Best Financing for FSD Post-Purchase

[RickyFish89]

I've been subscribed to FSD for 2-3 months now and I'm starting to think about purchasing it. There's a few parts of it that I genuinely like and I could see myself subbing for a while as a result. Certainly not 5 years or whatever the break-even point is, but buying would also slightly increase the value of the car for resale and lock in any potential component upgrades that may be nice in the future.

So anyway, all that said, spending 12k upfront is certainly a harder pill to swallow than a few hundred a month like I have been the past couple months. The two options I immediately know of would be to buy on my credit card and spend an exorbitant amount of interest over the next few years, or to sell some stocks and pay for it outright and then 'pay myself back' over a few years, likely losing an exorbitant amount of interest over the next few years as I slowly re-invest that money. I'm not the biggest fan of either, so before I make a bad decision (well, on top of the questionable decision of buying FSD full-stop) I wanted to check in here to see if anyone had suggestions of lower-interest financing options for the purchase.

 

[OncomingStorm]

I've been subscribed to FSD for 2-3 months now and I'm starting to think about purchasing it. There's a few parts of it that I genuinely like and I could see myself subbing for a while as a result. Certainly not 5 years or whatever the break-even point is, but buying would also slightly increase the value of the car for resale and lock in any potential component upgrades that may be nice in the future.

So anyway, all that said, spending 12k upfront is certainly a harder pill to swallow than a few hundred a month like I have been the past couple months. The two options I immediately know of would be to buy on my credit card and spend an exorbitant amount of interest over the next few years, or to sell some stocks and pay for it outright and then 'pay myself back' over a few years, likely losing an exorbitant amount of interest over the next few years as I slowly re-invest that money. I'm not the biggest fan of either, so before I make a bad decision (well, on top of the questionable decision of buying FSD full-stop) I wanted to check in here to see if anyone had suggestions of lower-interest financing options for the purchase.

before putting it on a CC i would look into other financing options, even a personal loan would likely have a lower interest rate as long as your credit is good, could even put the car up as colateral if they require it (most dont these days). go talk to your bank, 12k is a pretty small loan the requirements should be fairly low.

 

[TresLA]

Don’t “finance” it on a CC full stop. The way repayment and interest works on those is ridiculously expensive.

I’m all for purchasing FSD Capability package, as we’ve done so and plan to do so again for our next Tesla soon. If, for some reason, you can’t get a more reasonable financing option (e.g. - personal loan mentioned above, borrow from family/friends, sell stock to cover it now, etc.), that means you can’t afford it. Start saving up for it.

 

[RickyFish89]

thanks. I looked at personal loans and see a decent one that will only cost an extra ~$600 in interest over 3 years which isn't bad at all. Certainly better than the lost interest from selling some stocks and obviously the 20+% interest from my actual CC was never a real option. I've just never had/wanted to borrow money before that wasn't going to be immediately paid off so I wasn't aware of the best options for doing so. PL is totally fine, easier than any equity loans and a fair rate.

 

[MY1stEV]

I would also check with your insurance company. You're considering purchasing a $12k option that is not reflected in your current coverage. If you were to total your car, you could end up with $12k financed and get nothing for it.

 

[EVNow]

Certainly not 5 years or whatever the break-even point is, but buying would also slightly increase the value of the car for resale and lock in any potential component upgrades that may be nice in the future.

How old is your car ? What is the int rate you are getting on the personal loan ?

 

[RickyFish89]

How old is your car ? What is the int rate you are getting on the personal loan ?

just about 1 year, got it late Feb 21. I plan on holding on to it for a while, it seems to be a somewhat rare breed of '21 with matrix lights, passenger lumbar, radar (though obv not relevant when buying fsd), and heated steering wheel. The rate was somewhere in the 4s. I would find it acceptable but I'll have to see what my wife thinks. We're generally a "no-debt" household so I'm sure she will encourage me to simply cancel the sub, save up, and buy it outright in a few years without the loan; but that seems a bit silly to me when prices can change and that's losing 3 years of actually using the features on principle of just not incurring debt. On the other hand if I cancel the sub and save for a while then decide I don't care for it, that saves me quite a bit of money so she's not entirely wrong.

