South Korean Court Rejects Tesla Owners’ FSD Refund Lawsuit

A South Korean court on October 29 rejected a lawsuit by dozens of Tesla owners seeking full refunds for money paid for “Full Self-Driving” driver-assistance software, ruling that the automaker had not breached its contractual obligations. The Seoul Central District Court ruled against the 88 plaintiffs, Reuters reported, finding that the FSD option did not promise fully autonomous driving without human intervention and that Tesla had already provided some of the functions included in the package.

The owners, who filed the lawsuit in 2024, argued that Tesla Korea had been unable to implement the FSD system option in South Korea for more than eight years since it began selling it around March 2017. The court rejected their reading of FSD as a system capable of fully autonomous driving, known as Level 5 automation. It also found that Tesla’s obligation to deliver additional features depended on technological advances and regulatory approvals, and that buyers had been aware some functions could take considerable time to become available — and that delays caused by compliance with domestic and overseas regulations could not be held against Tesla.

The court also credited what Tesla had delivered: basic Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot functions, plus a recent software update that added traffic light and sign recognition, as well as city-driving capabilities, to older vehicles equipped with Hardware 3 computers. Tesla did not immediately comment. The ruling is a win for Tesla as it faces similar legal challenges in other countries over delays in delivering self-driving capabilities long promised by CEO Elon Musk — but it settles a contract question, not the technology question of when, or whether, full self-driving arrives.