- Elon Musk defended his critique of a driver who said Tesla has "much work to do" on FSD.
- Musk said he's open to feedback, but not public criticism of an early release of FSD.
Elon Musk doubled down on his criticism of a Tesla driver who pointed out some flaws in the carmarker's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software.
On Tuesday, a beta tester posted videos on Twitter showing instances where FSD struggled with right turns and lane changes and said Tesla has "much work to do" on the service. Musk, who has said in the past that he welcomes negative feedback, swiftly rebuked the driver on Twitter.
"Please do not ask to be included in early beta releases and then complain," Musk tweeted in response.
The Tesla driver did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.
The Tesla CEO's comment rapidly garnered backlash on Twitter, as other users questioned why Musk would criticize a driver who said he'd paid over $32,000 for the beta software. Others pointed to past statements Musk had made extolling the importance of seeking negative feedback.
Musk was quick to clarify that he is not looking for public feedback of the latest FSD release, which was rolled out earlier this week to a select group of beta testers.
"No. Let me make something clear: James contacted me directly to be included in *early* beta, which is only ~1000 cars, mostly employees," Musk tweeted later on Wednesday. "Early beta explicitly has issues or it would be rolled out widely, so publicly criticizing something he had asked for is wrong."
The billionaire then added that "criticism, public or private, is welcome after we go to wide beta," — meaning after the software is released to Tesla's over 100,000 FSD subscribers.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 24, 2022
Tesla uses FSD drivers to test the software in real time, while the system's AI collects data and learns from the driver's reactions to different scenarios on the road.
An FSD subscription costs $15,000 or $199 per month, but drivers need to meet specific criteria and be approved to be able to use the service as it is not fully autonomous. The add-on enables Teslas to automatically change lanes, enter and exit highways, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, and park, but Tesla has told drivers that the system does not replace a licensed driver and instructs them to keep their hands on the wheel and be prepared to take over when the system is running.
Until last fall, Tesla required FSD beta testers to fill out non-disclosure agreements. At the time, Musk joked that Tesla drivers "People don't seem to listen to me" because they share lots of videos showcasing the tech.
The Tesla driver's complaint about the software comes after FSD has faced a slew of criticism. Earlier this month, a California tech CEO started an ad campaign showing a car said to be running the software crashing into a child-sized mannequin. The video quickly sparked backlash and copycat tests attempting to disprove it.