Anyone with success getting Tesla to undo their unjust SC01 -> SC04 that happened after buying second-hand?

[v.william]

Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone has been in the following situation: Purchased a pre-April 2017 Tesla S/X that had free unlimited supercharging (sc01) tied to the VIN # of the vehicle. Free supercharging confirmed to work before sale. Then after purchase and transfer to your account, Tesla turns off the free supercharging off (but the car never crossed Tesla's hands).

If so, did you have any luck getting Tesla to reverse their unjust change? My understanding is that Tesla is only allowed to turn that off when they acquire the car through trade-in/buyback or lease return, or if the previous owner took advantage of an incentive to have it turned off. But if the car had SC01 prior to sale and it was purchased either at a non-Tesla 3rd party dealership, or through private seller, then Tesla should not have turned it off.

TLDR; what recourse is there if Tesla switched your SC01 car to SC04 (pay per use supercharging) after purchasing second-hand (through non-Tesla dealership/private sale)? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ucmndd]

What is the lineage / ownership history of the car and how are you sure Tesla never owned it?

Are you also sure that none of the previous owners took Tesla up on the free supercharging transfer promos that have taken place this year?

Did you verify the actual option codes prior to purchasing the car? You say “SC01” but simply verifying the car charges doesn’t guarantee it.

When was the car built/delivered?

 

[dmurphy]

Exactly @ucmndd. I’d guess the prior owner took advantage of the free supercharging transfer promos that were going on this year.

Now all that said — if the car was at a 3rd party dealership, it very well may have crossed through Tesla’s hands at auction. In which case, there’s nothing to be done.

In either case though, I don’t think there’s any real recourse. Changes like that aren’t really random.

 

[Rocky_H]

If so, did you have any luck getting Tesla to reverse their unjust change?

I have seen a few threads here on this forum of people threatening Tesla and forcing them to correct that. I'll search a bit, but I'm not sure if I will be able to find them.

My understanding is that Tesla is only allowed to turn that off when they acquire the car through trade-in/buyback or lease return, or if the previous owner took advantage of an incentive to have it turned off. But if the car had SC01 prior to sale and it was purchased either at a non-Tesla 3rd party dealership, or through private seller, then Tesla should not have turned it off.

Yes, that is absolutely true. It is a legal obligation that it stays with the car forever, unless Tesla somehow gets given the right to pull it off with the specific reasons people have listed, like buying the car back or this contracted transfer deal.

In either case though, I don’t think there’s any real recourse. Changes like that aren’t really random.

No and Yes.
There is recourse, because Tesla is violating a legal obligation they have, and they WILL lose if this has to go to court. So I have seen some people here on the forum that just have to remind/threaten Tesla to get them to fix their mistake. You're right that it's not random, though, because they seem to be in the knee-jerk habit of hitting that "remove" button every time they do an ownership transfer, and there might be some motive to just see if they can get away with it as many times as they can if the person doesn't scream and fight them to make them undo that.

 

[NV Ray]

I have seen a few threads here on this forum of people threatening Tesla and forcing them to correct that. I'll search a bit, but I'm not sure if I will be able to find them.

Yes, that is absolutely true. It is a legal obligation that it stays with the car forever, unless Tesla somehow gets given the right to pull it off with the specific reasons people have listed, like buying the car back or this contracted transfer deal.

No and Yes.
There is recourse, because Tesla is violating a legal obligation they have, and they WILL lose if this has to go to court. So I have seen some people here on the forum that just have to remind/threaten Tesla to get them to fix their mistake. You're right that it's not random, though, because they seem to be in the knee-jerk habit of hitting that "remove" button every time they do an ownership transfer, and there might be some motive to just see if they can get away with it as many times as they can if the person doesn't scream and fight them to make them undo that.

As a FUSC4LIFE owner, I agree with you. But where is that legal obligation written?

 

[Rocky_H]

As a FUSC4LIFE owner, I agree with you. But where is that legal obligation written?

