

“I feel like I’ve been cheated”

This self-driving software is really dangerous. I don’t think just cameras are enough to build a self-driving system. Elon Musk was wrong when he stopped using Autopilot radar to save costs, now it feels like the car doesn’t have enough data like the original to be able to give the correct treatment.

Musk certainly won’t admit that Autopilot is incomplete. I don’t think this technology will ever reach the level of what he has been drawing for many years.

After Autopilot, Tesla announced a “complete self-driving” system – Full-Self Driving (FSD). Users have to spend $ 15,000 just to use this technology, but cannot upgrade from Autopilot. Early Autopilot users like me were completely ignored by the company. Looking back on everything, I feel like I was cheated.

“I love Tesla cars but will never buy another new car from them”

I currently use 3 Tesla cars and they are also the only vehicle in the family. I love them for the “wheeled spaceship” experience they offer with their high speed, quietness and smoothness, and responsive driving experience.

However, surely the next car we buy will come from a different brand. There’s no way I’m buying a Tesla again. I have no problem with the car, but with the company it is different. I was promised an FSD upgrade when I bought a new car, but the company didn’t do it. Their service is not what they advertised.

In the first year of buying the car, I still had a lot of faith in Tesla. However, confidence in the company has dried up because nothing has improved. The car sometimes still has minor software upgrades, but compared to the time when I first got my hands on the car, it was not much different.

I’ve been waiting 6 years for my car to work on its own and now I know it’s never going to happen.