Opinion: FSD, Why you should not buy it.

[durrettcustoms]

I like I'm sure most of you consider myself a techy. I love new technology which is a big reason, albeit not the only one, that I bought a Tesla. However, I am also a business person so when I see Full Self Driving offered for $7000 I am first excited, then my business side kicks in. My thoughts are as follows:

1. FSD is not ready and really doesn't give you much for $7000 as of this writing.
2. All Tesla cars produced since around Q2 2019 have the same FSD hardware.
3. You can upgrade to FSD later via a software update.

Now Tesla and skeptics will tell you that the price of FSD is going to rise as it improves, so if you don't pay now you will pay more in the long run. My business sense is telling me differently. Let's assume for a second that 50% of Tesla cars produced since Q2 2019 were ordered with FSD and 50% without. In addition, to keep the math simple, let's assume Tesla delivers 500,000 cars from Q2 2019 through Q2 2020. This would mean that around 250,000 cars received the upgraded FSD hardware but the customer did not pay for it. More importantly, that means 250,000 people have the option to pay for the ability to take advantage of FSD and in turn pad Tesla's bottom line without "any" additional cost. At $7000 per upgrade, this would net $1.75 Billion dollars in CASH. Obviously, not everyone is willing to pay $7000 for the feature even if it is perfected. In fact, many people probably wouldn't if the price were cut by a few thousand dollars but there is no doubt that the lower the price the more willing people will become. With that said it is on Tesla to do the analysis to determine at what price point they can capture the most revenue but to me, it is a no brainer that they will offer the upgrade to current owners at a discounted rate at some point in the future. Based on my hypothetical numbers, if they drop the price to $4000 and everyone takes the offer, they will net $1 billion dollars pure profit. Not a small sum, especially since it all goes to the bottom line.

 

[ewoodrick]

blah blah blah blah blah.

You can also look at the money as an investment into getting FSD working. New technologies don't come for free.

I haven't regretted the purchase in the almost two years since I purchased it. And will undoubtedly purchase it again in a few months on a Model Y.

It is indeed YOUR business sense, which makes sense in a widget manufacturing environment.

It doesn't fit Tesla, a "actually delivering on dreams" environment

They said that the Roadster would never sell. The said that the Model S would never sell over a few cars. The Model Y was too expensive and never sell.
The Model 3? Sell 500,000 cars? ROTFLMAO (today Tesla and stockholder replace the term with ROTFLMBO - Laughing my billfold off!)

Tesla will never amount to mush of anything, That must now mean the GM and Ford are a lot less than nothing.

 

[Rex Kramer]

From a consumer standpoint, it's a straight up gamble. I shelled out for it, but that the time it wasn't a huge price jump from Enhanced Autopilot. In retrospect I would have been better off buying TSLA at $300 instead, which seemed to be just as much of a gamble at that point.

That said, I could get by with basic autopilot if I bought another car, but everyone's needs are different. I expect they'll come through with FSD improvements over the next year or two, and I have no intention of selling the car, so I'm fine with my decision.

 

[Big Dog]

wow, just what we needed, another thread about FSD.

 

[durrettcustoms]

blah blah blah blah blah.

You can also look at the money as an investment into getting FSD working. New technologies don't come for free.

I haven't regretted the purchase in the almost two years since I purchased it. And will undoubtedly purchase it again in a few months on a Model Y.

It is indeed YOUR business sense, which makes sense in a widget manufacturing environment.

It doesn't fit Tesla, a "actually delivering on dreams" environment

They said that the Roadster would never sell. The said that the Model S would never sell over a few cars. The Model Y was too expensive and never sell.
The Model 3? Sell 500,000 cars? ROTFLMAO (today Tesla and stockholder replace the term with ROTFLMBO - Laughing my billfold off!)

Tesla will never amount to mush of anything, That must now mean the GM and Ford are a lot less than nothing.

I've got to say, I'm perplexed by your response. It is not MY business sense, it is general business knowledge that if you can capture additional profit with little to no downside, then you should. The thing you are clearly missing with all of your Tourettes like comments and sentences is that Tesla is transforming into a real company, not just a billionaires brainchild, which really must make a profit.

I love Tesla and everything it stands for, not only do I think they are succeeding now but I am confident they'll continue to do so for a long long time. I was simply justifying the option to wait on FSD instead of buying it today but I am happy that you are completely satisfied with your choice!

 

[durrettcustoms]

wow, just what we needed, another thread about FSD.

Probably about as much as someone making this comment on every post, ever posted, on every form, ever.

 

[Fresnel]

Some might say it's not worth it to buy a new car. Some might say it's not worth it to buy an expensive car. Worth it is relative.

 

[Az_Rael]

As someone who bought FSD in December 2017. I vote wait unless you feel the current features are worth $7k today.