I went searching, and I found where I had answered someone about this in a previous thread, but then I noticed it was YOU who asked the question!! This was on April 25 of this year. So here is where you asked it, and the next comment was where I quoted the wording from the website that made this legal commitment and then after that, when there was some uncertainty by the public if this also applied to future resale to other owners, Tesla directory of North American sales confirmed it.

is tesla ending free unlimited supercharging?

my buddy found this article and now it made me curious if this affects those of us with unlimited charging in the car.\ anyone heard or seen this? https://www.benzinga.com/news/23/04/31953795/teslas-new-loyalty-program-offers-6-more-years-of-unlimited-supercharging-but-theres-a-catch

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[NV Ray]

I went searching, and I found where I had answered someone about this in a previous thread, but then I noticed it was YOU who asked the question!! This was on April 25 of this year. So here is where you asked it, and the next comment was where I quoted the wording from the website that made this legal commitment and then after that, when there was some uncertainty by the public if this also applied to future resale to other owners, Tesla directory of North American sales confirmed it.

is tesla ending free unlimited supercharging?

my buddy found this article and now it made me curious if this affects those of us with unlimited charging in the car.\ anyone heard or seen this? https://www.benzinga.com/news/23/04/31953795/teslas-new-loyalty-program-offers-6-more-years-of-unlimited-supercharging-but-theres-a-catch

teslamotorsclub.com

You're right that I asked before. Always good to revisit the topic. Thx.

 

[ucmndd]

No and Yes.
There is recourse, because Tesla is violating a legal obligation they have, and they WILL lose if this has to go to court.

Maybe.

As I pointed out in my post, there are many pertinent questions that OP has not answered and need clarification before presuming that anything nefarious has happened (and who is to blame if so).

 

[v.william]

What is the lineage / ownership history of the car and how are you sure Tesla never owned it?

Are you also sure that none of the previous owners took Tesla up on the free supercharging transfer promos that have taken place this year?

Did you verify the actual option codes prior to purchasing the car? You say “SC01” but simply verifying the car charges doesn’t guarantee it.

When was the car built/delivered?

J

 

[v.william]

Thank you for the responses thus far. Just wanted to clarify- I'm asking this as a buyer who has gotten this response at least two times now from different sellers of used 2016/2017 Teslas that were well within the timeframe of those that would have originally had free supercharging (ordered before January 15th, 2017 and Delivered before April 15th, 2017). Specifically, it was a 2016 model S with a battery/drivetrain warranty expiration date of December 21st, 2024. Another was a 2017 model S with warranty that expires January 11th, 2025. After asking sellers the same slew of questions, here are summaries of some responses:

Regarding lineage/ownership: 2 different sellers have stated they are the second owner of their vehicles (confirmed by CarFax). They bought vehicle from a non-Tesla dealership, which the dealership acquired as a trade-in (not purchased from auction) directly from the original owner. One seller claims that they had free supercharging after purchasing from the dealership, and it worked until they updated the vehicle's ownership to themself in the Tesla app (at which point, supercharging stopped working for free). Another seller states the previous owner stated the vehicle had free supercharging and mentioned nothing about taking advantage of incentives to have it removed; current owner purchased in 2019 and never bothered to check the supercharging (assumed it would work for free, but always charged at home out of convenience) until now that he's considering selling it (only to realize he never got it).

Regarding previous owners taking Tesla up on transfer/reward promo's: these seller's vehicles were purchased in 2019 and 2021. There is no way to confirm that the original owner didn't take up Tesla on their rewards to turn off sc01. Sounds like this would be the likely culprit point. But on good faith, one vehicle had free supercharging per the owner when they traded it into the dealership (per the dealership's notes on the vehicle), and the other one still had free supercharging up until the new owner registered it in their app.

Regarding the supercharging options codes: the options codes were not verified beforehand in either case as they were at dealerships who refused to create a Tesla account for the vehicle. Just inferring the codes based on good faith (vehicles were made in the right timeframe and definitely had it originally, only had 1 previous owner, never crossed hands with Tesla, and at least one of the owners reported their vehicle still had FUSC and made no mention of making deals with Tesla to turn it off).

I have tried to get each of the two sellers to reach out to Tesla. One of them did and said they tried to get it turned back on, and Tesla refused. The other seller agreed/was excited to contact Tesla about it, but never responded to me after that. This thread was intended to ask if others have personally had this experience (since I have not) in order to help others who should've still had free supercharging get it turned back on. Perhaps Tesla has never mistakenly turned off free supercharging unjustly (despite the slew of confusion and different answers from different Tesla representatives each time you call); my hope is that this thread reaches someone who personally had this experience and knows what to do to have it corrected.

