Elon: One-time FSD transfers for purchases in Q3

[JHCCAZ]

Just noticed this on Tesla's trade-in support page:

No mention of this being a limited-time offer. Could it be that they are making this permanent?

That's a good catch and very interesting. The way it's written, they just assume you'll be transferring it, and it's presented as the justification for why they will value FSD at zero on your trade-in.

Anyone reading this, who doesn't follow internet and YouTube Tesla news very closely, would assume that this is standard Tesla policy going forward.

If they're going to make it permanent (i.e. standard policy until further notice ), it will serve them by institutionalizing zero FSD trade in value, improving customer loyalty and by _somewhat_ blunting criticism over the non-portable FSD license.

It will serve existing customers by providing an "upgrade path" to new hardware. Not the same as a free or affordable in-car retrofit, but way better than the prior state of affairs.

OTOH, if they were to admit it as an ongoing policy, it destroys the short-term FOMO demand lever that they created with the September 30th deadline, and of course it will generate complaints from some people who would have preferred to wait for Highland / Juniper/ HW4 developments.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out and if we get clarification regarding temporary vs. permanent policy.

 

[JHCCAZ]

I know @Eno Deb already quoted this, but I snapshotted it as a picture from the trade-in FAQ, for comparison in case it changes again

 

[jbrady3324]

Definitely following the above! Hoping the FSD promotion runs longer

 

[JulienW]

Definitely following the above! Hoping the FSD promotion runs longer

I doubt it will at least past the end of qt. especially since Highland is coming out. Best hope is Tesla offers the "amnesty" (horrible wording) again in the not too distant future.

 

[asterothe]

I doubt it will at least past the end of qt. especially since Highland is coming out. Best hope is Tesla offers the "amnesty" (horrible wording) again in the not too distant future.

Amnesty for what?

 

[JHCCAZ]

Amnesty for what?

"Amnesty" was Elon's word when he verbally announced the FSD transfer program on the earnings call a month or so back. Here's what I wrote at the time:

* interesting choice of word, though I don't want to over-interpret Elon's meaning.Amnesty is generally applied to forgiveness of a crime or a rule violation, alternatively as extending refuge from oppression, more proprrly "asylum". Neither of these really applies to people who purchased FSD in hope, excitement and good faith but now see it as a barrier to purchasing a replacement Tesla.

 

[asterothe]

"Amnesty" was Elon's word when he verbally announced the FSD transfer program on the earnings. C
Call a month or so back. Here's what I wrote at the time:

Thank you for the backstory. Amnesty would be one of the last words when I think of transferring FSD. Not that we are stealing it.

 

[ZuleMYP]

The problem with Tesla offering FSD trade-ups on a continuing basis is that it gives zero revenue toward FSD development and maintenance. The best hope is they create a program whereby FSD has its set retail value and dimminishes some amount each month until it becomes worthless in a trade up. Arguably this should be about the same as the monthly cost of FSD thus equalizing with the subscription program they want people on. Thus they encourage early upgrades while also paying for continued development on the product.

 

[JulienW]

The problem with Tesla offering FSD trade-ups on a continuing basis is that it gives zero revenue toward FSD development and maintenance.....

Most Teslas are sold to new to Tesla owners or Tesla owners that didn't own FSD Capability. Tesla ultimate goal is to get FSD Beta good enough that many more people will subscribe to it. Wall Street also LOVES this kind of revenue.

 

[des16]

Most Teslas are sold to new to Tesla owners or Tesla owners that didn't own FSD Capability. Tesla ultimate goal is to get FSD Beta good enough that many more people will subscribe to it. Wall Street also LOVES this kind of revenue.

I'm having a problem getting my transfer from my M3 to my new MY. My situation is they changed the original inventory new car (vin) at the last minute with a different car (vin) so I had to resend the transfer info at the time of delivery. They said they couldn't do the tranfer at that time however the delivery assistant said it will still get transferred. So then I sold my M3 the next day to a dealer. It's been a week and still no transfer. ( the FSD is still on the M3). Yesterday I called the sales team and they said It will be transferred. I'm beginning to get nervous. Seems like there may be a communication problem somewhere...
Ugh!!!!

I was planning on ordering and picking up a MY that shows in inventory as soon as possible, hopefully early next week. I have a buyer who has been patient and is very anxious to close the deal. I understand that I need to be in possession of the MY before I transfer the title and registration to the private buyer. I was told that: 1. I should not add FSD as an option when doing the order; 2. That as soon as I order the car I can call Tesla and they will email me the paperwork for the transfer, and it can be filled in and returned by email to Tesla before the purchase is complete and before I go to the delivery center; and 3. that it should take no more than 24 hours after the purchase for the FSD to appear on the new MY, but even if it take longer, as long as I am in possession of the new MY and filled in the paperwork, I can sell my old M3 and that I do not have to wait until the FSD software is operational or shows up on the MY to sell my M3. I would appreciate those who have gone through this process confirming that the information I have received from Tesla is accurate. And if your experience is inconsistent with what I have been told, I would appreciate hearing from you. And my apologies if my questions have been answered elsewhere. One final thing that causes me concern is that I go the delivery center, which I need to fly to, and the car is a mess. I had 2 aborted deliveries of my M3 in 2018. I presume quality control is improved, but who knows. Anyway, I appreciate eyoru input. Thank you

 

[Eno Deb]

The problem with Tesla offering FSD trade-ups on a continuing basis is that it gives zero revenue toward FSD development and maintenance.