 

[EVNow]

just about 1 year, got it late Feb 21. I plan on holding on to it for a while, it seems to be a somewhat rare breed of '21 with matrix lights, passenger lumbar, radar (though obv not relevant when buying fsd), and heated steering wheel. The rate was somewhere in the 4s. I would find it acceptable but I'll have to see what my wife thinks. We're generally a "no-debt" household so I'm sure she will encourage me to simply cancel the sub, save up, and buy it outright in a few years without the loan; but that seems a bit silly to me when prices can change and that's losing 3 years of actually using the features on principle of just not incurring debt. On the other hand if I cancel the sub and save for a while then decide I don't care for it, that saves me quite a bit of money so she's not entirely wrong.

Would your calculations change if
- there will be no hardware updates (a lot more expensive for Tesla so they will try their best to get FSD working to an extent they can claim they fulfilled obligations with current hardware)
- since you want to keep the car for a while, you may not get much for it in 5 to 6 years, since there will be better hardware and FSD would work better on that

 

[bedoig]

On the other hand if I cancel the sub and save for a while then decide I don't care for it, that saves me quite a bit of money so she's not entirely wrong.

I think this is a good take on the situation. I'd wait a year and see.

I think the other posters have covered the practical aspects of what you were asking. I think most of the long timers (not including myself in that group - I only purchased FSD 3 years ago ) would advise against purchasing at all unless you really think what you get *today* is worth $12k. It's still extremely uncertain that current hardware will allow for the dream Tesla is selling. I bought FSD for $2k (after EAP at $5k - which was a useful addition) and at that price it was worth the gamble to follow along. I can say with 100% certainty that I, personally, would never pay $12k for what FSD adds on top of included AP.

 

[RickyFish89]

Would your calculations change if
- there will be no hardware updates (a lot more expensive for Tesla so they will try their best to get FSD working to an extent they can claim they fulfilled obligations with current hardware)
- since you want to keep the car for a while, you may not get much for it in 5 to 6 years, since there will be better hardware and FSD would work better on that

Probably not... The first point is my expectation. They've sold a LOT of cars since HW3 came out, so I fully expect them to get to a point where they give up on it and call it FSD1 and claim it's what users paid for even though it's still just L2 assist. Maybe some very early adopters will get compensation if language was different on what "full" self driving was at the time, but I definitely think anyone in the past couple years is stuck with what they've got and there will be a FSD2 with new hardware in the future, like AP1/2/etc.
For resale, I'm a bit of two minds about it. Either I sell in the next few years to change cars and it is worth ~something, or I keep the car forever, hand it down to my kid when he is driving age, and feel like I (hopefully) really got my money's worth on the few features that I actually enjoy today (stop/go at traffic lights, signal to change lanes, NoA, and >+5mph AP)

My dream scenario would be that they break it up a bit and I can buy these features I like without summon, nav on city streets, auto lange change, turns etc. Even on FSD beta now I either turn that stuff off or disengage at nearly every intersection/roundabout. Even if I think they had it working perfectly, I don't know that I would feel the need to have my car complete the turn for me while I still had to have my hands on the wheel. But I don't expect that they ever will let me purchase just the options I want.. I do expect some of those features to trickle down to 'standard' AP in the future as other automakers catch up, but I think it'll be tied to newer model year cars, because by that time they will likely have supply catching up to demand and will be more encouraged to sell me a new car rather than software for the old car.

 

[RickyFish89]

I can say with 100% certainty that I, personally, would never pay $12k for what FSD adds on top of included AP.

And 3 months ago I would have entirely agreed with you. I still would say I don't think it's worth it and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But also I'm finding myself paying $200 a month because I'm a fool that actually enjoys turn signal to change lane, and auto start-stop and traffic lights. That's really about all I use, but I use it constantly, and I also enjoy the frequent updates and seeing progress just as a tech-fascinated person. So I keep paying to stay in this club for some reason, and it has me very tempted to just pay the overpriced amount just so that at least when I'm paying every month it goes toward something instead of all to ether when I decide I'm done with it.

 

[Tesomega]

In its current form its not worth $12K

 

[EVNow]

For resale, I'm a bit of two minds about it. Either I sell in the next few years to change cars and it is worth ~something, or I keep the car forever, hand it down to my kid when he is driving age, and feel like I (hopefully) really got my money's worth on the few features that I actually enjoy today (stop/go at traffic lights, signal to change lanes, NoA, and >+5mph AP)

Thats my idea as well - with what I'll do with my 3. When CT comes I'll buy it .... but will keep 3 for my kids (though my oldest will be driving age only in 7 years) - and more importantly for drives I don't want to take CT because of the size.

BTW, I'm not even sure my kids would ever learn driving .... if they see that self-driving is very good or close to being very good.

