In 2016, I laughed out loud when Elon promised Full Self-Driving.
After 15 years building ADAS perception, I knew it was impossible.
I was right. It was impossible: six breakthroughs didnโt exist yet.
So I turned another article (the one @elonmusk reposted๐) into a video๐ฅ๐
A guy bought a used Tesla Model 3 last year.
$28,000. 2021 model. 34,000 miles. Looked immaculate.
Private seller. Cash deal. Drove it home the same day.
Three weeks later he took it to a Tesla service center for a routine checkup.
The technician pulled up the vehicle history on his screen.
He looked at it for 30 seconds without saying anything.
Then turned the screen around.
The car had been in a significant collision 14 months earlier.
The battery had been replaced outside of Teslaโs certified network.
The Autopilot cameras had been recalibrated incorrectly after the repair.
And the previous owner had filed 2 insurance claims in 18 months of ownership.
None of it showed on the Carfax report he had checked before buying.
All of it was visible in Teslaโs own internal service history.
Which he had never thought to request.
โHow much did you pay for this car?โ
โ$28,000.โ
The technician looked at the screen again.
โThis car is worth $19,000 in its current condition.โ
He sat in the waiting room for a long time after that.
$9,000 overpaid.
On a car he had researched for 3 weeks.
On a car that had passed every check he knew to run.
On a car that had a clean Carfax.
His neighbor called him that evening.
His neighbor had bought 3 used Teslas over 6 years without ever making a mistake on any of them.
โWhat did you check before you bought it?โ
He listed everything.
Carfax. Test drive. Visual inspection. Service records from the seller. Battery percentage. Range estimate at full charge.
His neighbor was quiet for a moment.
โYou checked everything a regular used car buyer checks. You did not check any of the things specific to buying a used Tesla. They are completely different lists. And the Tesla-specific list is the only one that would have found what the technician just showed you.โ
He grabbed a notepad.
โWalk me through the Tesla-specific list.โ
His neighbor talked for 35 minutes.
Here is everything he said and exactly how to run every check before buying any used Tesla: ๐งต