 

[derekmw]

I like I'm sure most of you consider myself a techy. I love new technology which is a big reason, albeit not the only one, that I bought a Tesla. However, I am also a business person so when I see Full Self Driving offered for $7000 I am first excited, then my business side kicks in. My thoughts are as follows:

1. FSD is not ready and really doesn't give you much for $7000 as of this writing.
2. All Tesla cars produced since around Q2 2019 have the same FSD hardware.
3. You can upgrade to FSD later via a software update.

Now Tesla and skeptics will tell you that the price of FSD is going to rise as it improves, so if you don't pay now you will pay more in the long run. My business sense is telling me differently. Let's assume for a second that 50% of Tesla cars produced since Q2 2019 were ordered with FSD and 50% without. In addition, to keep the math simple, let's assume Tesla delivers 500,000 cars from Q2 2019 through Q2 2020. This would mean that around 250,000 cars received the upgraded FSD hardware but the customer did not pay for it. More importantly, that means 250,000 people have the option to pay for the ability to take advantage of FSD and in turn pad Tesla's bottom line without "any" additional cost. At $7000 per upgrade, this would net $1.75 Billion dollars in CASH. Obviously, not everyone is willing to pay $7000 for the feature even if it is perfected. In fact, many people probably wouldn't if the price were cut by a few thousand dollars but there is no doubt that the lower the price the more willing people will become. With that said it is on Tesla to do the analysis to determine at what price point they can capture the most revenue but to me, it is a no brainer that they will offer the upgrade to current owners at a discounted rate at some point in the future. Based on my hypothetical numbers, if they drop the price to $4000 and everyone takes the offer, they will net $1 billion dollars pure profit. Not a small sum, especially since it all goes to the bottom line.

I also have not purchased FSD and will not buy it for that kind of price. I feel too often Tesla has said things like, 'buy it now or you'll regret it', only to find the exact opposite true later on. So I'm in the thinking that FSD price will not really increase.

 

[Jedi2155]

I purchased FSD for $3k. I just want it to respond to stop signs and stop lights.

 

[Tam]

...Now Tesla and skeptics will tell you that the price of FSD is going to rise as it improves, so if you don't pay now you will pay more in the long run...

Elon Musk stated that it will “increase substantially over time.”

...Obviously, not everyone is willing to pay $7000 for the feature even if it is perfected...

For business-minded people, "perfected" means you can let your robotaxi pickup customers on its own while you collect the money when you are at work or in bed sleeping.

...FSD is not ready and really doesn't give you much for $7000 as of this writing...

I think its best feature is Auto Lane Change. It is well worth the $7,000 to me!

 

[rdcisneros3]

Based on my hypothetical numbers, if they drop the price to $4000 and everyone takes the offer, they will net $1 billion dollars pure profit

If they did that, they'd likely issue refunds to those who paid more for FSD, which would negate most of that profit. I believe there is precedent to support this theory.

 

[tvad]

I'd like FSD to recognize parking spots. That'd be a nice improvement.

 

[Fresnel]

I think its best feature is Auto Lane Change. It is well worth the $7,000 to me!

Man, I wish I could trust it enough to use Auto Lane Change.

 

[Az_Rael]

If they did that, they'd likely issue refunds to those who paid more for FSD, which would negate most of that profit. I believe there is precedent to support this theory.

They only issued very limited refunds the last time they lowered the price, so I would expect a similar case. Back then it was only folks who had bought it in the last month or so who got the refunds. Everyone else who paid more got a promise to be entered into the early access program which turned into just an advanced software queue that all FSD buyers ended up getting.

 

[ngogas]

Blah,,, you are buying vaporware.

 

[Dan203]

I'm leasing. Adding FSD at the time I bought would have added almost $100/mo to the payment. (with tax) Nothing it does currently is something I'd use and I don't think they'll have functional enough to actually be worth that extra $100/mo before I turn it back in. They may get it to a point where it's useful in 3 year, but at that point I'll be trading it in and have paid for virtually nothing.

 

[jjrandorin]

Probably about as much as someone making this comment on every post, ever posted, on every form, ever.

I didnt read the rest of the thread, but I will commend you, OP, for at least making the thread title clear and not click-baity. Great job on that (not ment sarcastically, ment sincerely). I am tired of the topic itself, but at least you made it clear what your post was.

 

[run-the-joules]

I bought it over two years ago and am absolutely filled with regret that I did so.


The killing of Enhanced Autopilot was very very smart for them, but really F'ing annoying for those of us who already fell for the FSD FOMO nonsense once but also don't want to take a step backwards.

I'll probably buy a Model Y next year and I'll begrudgingly buy FSD with it because I don't want to lose summon and automatic lane changes. But if they'd let me transfer my FSD purchase as a one-time gesture, I'd order a Model Y right now without thinking twice about it.

 

[run-the-joules]

I purchased FSD for $3k. I just want it to respond to stop signs and stop lights.

I want it do those, navigate through intersections, go park itself, and everything else that was a feature they said it will do.