At $15K the number of people buying it will be miniscule (and that's probably intentional).

 

[DriveMe]

The problem with Tesla offering FSD trade-ups on a continuing basis is that it gives zero revenue toward FSD development and maintenance.

By allowing FSD license transfers I think Tesla would sell more FSD licenses, not less!

New customers would be more likely to buy FSD knowing it is transferable and existing customers would be upgrading their cars more frequently. And with every transfer Tesla gets an opportunity to sell another FSD license or subscription to the next owner of the trade-in, don’t forget that part!

So Tesla could sell (and re-sell) more cars, more FSD licenses and also, having paid for FSD, customers would be more likely to stay with Tesla down the road. A triple-win for Tesla!

 

[DriveMe]

I would appreciate those who have gone through this process confirming that the information I have received from Tesla is accurate. And if your experience is inconsistent with what I have been told, I would appreciate hearing from you.

I can confirm that you need to be the owner of the old car when initiating the FSD license transfer and, in my case, it took less than an hour from the time I signed and emailed my transfer agreement for the FSD to disappear from my trade-in. That happened before I went to pickup my car. A month ago, when I did this, I was told to include the FSD on my order and they discounted it on the final invoice. However, I heard the rules may have changed since then.

It is very important to stay in contact with a Tesla sales advisor and have him/her lead you through this process!

 

[Yelobird]

I can confirm that you need to be the owner of the old car when initiating the FSD license transfer and, in my case, it took less than an hour from the time I signed and emailed my transfer agreement for the FSD to disappear from my trade-in. That happened before I went to pickup my car. A month ago, when I did this, I was told to include the FSD on my order and they discounted it on the final invoice. However, I heard the rules may have changed since then.

It is very important to stay in contact with a Tesla sales advisor and have him/her lead you through this process!

Same and rather simple and not very complicated. I stopped in, ordered car, they asked if I was going to transfer. Filled in Vin from transfer car and done. The next day the transfer on the old car happened and when I picked up the new S it was updated that day. No magic or complexity.

 

[superblast]

I was planning on ordering and picking up a MY that shows in inventory as soon as possible, hopefully early next week. I have a buyer who has been patient and is very anxious to close the deal. I understand that I need to be in possession of the MY before I transfer the title and registration to the private buyer. I was told that: 1. I should not add FSD as an option when doing the order; 2. That as soon as I order the car I can call Tesla and they will email me the paperwork for the transfer, and it can be filled in and returned by email to Tesla before the purchase is complete and before I go to the delivery center; and 3. that it should take no more than 24 hours after the purchase for the FSD to appear on the new MY, but even if it take longer, as long as I am in possession of the new MY and filled in the paperwork, I can sell my old M3 and that I do not have to wait until the FSD software is operational or shows up on the MY to sell my M3. I would appreciate those who have gone through this process confirming that the information I have received from Tesla is accurate. And if your experience is inconsistent with what I have been told, I would appreciate hearing from you. And my apologies if my questions have been answered elsewhere. One final thing that causes me concern is that I go the delivery center, which I need to fly to, and the car is a mess. I had 2 aborted deliveries of my M3 in 2018. I presume quality control is improved, but who knows. Anyway, I appreciate eyoru input. Thank you

To be safe, I would wait until you've picked up your MY and confirmed that the FSD transfer went through. At the very least, I would make sure that FSD has been removed from your M3 trade before selling. There was a message on the screen when mine had been removed. I would take a picture of that and then a picture showing your info screen with VIN and Autopilot level.

 

[neo17]

Has anyone tried transferring FSD across countries? I have a Model X with FSD in Hong Kong and would like to transfer to a new Model Y in the US if possible?

 

[PACEMD]

Has anyone tried transferring FSD across countries? I have a Model X with FSD in Hong Kong and would like to transfer to a new Model Y in the US if possible?

Call Tesla at the closest service center/store to where you plan to move and ask. They will check your current version of FSD and tell you if it qualifies for transfer. Even if internet folks give you an opinion you still need to check.

 

[PACEMD]

I bought a new 2023 M3P and transferred FSD from our 2019 M3P-, a 2019 Stealth Performance model 3, which we are keeping by the way, so no FSD transfer complications with the date of sell/trade-in. At pickup in Seattle yesterday, when I set up the iPhone key in the actual car, FSD was already present. Not only was it there but software version 2023.20.200 was installed. Not the latest FSD software but it is FSDb, a beta version, 11.3.6. I had worried I would be back in line for beta, but not the case. Others have said the same. Also at pickup/setup for the 2023, FSDb disappeared from the 2019 model. A few hours later the 2019 was updated to 2023.26.9, the latest non-FSd software. All in all the transfer went very well.

 

[JulienW]

Just noticed this on Tesla's trade-in support page:

No mention of this being a limited-time offer. Could it be that they are making this permanent?

Well no mention? Looks like you didn't read it.

 

[Eno Deb]

Well no mention? Looks like you didn't read it.

View attachment 968446

Pretty sure that section wasn't there when I posted this. Anyway, it's still strange that the other paragraph states matter-of-factly that "the FSD capability will be removed and transferred to your new vehicle" without time restriction.