Another option would be to pay to have the HW upgraded if that gets better FSD.

 

[Ciaopec]

Ditto, in its current form it is not worth $12K; not even the $10K I paid as part of the auto loan. I had tried the FSD subscription for a month and auto lane change was what is nice on road trips (I have it in the MS). After the test month I thought I refinance the car and roll in the FSD. No problem. As someone has pointed out, you are getting 6 of the 7 things promised in FSD; just not navigate on city streets. Though call. Wish they still sold EAP.

 

[Cybermoose]

I've been subscribed to FSD for 2-3 months now and I'm starting to think about purchasing it. There's a few parts of it that I genuinely like and I could see myself subbing for a while as a result. Certainly not 5 years or whatever the break-even point is, but buying would also slightly increase the value of the car for resale and lock in any potential component upgrades that may be nice in the future.

So anyway, all that said, spending 12k upfront is certainly a harder pill to swallow than a few hundred a month like I have been the past couple months. The two options I immediately know of would be to buy on my credit card and spend an exorbitant amount of interest over the next few years, or to sell some stocks and pay for it outright and then 'pay myself back' over a few years, likely losing an exorbitant amount of interest over the next few years as I slowly re-invest that money. I'm not the biggest fan of either, so before I make a bad decision (well, on top of the questionable decision of buying FSD full-stop) I wanted to check in here to see if anyone had suggestions of lower-interest financing options for the purchase.

Wouldn't put the full amount on a credit card. See what sort of financing options you have available at a lower interest rate.

Also consider how long you will have the vehicle because that will affect the resale of the FSD. A lot of people do the basic math of 'FSD costs 12000, so my resale is the value of the car at the time + 12000' but that thinking is wrong. right now it's 12000 for the remaining life of the car. If you sell it in 5 years, while the value of the FSD might go up, the remaining life of the car has gone down and the next buyer will have to think if they want to spend the extra on that feature for however long they think they will have the car.

Personally I think it's a good investment if you are someone who is going to keep the car for yourself. The car could last a very very long time if taken care of and that makes the value of the FSD so much higher. That's my own goal, I don't like buying new vehicles if my current one works and with Tesla, the option of keeping the car in good condition and extending it's life is a big perk for me. keeping care of the leather is pretty easy and someday it can just be replaced, you can upgrade the MCU hardware and it constantly upgrades software OTA, there is tons of aftermarket products to replace trim or put high quality covers on stuff to keep it looking new, I'll even get it wrapped if the paint job ever looks bad. And of course the battery and motors are replaceable. I wouldn't be surprised if someone who buys one of the new Teslas since 2020 is still driving a new looking vehicle in 20 years.

 

[sleepydoc]

In its current form its not worth $12K

This. Maybe in the future, but if you have to finance it I’d say absolutely not. Wait until it’s further along.

Also, I don’t know that you can count on the resale value. It isn’t clear that Tesla won’t wipe FSD after you sell the car and I haven’t seen any official statement for. Tesla on the subject, just speculation and stories.

 

[cobra]

This. Maybe in the future, but if you have to finance it I’d say absolutely not. Wait until it’s further along.

Also, I don’t know that you can count on the resale value. It isn’t clear that Tesla won’t wipe FSD after you sell the car and I haven’t seen any official statement for. Tesla on the subject, just speculation and stories.

People have been speculating that Tesla wipes FSD, but that seems to just be people looking for a bone to pick. Go look at the used inventory for Model X on Tesla's site, there are a lot of cars being sold with FSD. A bunch with just AutoPilot as well. So it seems that Tesla presently carries FSD forward with cars it resells. Or maybe it just installs it or removes it as a wim. But either way, they are selling used vehicles (and a bunch of them) with FSD today. I didn't review other models, but would assume they are the same. So if someone tells you 'Tesla removes FSD from cars', I think they may be reading about a couple cases where Tesla made a mistake or another used car dealer mis-advertised the vehicle.

 

[DocRob]

The calculation that if one keeps the car for a long time and sells the vehicle that you may recoup the value in resale or is a good investment is wishful thinking. Tesla only states: "As these self-driving features evolve, your car will be continuously upgraded through over-the-air software updates." As soon as new hardware is required for and is included in newer models, the current FSD will be worthless.

 

[ScoobyDoo82]

Save yourself the headache. It’s not worth $12k (or even $200/month) in its current form. If you finance the purchase of FSD you will probably regret it. Just think about how else that $12k could improve your life. Do you really need summon and green light chimes?