C3 Report -- While Tesla made clear that “truly driverless cars are still a few years away” when it released its Autopilot feature for the Model S two months ago via a Version 7.0 software upgrade, some owners of cars with the capability didn’t get the message and did some stupid and dangerous things behind the wheel. These include almost causing collisions by overly relying on the semi-autonomous feature and pulling silly stunts such as shaving and eating breakfast while behind the wheel on the German autobahn and climbing into the back seat as a Model S barreled down a Dutch highway.

Because of this behavior Tesla is reportedly ready dial back some of Autopilot’s self-driving capabilities to keep less sensible Model S owners from winning the Darwin award – and in the process hindering the adoption of self-driving technology by the public and policymakers. The website Teslarati received what it said is a leak and supporting photos from “a tipster” that shows a Firmware 7.1 Autopilot update that creates certain restrictions to the system and noted that “the release has gone out to select beta testers.”

The new Autopilot update supposedly allows the system and its Autosteer feature to function only when a Model S is traveling below the posted speed limit. Regular cruise control can still operate at any speed. Teslarati also reported that that the alleged limits to Autopilot “has ignited a firestorm of criticism from owners,” and is enough to cause some Model S owners to threaten everything from lawsuits to refusal to download the update – or both.

A member of the Tesla Motors Club forum with the handle Cyberax said, “If there’s an update that removes a functionality that is useful for me, then I’m not going to install it. Moreover, I’ll sue Tesla if they update my car without asking me. This screenshot [on the Teslarati website] with 45 mph restriction is now a line in the sand for me.”