FSD Stripped From Private Sale? Or Did Seller Not Own It?

[ABQP3D]

Like everyone else, I was excited about the FSD transfer opportunity, but then I soured on it when I found out that it would not stay with the new car when I sell that. (Edit -- Maybe?? see below)

But then I was talking to an advisor that says FSD NEVER TRANSFERS across owners once the car has been sold, even 3rd party ???? this is brand new info for me as I've always seen FSD valued during trade in offers and I've never heard this.

Any one have insights here???

 

[ABQP3D]

Okay, false alarm maybe? Advisor checked my VIN and it does stay with my car, but I'm not sure what the cutoff date for that policy to change would be? As Elon would say, Concerning.

 

[JulienW]

Uninformed and incorrect info on FSD in your car. The rep only seems to have a persecutive from a Tesla trade in which Tesla then has the right to remove. FSD stays on the vehicle as long as Tesla never owns it again. Now this new transfer deal seems ambiguous and the document is poorly worded. So as of now I would say it is somewhat of an unknown if FSD transferred will stay on the Tesla when you sell it in the future.

Not sure of the legality of Tesla removing a product you own from your car. It would be like saying if you resale your Tesla we wil come and change you optional wheels for the standard wheels.

EDIT: [Speculation]Could be after the transfer you get an unlimited subscription to FSD (don't own) that only applies to you. Kinda of a cheat if so IMO.

 

[ABQP3D]

Uninformed and incorrect info on FSD in your car. The rep only seems to have a persecutive from a Tesla trade in which Tesla then has the right to remove. FSD stays on the vehicle as long as Tesla never owns it again. Now this new transfer deal seems ambiguous and the document is poorly worded. So as of now I would say it is somewhat of an unknown if FSD transferred will stay on the Tesla when you sell it in the future.

Not sure of the legality of Tesla removing a product you own from your car. It would be like saying if you resale your Tesla we wil come and change you optional wheels for the standard wheels.

EDIT: [Speculation]Could be after the transfer you get an unlimited subscription to FSD (don't own) that only applies to you. Kinda of a cheat if so IMO.

Yeah, it totally freaked me out there for a minute. I appreciate that they're doing the program, but the particulars are so vague...

Agreed on the legality point and the analogy.

 

[ABQP3D]

Now they're walking it back even more saying that my FSD would even stay with the new car in a 3rd party sale??? Which would be great, but this is such a Tesla Cluster lol

 

[brkaus]

Pulled out of one’s backside with no clear plan or details.

 

[digitaldad]

@ABQP3D, stays with the car unless going in and out of Tesla as far as I still know. Friend bought a used 3 from Chevy on Lomas a few months ago and FSD stayed on car: retail (non-Tesla) to him.

 

[ABQP3D]

@ABQP3D, stays with the car unless going in and out of Tesla as far as I still know. Friend bought a used 3 from Chevy on Lomas a few months ago and FSD stayed on car: retail (non-Tesla) to him.

Yep, that's what I've always understood. The new transfer policy seemed to say that the new VIN wouldn't retain FSD in a 3rd party sale, which seemed dickish, but plausible. Now the same advisor is saying FSD will stay with my current VIN or a new VIN with the xfer in a 3rd party sale, which is great if true. The other thread is guessing that some of the verbiage is pulled directly from the lifetime supercharging policy, which also seems plausible and hopefully will be cleared up soon.

Tesla is gonna Tesla

 

[Big Dog]

FSD stays with the car for a private sale, unless the FSD was by mistake and never paid for. (Some folks got free FSD on a trial basis, but Tesla forgot to turn it off after the 90 day trial was over and when the car is transferred they recognized that this FSD was never paid for, so they do turn it off at that time.)

FSD can be turned off by Tesla for cars that are traded-in to Tesla.

 

[Yelobird]

Confirmed this yesterday. Not sure how this got so left field assumed but the internet has a way of spinning the text. Admittedly the writing can be interpreted in many ways. To verify I direct chatted with Tesla And visited the showroom to clarify the actual meaning vs the internet assumed version. They made it clear if I transferred my FSD (MYP 2020) to a new Model S (P) it would stay with that car. If I ever sold it they do NOT just erase it or remove it. It simply Can’t be transferred again if I opted to update cars every 2 years. (Always possible they can change that) but for now it is a 1 time transfer. Again, they do NOT simply steal (erase) it should you sell the car in the future. He also noted that this provision was for the Original Owner (transfer). Meaning IF I ever elected to sell my Model S to my daughter or other They to could transfer it IF there was ever a return of this program. I as the original owner only get to do it once. YMMV but while he agreed the program outline can be interpreted in many ways, This is the way….

