Can new orders still get FSD?

[Matias]

As we know, Tesla has pulled FSD from their website. But Elon Musk has given contradictory information whether you can still order it.

In twitter he wrote 19th of October

“
Also available off menu for a week. Was causing too much confusion”

source Elon Musk on Twitter

But on conference call he said

“And anyone who saw once to order full-self driving at this point, it's just an off menu item, you can still order it. But we took it off the order menu just because it was really creating a lot of friction in the sales process, and people didn't understand the difference between enhanced autopilot and full-self driving. So, just to simplify the order process we switched that off and anyone who asks for it can certainly get it”

source Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) Q3 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript -- The Motley Fool


So what’s the truth?

 

[Pale_Rider]

I too have heard it can be ordered "off menu" if you ask when ordering.

 

[Tam]

...truth...

It is interesting that he didn't cite other possible reasons for shutting down the FSD menu:

1) A potential lawsuit just like the EAP one.
2) Regulatory burdens
3) Economics: such as pre-paid price is too low...

It's strange to cite consumer's confusion when Tesla did a survey in 2016 and the chance of confusion was negligible:

Tesla Autopilot Survey Results - 98% Understand That Autopilot Requires Driver Attention

If Tesla is serious about the confusion, it would mandate passing tests including pictures, and videos prior to ordering showing that current status can still result in crashes and deaths...

However, citing consumer's confusion now could be an easy generic answer without discussing any other potential problems because, after all, only 98% owners understood but not the other 2%. And that complies to truthfulness.

Anyhow, for those who didn't want to but now do, it's good news that Tesla is still continuing accepting FSD off menu.

 

[trisk]

I was able to request FSD on an existing order on Tues 10/23, after the option was removed last weekend.

 

[Tam]

There's an article citing 2 of 3 potential reasons that I guessed above and it's not about confusion:

Fully Autonomous Tesla? Not So Fast

1) Potential lawsuit as in EAP class action lawsuit.
2) Economics: Experts don't doubt that Tesla will get us FSD but the question is how long and how much more it will cost (not just because of software but also hardware) !

So the article implies that if you think $5,000 is to expensive to pre-pay now, wait until FSD is successful and see how more it will cost!

 

[trisk]

They updated my order to add the FSD option yesterday (10/26).

I'm not interested in FSD features (the consensus amongst my peers in the software industry is that we are more than a decade away from the necessary reliability), but I decided the option is worth it for me to lock in an EAP hardware upgrade while the tax credit is still available.

 

[Tam]

... decade away from the necessary reliability...

I paid for it because I want to grow with the system as Tesla will incrementally let me try out some small features at a time even if its final product will be years away.

 

[eli_]

I think they removed it simply because the new order page is built to be as streamlined as possible and FSD throws a wrench in the works. Choose a battery/motor, color, autopilot yes or no, and press Order, no fuss or ambiguity. When you throw FSD into the mix, people will hesitate clicking the Buy button, you have to weigh the cost/benefit of pre-buying this nebulous future feature that may or may not exist to possibly save some money in the long-term. The last thing you want on an order page is indecision like that.