Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

Musk Slams Customer for 'Publicly Criticizing' Tesla: 'Do Not Ask to Be Included ... and Then Complain' The Tesla founder took to Twitter to sound off with one less than impressed customer.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

Elon Musk is often riled up on Twitter, usually clapping back at negative comments or naysayers with memes or sarcastic riffs.

But when it comes to insulting the technology and work he's done on his beloved Tesla vehicles, he won't find anything funny about that.

One unhappy Tesla owner, James Locke, took to Twitter to lament how the beta version of Tesla's long-awaited Full Self Driving software (FSD) was unreliable and still had "lots of work to go."

Locke went on to say in follow-up tweets that the software was having trouble getting into right turn lanes and called the recent price hikes on the software "premature" given the issues he observed.

Musk clapped back upon reading Locke's less-than-stellar review of the software explaining that it was in "limited release for a reason" before publicly reprimanding him.

"Please do not ask to be included in early beta releases and then complain," Musk said bluntly.

But it didn't stop there. Another one of Musk's followers asked him if he had snapped at Locke because he was being unappreciative of Musk's hard work and urged him to apologize, but Musk wasn't having it.

"No. Let me make something clear: James contacted me directly to be included in *early* beta, which is only ~1000 cars, mostly employees," Musk stated. "Early beta explicitly has issues or it would be rolled out widely, so publicly criticizing something he had asked for is wrong."

He doubled down on another tweet shortly thereafter.

"Criticism, public or private, is welcome after we go to wide beta," he wrote. "Early beta has many known issues. The reason we release it to a limited number of cars is to discover unknown issues."

Earlier this week, Musk announced that Tesla's FSD software would be increasing in price, up to $15,000 (up from $12,000) in North American markets.

The price hikes will go into effect for any order made after September 5, while the original price will be honored for orders made before the 5th, but will be deprioritized, and thus delivered at a later date.

It's estimated that about 100,0000 drivers are currently enrolled in the FSD 10.9 beta technology.

Tesla's 3-for-1 stock split also went into effect this week, with shareholders receiving two additional stock dividends for each share that they already own, the second time in history that the electric vehicle company has done this.

As of late Thursday morning, Tesla was up 24% in a one-year period.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Growing a Business

The Best Way to Run a Business Meeting

All too often, meetings run longer than they should and fail to keep attendees engaged. Here's how to run a meeting the right way.

Business Solutions

Cut Costs, Not Features with This Microsoft Bundle Deal

You get Office, Windows, Project, and Visio for $72.

Business News

You Have One Month Left to Buy a House, According to Barbara Corcoran. Here's Why.

"If you are planning on waiting a year and seeing where interest rates go, you are out of your mind," Corcoran said.

Data & Recovery

Protect Your Business Data Without Sacrificing Privacy With Koofr Cloud Storage on Sale

Get 1TB of lifetime storage for your business with no recurring fees or data tracking.

Leadership

4 Bold Leadership Moves Every Successful CEO Uses to Navigate Change

Ready to turn fear into fuel and lead with confidence? In this article, I share how leaving my corporate job without a plan led me to build a thriving business. Learn four bold strategies to embrace uncertainty and turn challenges into opportunities for growth today.