re: Tesla cuts owner's range by 80 miles with software update, asks for $4.5K to restore it

Try to get a wrecked Tesla and rebuild it. Tesla doesn't allow it. Sure you can drive it around in limp mode, and maybe it's changed, but they disable most of what made it a Tesla.

Of course that may have changed as they gained common sense that people will want to rebuild and repair these cars. They do what they want with their software.