Hello.
First forum post. I am in UK and waiting for my CPO Model S.
I have been deliberating over adding FSD and spoken to several 'knowledgable' sources. These comments may relate only or mainly to UK.
1) Since my car has AEP, it has all the same features that a new / curent model would offer (model 3, S, X) with what is now called FSD. (That is freeway assistance, lane changing / overtaking / off ramps, summons, parking etc.) So today, there is no point at all in me paying 5000 pounds for the offered FSD upgrade as I would get zero benefit. On new cars the old EAP features are all that new FSD offers.
2) In the UK (and probably Europe) even if an improved version of EAP were to ever exist (that gave more self driving capability), full self driving is unlikely to to be enabled for regulatory reasons for some time - may be years.
3) My car has ap2.0 (late 2017 car). I was told by Tesla that mine and all other hw2 Model S cars do not have the correct sensors for HW3 / FSD. [This did not make sense based on what else I have read, but on further discussion revealed that there is no single thing that is 'FSD'. Full self driving as may one day become available, will likely need the latest sensors, software, may be additional hardware and the hw3 processor. ]
4) Having been told that my model S ap2 will NEVER be capable of running whatever FSD eventually looks like (due to wrong sensors etc) there is little point adding the 5000 pound FSD option to my order.
5) I asked what I would actually get / what I was buying if I took the option to pay the extra 5000 for FSD (whatever that actually means) and was told "Your vehicle purchase invoice will show that you paid for FSD". I asked if that means that one day I might end up with the same thing as someone who today buys a new car with HW3 and FSD option. The answer was 'no'.
6) Doesn't the FSD upgrade for 5000 get me the hw3 upgrade when it's eventually available? "No."
7) As the 2017 Model S with EAP stands today with effectively ALL the same features as a new FSD vehicle, could it ever have additional features that would be in line with some future FSD version on a new hw3 equipped car? "No."
8) The only cars that will possibly get upgrades to hw3 capable of running some future version of FSD will be hw2.5 models. I could not find out if hw2.5 cars already have sensors that are compatible with current new hw3 vehicles.
9) I thought I had understood from various forum posts and Elon statements that early v1 cars would never run FSD, but that v2 cars would eventually be upgraded to hw3 (plug-compatible, easy hardware swap) as and when the new processor units came available. The purpose of the upgrade to hw3 would be to allow running FSD. I was just told by Tesla agent that only hw2.5 cars will be upgraded to hw3 and that there are very few hw2.5 cars around anyway.
So after all that, all I could be sure of is that if I take up the offer of adding the offered FSD to my Model S CPO purchase, I will have an invoice that shows I had paid for FSD. No indication of what FSD on my car would possibly give me. Certainly no indication that I woud get hw3 upgrade, and that even if I did, my car would not have the correct sensors to give the needed performance for what FSD might need!!!
So, I'm hopelessly confused, and I really think it looks like Tesla would gladly take my money to sell me something that I can't possibly understand what it is - because it doesn't and probably will never exist.