Purchasing FSD on used car before transferring account

[rdross80]

So I just purchased a used Model 3 from a private sale that I'm scheduled to pickup this weekend. It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get the Tesla account transferred into my name in time for pickup. It's not a huge deal, as he's just going to give me access to his account for now so that we can swap credit cards and I can use SC on the way home. Now, he doesn't have FSD or even any sort of Enhanced Autopilot on this car, so this is something I was planning on purchasing. I really would like to have it for the trip home since it's a long 10 hour drive, so the plan was, since I'm adding my credit card to his account, I could just buy it right then, and hopefully I'd get a quick update to unlock it. But then I read this story that I'm sure you've all heard about, about the guy buying a used Tesla with FSD that they do an audit on and remove the feature after the guy bought it. Is this something I have to worry about since I'd technically be buying it under his name? I know that seems like a silly question, but the details are sparse on that story and I don't know the reasoning for the removal.

And second question: So since there's no Autopilot at all on this car, will the price to unlock FSD still only be $7k? Just want to make sure I'm not going to have any extra hidden costs to get this feature.

 

[Az_Rael]

The famous story involved a Tesla that was sold by Tesla via auction. I dont think you will have this issue with a private party sale unless the car has passed through Tesla in the past as a CPO or lemon buyback.

Either way, document everything just in case.

To find out the cost, just ask the seller what is currently showing in their account for the upgrades cost. Depending on the era of their car, it may show several options. It might show an AP purchase required in addition to the $7k for FSD.

 

[AKinDC]

Putting your credit card in on his account?
That would make me very, very nervous.

 

[mswlogo]

Are you sure there isn't a basic Auto Pilot you can't buy?

When I bought it recently it showed up nearly instantly on the car. But I'd do it perhaps the day before your trip to be sure.

When was the car built?

 

[Tam]

...price to unlock FSD still only be $7k?...

What you price that you see on your (or currently his) webpage account or phone app is that's what you get to pay.

In general $7,000 sounds right unless, you've got a car that has no Autopilot, no Enhanced Autopilot, no FSD, then you need to pay about $3,000 first for the basic Autopilot then another $7,000 for FSD which means a total of about $10,000.

The phone app under the menu "Upgrade" would show what you already have and how much more you have to pay to add more features.

...I really would like to have it for the trip home since it's a long 10 hour drive...

That's a good plan as long as the credit card won't be abused.

If you have citicards.com, you can use 1-time virtual number at a time that's only good for one transaction which might be a better idea. You can get as many 1-time virtual numbers as you want but each can only be used once and cannot be reused (abused once maximally, not repeated times).

...But then I read this story that I'm sure you've all heard about, about the guy buying a used Tesla with FSD that they do an audit on and remove the feature after the guy bought it. Is this something I have to worry about since I'd technically be buying it under his name?...

You are fine with a private sale, but just in case, you need to printout all the receipts of what were paid and it doesn't matter who paid them, as long as there are proof receipts that the features were paid.

By the way, Monroney Sticker is not a receipt. An owner might decide to skip to pay a feature from the sticker and paid less and still has the original but no longer correct Monroney Sticker.

Good luck!

 

[rdross80]

So he went ahead and gave me access to his account, and I have to say I'm pretty discouraged. When I was in talks of buying this car, I asked him if it would cost more to get FSD since he didn't have Autopilot, and he said no, but now that I'm looking at it, I do have to pay an extra $3k for basic Autopilot. This negates any savings I was getting from buying used. I've already paid for the car, so there's not much I can do about it now except stew in my displeasure. I didn't know enough beforehand to understand the pricing structure of Autopilot/FSD, and it's bit me in the ass now.

I'm debating now if I should just stick with Basic Autopilot.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I'm debating now if I should just stick with Basic Autopilot.

Yes. But you can do a 2 day trial before committing now for features purchased through the app.

I personally would never pay for FSD. It's about 50/50 for and against FSD on this forum.

 

[muleferg]

Yes. But you can do a 2 day trial before committing now for features purchased through the app.

I personally would never pay for FSD. It's about 50/50 for and against FSD on this forum.

50% know how to use it and the Other 50% don't

 

[TomB985]

So he went ahead and gave me access to his account, and I have to say I'm pretty discouraged. When I was in talks of buying this car, I asked him if it would cost more to get FSD since he didn't have Autopilot, and he said no, but now that I'm looking at it, I do have to pay an extra $3k for basic Autopilot. This negates any savings I was getting from buying used. I've already paid for the car, so there's not much I can do about it now except stew in my displeasure. I didn't know enough beforehand to understand the pricing structure of Autopilot/FSD, and it's bit me in the ass now.

I'm debating now if I should just stick with Basic Autopilot.

Just wanted to say that SUCKS. I feel for you, man...

But, for what it's worth, I've got EAP and I don't think upgrades over standard AP are worthwhile. Summon is too glitchy to be really useful, and I'm not optimistic that FSD is going to be a true reality for quite awhile. Navigate on Autopilot never stops pissing me off because it loves to cut people off and hog the left lane when the guy in front of you is going 1 MPH slower than set.

Regular AP is fantastic, and a complete lifesaver for me with a hand disability. All above that is overrated IMHO.

 

[AKinDC]

50% know how to use it and the Other 50% don't

That's a massively silly oversimplification.
Many of us completely understand it, and still think it's not a good value for the money...yet.

 

[JasonR67]

50% know how to use it and the Other 50% don't

Yes.. but are the 50% that know how to use it for or against it?

 

[Tam]

...I'm debating now if I should just stick with Basic Autopilot.

If paying as little as possible is your goal, then I would buy $3,000 basic Autopilot and not the whole $10,000 for the full package because that's a big difference.

 

[Az_Rael]

I'm debating now if I should just stick with Basic Autopilot.

Stick with Basic AP for a while. It is 95% of the AP I use daily on my FSD car. Only feature in the FSD package I use is the lane change.

Tesla may eventually run specials where they give folks a 30 day trial of FSD and you get a discount if you buy during the trial. Price might go up too, but I suspect they are at the current top price the market will bear for the feature set they are offering.

 

[TomB985]

This thread got me thinking, so I started a pole. I think the OP should check the results before making a purchase:

Poll: Is FSD Worth the Cost?