 

[ABQP3D]

Confirmed this yesterday. Not sure how this got so left field assumed but the internet has a way of spinning the text. Admittedly the writing can be interpreted in many ways. To verify I direct chatted with Tesla And visited the showroom to clarify the actual meaning vs the internet assumed version. They made it clear if I transferred my FSD (MYP 2020) to a new Model S (P) it would stay with that car. If I ever sold it they do NOT just erase it or remove it. It simply Can’t be transferred again if I opted to update cars every 2 years. (Always possible they can change that) but for now it is a 1 time transfer. Again, they do NOT simply steal (erase) it should you sell the car in the future. He also noted that this provision was for the Original Owner (transfer). Meaning IF I ever elected to sell my Model S to my daughter or other They to could transfer it IF there was ever a return of this program. I as the original owner only get to do it once. YMMV but while he agreed the program outline can be interpreted in many ways, This is the way….

This was my understanding until the screenshot of the ToS came out and the Advisor stated as such. Looks like it's all been recanted though.

 

[sublimejackman]

Bought a 2017 Model S yesterday. Has the full HW3 upgrade (MCU + FSD computer). The previous owner had FSD but when I associated it with my Tesla account it went away. It's now is asking if I want to purchase FSD/EAP, leaving me with just basic AP... So those who needed to have their HW upgraded, it looks like FSD doesn't transfer...

 

[JulienW]

Bought a 2017 Model S yesterday. Has the full HW3 upgrade (MCU + FSD computer). The previous owner had FSD but when I associated it with my Tesla account it went away. It's now is asking if I want to purchase FSD/EAP, leaving me with just basic AP... So those who needed to have their HW upgraded, it looks like FSD doesn't transfer...

Sounds like they had a FSD subscription.

 

[sublimejackman]

Sounds like they had a FSD subscription.

Maybe, I'm getting in touch with him to see what was on the window sticker. Even if it's just EAP, it would be nice to have auto lane changing...

 

[Padelford]

I thought FSD wasn’t transferable in a vehicle sale. The new owner has to buy it again or rent it. ???
(moderator note: this is incorrect)

 

[brkaus]

I thought FSD wasn’t transferable in a vehicle sale. The new owner has to buy it again or rent it. ???

No way. FSD should stay with the car unless it was a subscription or it was purchased used and Tesla had their hands on it (day from a trade).

 

[jjrandorin]

No way. FSD should stay with the car unless it was a subscription or it was purchased used and Tesla had their hands on it (day from a trade).

Or, perhaps the person who sold @sublimejackman the vehicle transferred FSD to a new Tesla during the just recently ended transfer amnesty program.

Maybe, I'm getting in touch with him to see what was on the window sticker. Even if it's just EAP, it would be nice to have auto lane changing...

Its going to be one of the things mentioned:

1. Previous owner had FSD subscription, or
2. Previous owner Transferred FSD during the recently ended transfer window and it just caught up with the car, or
3. Previous owner bought the car from auction or something, and it was owned by Tesla at some point in between.
(moderator note: or 4. FSD existed but was never purchased, i.e. in an employee car)


My bet, based on the timing, is #2.

 

[sublimejackman]

Its going to be one of the things mentioned:

1. Previous owner had FSD subscription, or
2. Previous owner Transferred FSD during the recently ended transfer window and it just caught up with the car, or
3. Previous owner bought the car from auction or something, and it was owned by Tesla at some point in between.

My bet, based on the timing, is #2.

It's #4 - None of the Above.

I texted with the previous owner and now have the window sticker.

The previous owner was the only owner before me. He bought it in 2017 with EAP. In 2020 he paid full price to have the MCU + FSD computer upgraded to HW3. So full FSD, no subscription. He did NOT buy another Tesla, no transfer.

(moderator note: Having the FSD computer upgraded from HW2x to HW3 does not mean the car had FSD purchased. Window stickers are not proof of purchase. Most cars that have FSD removed at purchase do not have updated window stickers.)

It looks like what happened was that the factory EAP was replaced by FSD. The newly acquired FSD not being on the window sticker means that there is no legal requirement to transfer it to the next owner. Which it did not. And since EAP was "removed" by the previous owner it does not come over to me either.

TBH this is all gravy to me. When I agreed to buy the car I thought it had MCU1 and I was planning on having it upgraded. I would have liked to have the auto-lane changes that comes with EAP but it's NBD.

(side note: this is some sketchy anti-trust style BS. Like I get that software has rules about its use but 100% of the used cars Tesla sells directly have FSD enabled now. So that puts all other sellers at a fairly substantial disadvantage. I don't really care about FSD but there are many who do.)

 

[brkaus]

It has nothing to do with the window sticker. If they paid full price for FSD and had the hardware upgraded as a result, it should stick with the car.

If they just had the hardware upgraded and didn’t pay for FSD, then it never should have existed in the first place.

 

[sublimejackman]

It has nothing to do with the window sticker. If they paid full price for FSD and had the hardware upgraded as a result, it should stick with the car.

If they just had the hardware upgraded and didn’t pay for FSD, then it never should have existed in the first place.

I mean I tend to agree but what's my recourse? Drive over to the dealer and demand it? Like in 6 years, I have not once had a positive experience interacting with a Tesla staff member in person. They fall into 1 of 2 categories: apathetic or hostile and for auto-lane change it really isn't worth the time, effort or stress.

If fact, avoiding Tesla staff was a large factor in why I did not buy the car from Tesla.