How does adding autopilot to the car after purchase work?

[secretSquirrel]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum and I'm likely in the market for a Model 3P, coming from a 2018 BMW M3 competition. I enjoyed the test drive and feel like the M3p is almost like a cross between my old s2000 and an M3. It has great pickup, but with the an lower center of gravity so it feels light and toss-able.

Question: I know the AutoPilot is a hardware installation, but is there a way to add retrofit the AutoPilot functionality at the dealer at a later date? I'm not sure I want to drop the 10k to get that functionality at the moment and currently don't drive enough to warrant the cost. I've researched this and almost all of the references on this topic are discussing the upgrade from the v2 -> v3 of the AP module.

 

[jmaddr]

First, autopilot and FSD (full software driving) are separate terms. Autopilot gives you traffic aware lane keeping. FSD adds lane changing, summon, red light/stop sign awareness, and soon city driving.
The 10k for FSD is pure software (with one caveat - see last paragraph). You can add it at any time after delivery. In fact, there is a $199/mo option you can subscribe to to "test" out it's functionality or just use on long trips when needed. It's a simple click to order in the Tesla app.
As long as you have a new Model 3 or a used one built with the hardware 3 (build date around May 2019) then there is no hardware cost to enable FSD.

 

[Baytomax]

@jmaddr summed it up pretty well.

Every new car that Tesla outputs today comes standard with Autopilot! It's essentially traffic-aware cruise control that autosteers for you to center you in the lane.

FSD is an additional add-on that is completely optional. They released the monthly subscription option not too long ago. I highly recommend subscribing for a month and see if you can get the value you'd need out of it before shelling out a whole $10k.

Here is an official excerpt from Tesla about Autopilot and FSD:

 

[secretSquirrel]

Thank you both for the details of the feature and the separation of the hardware vs software!