In fairness I know people with "FSD" who went into it well aware that it's not really FSD and they still like it. That said, the marketing is clearly fraudulent.
This has always confused me. I knew FSD wasn't feasible, I knew Tesla was selling a lie. I also knew it was an incredible investment opportunity. I passed on it because I envisioned a bunch of lawsuits destroying the company.
Obviously, I was clearly wrong. While the stock is way down from peak it's clearly been an amazing investment for those that invested early. 2020/1/10 $31.88, 2021/11/30 $381.59 (peak I think) and around 122.81 at close Friday.
Normally, I can look back at an investment in mistake and the issues are obvious in hindsight. With Tesla, I still have no idea why the company still hasn't succumb to lawsuits.
Those updates will be cheaper than the 15k price. And for those who already opted in, it‘s a small expense to pay for the upgrade. Tesla can easily afford it.
To nitpick your metaphor further: A 2x4 plank starts off as 2" by 4", and it is shaved down to 1.5 x 3.5 side to straighten it out. A Tesla "FSD" car has never been in its life fully self driving.
Im one of those people, I have it and love testing it out, but I know it's not FSD, I really do get the big deal about the name. Anyone who buys it thinking it's really FSD is an idiot.
The difference between me and apparently everyone else in this forum is I do think TSLA will build a video model that is L4/L5 in the next few years. I live in a rural america and majority of my drives do not require interventions.
Musk said that by 2020 there would be a million robotaxis on the road. To say that anyone who bought it thinking that FSD wasn’t real is a very, very stupid statement.
Before I spend $10K+ on something, I do more research than listening to the claims of some CEO who has a history of being "optimistic" about timelines at a minimum.