Tesla disabling Autopilot features on used cars

Tesla is in hot water with US consumer organisations after owners of its used vehicles said the car-maker removed many of their car's options over-the-air.

According to car blog

According the Tesla, the $8000 ($A13,500) options were deleted because the original owner had bought them – not the second owner.

When the owner issued a complaint, Tesla said that the car in question was "incorrectly configured for Autopilot" but the additional features were now available – if the second owner began the process to purchase them through its website or app.

Another owner of a 2018 Tesla Model X P100D reported similar problems, saying Tesla deleted features following their purchase of the used car.

In this case, the purchase was through an official Tesla dealer and the $20,000 ($A33,500) Ludicrous Mode was removed after the new owner of the Model X splashed out $5000 ($A8400) extra on an upgrade to the 'Full Self Driving' mode.

Confusingly, when asked for comment, Tesla told the US car blog that both the Ludicrous Mode and Autopilot features are related to the VIN and remain with the vehicle, even if it is sold numerous times on the second-hand market.

It's not known whether Tesla changed is business model when it comes to over-the-air upgrades to cash-in on lucrative used-car sales, but consumer groups have highlighted that both cases raise confusion for buyers.