 

[Rocky_H]

The methods I saw reported here on the forum did not involve asking nicely or taking Tesla's "no" answers in any way whatsoever. They were getting right to the point of being firm and threatening, pointing out that they were in violation of their legal requirements and were going to start having trouble if they didn't correct it.

 

[Raroia]

My understanding has been that any time the car is out of a direct lineage of private ownership SC01 is promptly revoked.
This, based on my limited research, includes any dealership (including non-Tesla dealerships) of any kind having ownership of the vehicle (not only passing though Tesla). This may be the missing link in your research.

I am not saying I agree with this approach from Tesla... Just sharing what I have found to be the case.

I have heard of reports of people buying an S from a (non-Tesla) dealer used and retaining SC01, but this does not appear to always be the case. I personally called many dealerships and showed them how to verify if it was indeed SC01 using a web browser inspection, never once did I find a single S of any year or trim that had SC01 at a (non-Tesla) dealership.

 

[v.william]

My understanding has been that any time the car is out of a direct lineage of private ownership SC01 is promptly revoked.
This, based on my limited research, includes any dealership (including non-Tesla dealerships) of any kind having ownership of the vehicle (not only passing though Tesla). This may be the missing link in your research.

I am not saying I agree with this approach from Tesla... Just sharing what I have found to be the case.

I have heard of reports of people buying an S from a (non-Tesla) dealer used and retaining SC01, but this does not appear to always be the case. I personally called many dealerships and showed them how to verify if it was indeed SC01 using a web browser inspection, never once did I find a single S of any year or trim that had SC01 at a (non-Tesla) dealership.

This is most definitely not the case.

I finally talked with a couple of really knowledgeable Tesla employees regarding this a few months ago and they confirmed that they are not supposed to turn off the free supercharging even when sold at third party dealerships because that feature is tied to the VIN of the vehicle. And since the vehicle is not in Tesla's possession, they do not have the right to turn it off. As a result of this conversation, my parents were reassured enough to purchase a 2016 model S from a local non-Tesla dealership, and they have had free supercharging ever since then without a problem (like most others). I also purchased my current Tesla model S using KeySavvy (which is technically a dealership even though it was a private sale), and never had sc01 removed.

The question is about what recourse owners have when Tesla does turn it off unjustly. Many Tesla representatives don't even know transferrable free supercharging existed, many of them who know about it have no idea when it was offered or when it ended, many of them don't know the difference between sc01 and sc05, and many of them will tell you blatantly wrong information. So it does not surprise me that under-informed employees may have mistakenly turned off free supercharging when they saw that it went through a 3rd party dealership sale (especially given that they are sometimes allowed to turn off FSD/EAP when it goes through 3rd party dealerships, but that's a whole other discussion). But we do know for a fact that the free supercharging SHOULD always stay with the vehicle provided it wasn't traded in by a prior owner for an incentive/reward offering, it never crossed Tesla's hands, and that the vehicle had it to begin with.

 

[Raroia]

Thanks for the clarification v.william, my apologies if I have propagated false information.

I should mention that I agree and my understanding was that it should stay with the car even through non Tesla-dealers. Just wanted to share my experience as a data point.

Additionally and to stay on topic with the OP’s question, I have read many threads where the new owner attempted to return the car to SC01 status to no avail. I do think some have even gone to small claims court possibly for this question, perhaps that is an avenue that can be explored?

 

[Rocky_H]

My understanding has been that any time the car is out of a direct lineage of private ownership SC01 is promptly revoked.
This, based on my limited research, includes any dealership (including non-Tesla dealerships) of any kind having ownership of the vehicle (not only passing though Tesla). This may be the missing link in your research.

my apologies if I have propagated false information.

I wouldn't exactly say false, because it's the distinction between "Does it happen?" or "Is it allowed to happen?" This very frequently is a situation that causes clueless Tesla employees to mistakenly remove it, so it happens often. But it is still iron-clad fact that they are not allowed to do that just because of a dealership situation.

 

[LikesToys]

I would have thought the sales agreement between the original purchaser of the car and Tesla would state whether the service (supercharging) is transferable or not. I am no lawyer but the service Tesla provides is between them and the purchaser not Tesla and a second purchaser unless the terms of the agreement state that supercharging is transferable. If it’s not stated - well I am not sure but I would have thought if there is no restriction of transfer, then it is. Read the fine print.

