Ben Gawiser secured a $10,672.88 default judgment against Tesla after the company failed to deliver on its Full Self-Driving promises. Gawiser paid $10,000 for FSD software in 2021, expecting Level 5 autonomy that Tesla repeatedly claimed was imminent. Five years later, his Tesla remains at Level 2 capability, with the software failing to perform basic driving tasks.

Tesla never responded to Gawiser's small claims lawsuit in Texas, leading to the default judgment. The company attempted to delay payment by requesting a five-day extension, claiming they hadn't received notice of the hearing. Gawiser countered with Musk's own admission that HW3 vehicles would never achieve self-driving without hardware upgrades Tesla has not produced.

Gawiser has now filed a "writ of execution" to collect his judgment, potentially allowing Texas authorities to seize Tesla assets. While small claims cases don't set binding precedent, this victory adds to growing legal pressure on Tesla over its FSD promises. Class actions in multiple countries could result in billions in liability for the company's repeated unfulfilled autonomy claims.