Detailed explanation of all options

[brandinimo]

Hey guys - I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a 2017/2018 Model S, 100D. I'm visiting EV-CPO daily and trying to find the right car.

I don't want to goof something up and leave out a feature I find important. Is there a definitive guide I could reference that tells me what optoins were available in a particular year and a description of them?

 

[KyleDay]

For those years you can either get hw2 or hw2.5/3 and either mcu1 or mcu2. Find a car that’s got hw3 (FSD computer) and mcu2 and you’ll be set. Don’t worry about anything else.

 

[brandinimo]

I'm in the Northeast, was hoping for Subzero package.

I'm on the fence about FSD, was planning on trying the car without and then subscribing if I care about it/it improves.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I'm in the Northeast, was hoping for Subzero package.

I'm on the fence about FSD, was planning on trying the car without and then subscribing if I care about it/it improves.

While the person above you isn't necessarily wrong, they did leave out some key details. The most important of which are that the particular cars you're looking at include sub-zero and ultra high fidelity sound as standard equipment by that point.

 

[ucmndd]

While the person above you isn't necessarily wrong, they did leave out some key details. The most important of which are that the particular cars you're looking at include sub-zero and ultra high fidelity sound as standard equipment by that point.

That didn’t happen until half way through 2018.

Tesla updates Model S and Model X options, makes premium features standard and increases base price

While all the focus is currently on the Model 3, Tesla updated the Model S and Model X design studio...

electrek.co

 

[ucmndd]

Hey guys - I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a 2017/2018 Model S, 100D. I'm visiting EV-CPO daily and trying to find the right car.

I don't want to goof something up and leave out a feature I find important. Is there a definitive guide I could reference that tells me what optoins were available in a particular year and a description of them?

The actual features offered were pretty static during the time frame you reference, although the way they were offered and packaged varied. However, there were substantial “under the hood” changes that you should be aware of.

1) cars built before August 2017 have “Autopilot 2.0” hardware. This is sort of a red headed stepchild in terms of autopilot options. The basic features work fine but if you decide you want FSD someday you’ll need a camera and computer upgrade (included in the price of the package, but the camera upgrade doesn’t actually exist yet). Cars after that have Autopilot 2.5, which has a far larger install base and is generally better supported by Tesla.

2) Cars built before March 2018 have an older version of the infotainment system (usually referred to as MCU1). You really don’t want this, it’s slow, buggy, no longer receives significant upgrades, and makes the car pretty terrible to use IMO. Good news is there is an upgrade to MCU2 available for earlier cars, but it costs between $1500-2500 depending on specific config and options. If you buy a car built before March 2018, you should really factor this upgrade into your total price.

 

[Ostrichsak]

That didn’t happen until half way through 2018.

Tesla updates Model S and Model X options, makes premium features standard and increases base price

While all the focus is currently on the Model 3, Tesla updated the Model S and Model X design studio...

electrek.co

You're correct. I'm not sure why I read his post to be asking about 19/20 cars.

 

[nicedrum]

1) cars built before August 2017 have “Autopilot 2.0” hardware. This is sort of a red headed stepchild in terms of autopilot options. The basic features work fine but if you decide you want FSD someday you’ll need a camera and computer upgrade (included in the price of the package, but the camera upgrade doesn’t actually exist yet). Cars after that have Autopilot 2.5, which has a far larger install base and is generally better supported by Tesla.

What about '16/'17 cars that came with "FSD" and AP2.0 hardware? If we found and bought one of those, does that mean that FSD isn't really available (beta testing etc) without upgrading to AP3.0? Or can that not happen because the camera upgrade isn't available yet? I was under the impression that as long as a car started out at 2.0 (instead of 1.0 / AP1), you could upgrade to the latest version of AP2/3 and FSD.

 

[ucmndd]

What about '16/'17 cars that came with "FSD" and AP2.0 hardware? If we found and bought one of those, does that mean that FSD isn't really available (beta testing etc) without upgrading to AP3.0? Or can that not happen because the camera upgrade isn't available yet? I was under the impression that as long as a car started out at 2.0 (instead of 1.0 / AP1), you could upgrade to the latest version of AP2/3 and FSD.

Cars that originally shipped with AP 2.0 can be upgraded to the "HW3" autopilot computer (indeed lots of them have been). However it was recently announced that these cars also need an upgrade to their cameras to be able to utilize the FSD software. That upgrade will be included in the price paid for FSD, but it's not clear at this point when they'll start offering those camera retrofits, so until that happens, you have to just wait.