 

[Rocky_H]

I would have thought the sales agreement between the original purchaser of the car and Tesla would state whether the service (supercharging) is transferable or not.

Yes, it is. It always has a certain transferability status with it when it is new and sold to the first owner.

I am no lawyer but the service Tesla provides is between them and the purchaser not Tesla and a second purchaser unless the terms of the agreement state that supercharging is transferable.

Yes, that is true, but that sometimes dictates the status for the second owner. Tesla did have some car sales for periods of time where there was a one time only transfer of the free unlimited Supercharging only to a second owner, and then it ended for the third owner onward.

And there were the other really clear types, which were permanently transferrable to all future owners, or the not transferrable at all.

If it’s not stated - well I am not sure but I would have thought if there is no restriction of transfer, then it is. Read the fine print.

It is stated somehow. The car always has some kind of code attached to it at initial sale that sets it in motion of how it is to be handled going forward.

 

[v.william]

I would have thought the sales agreement between the original purchaser of the car and Tesla would state whether the service (supercharging) is transferable or not. I am no lawyer but the service Tesla provides is between them and the purchaser not Tesla and a second purchaser unless the terms of the agreement state that supercharging is transferable. If it’s not stated - well I am not sure but I would have thought if there is no restriction of transfer, then it is. Read the fine print.

Thanks for your response. Just to clarify the nature of the original question- my question regards vehicles that came with sc01 supercharging originally. If you're unfamiliar with the option code, sc01 tells you that the vehicle has free lifetime supercharging attached to the vin # of the vehicle (which means the supercharging is transferrable to any future owners). This is in contrast to sc05, which is free supercharging tied to the owner of the vehicle (and therefore does not transfer to the next owner). ALL Teslas (excluding the Roadster and certain 40 kWh battery packs or ones ineligible for supercharging network access) purchased before 1/15/2017 and manufactured/delivered before (roughly) April 15, 2017 originally came with sc01 free supercharging. (This is factual background information). However, there are instances in which Tesla can remove the free supercharging tied to one of these vehicles. As mentioned, this includes promotional periods when Tesla offered rewards for people to trade in or transfer the free supercharging off of these vehicles. This resulted in removal of free supercharging from the specified vehicle. So for example, a 2014 model S came with sc01 free supercharging (as did all other Tesla model S/X's made before the 2017 deadlines). Yet, the 4th owner may have chosen to transfer the free supercharging to a new vehicle during promotional period, and now decides to sell the 2014 model S which now no longer has free supercharging. The next owner does not get free supercharging. However, in contrast, this thread is about when Tesla turns off the sc01 free supercharging unjustly (ie, not as the result of a promotion or from Tesla taking the car back as a trade in or lease return). There are reportedly instances when Tesla has switched people's options codes from sc01 (transferrable FUSC) to sc05/sc04/sc06 (non-transferrable/pay-per-use/time-limited FSC). And the question of this thread is whether anyone has had experience with getting Tesla to undo the accidental/unjust option code change that resulted in the loss of their free supercharging (and therefore diminished resell value of their vehicle as well). Hope this clarifies!

 

[stopcrazypp]

Yes, it is. It always has a certain transferability status with it when it is new and sold to the first owner.

Yes, that is true, but that sometimes dictates the status for the second owner. Tesla did have some car sales for periods of time where there was a one time only transfer of the free unlimited Supercharging only to a second owner, and then it ended for the third owner onward.

And there were the other really clear types, which were permanently transferrable to all future owners, or the not transferrable at all.


It is stated somehow. The car always has some kind of code attached to it at initial sale that sets it in motion of how it is to be handled going forward.

But the ones being discussed now is specifically the case where Tesla only has a legal obligation to the original owner (SC01) and not to the secondary owner.

If you take it to court, you would probably have to sue the original owner (provided they promised you unlimited SC is included), then original owner sues Tesla for breach of contract. If you are third or later owner (this includes if a third party dealer was involved) this gets even more complicated.

 

[dmurphy]

ALL Teslas purchased before 1/15/2017 and manufactured/delivered before (roughly) April 15, 2017 all originally came with sc01 free supercharging. (This is factual background information).

Unfortunately your facts here …. Aren’t accurate.

There are absolutely vehicles manufactured before this date that didn’t have free Supercharging —- in fact, there are cars which did not have Supercharging access *at all*, paid or otherwise.

There’s another thread going around about one of those cars in particular.