Question about FUSC and ownership change

[Brrr4u]

I just purchased a family friends 2017 Tesla s 90d with free unlimited supercharging. We have not switched the online account name to mine yet and don’t plan to anymore because when we tried that at first, Tesla took away the unlimited super charging. So we never ended up doing the ownership transfer online/ at Tesla.

I plan to keep the Tesla account under his name but my concern is if I switch the title name under mine through the dmv, it will trigger something at Tesla that would take away my unlimited supercharging.
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1. Does anyone know if the DMV notifies Tesla of ownership changes?

2. Do you think if I switch my the title name and apply for new registration under my name, I’ll loose my super charging? ( won’t change ownership on the Tesla online account though)

 

[Ostrichsak]

The online Tesla account has nothing to do with your title or your DMV. That said, what month specifically was that car made in 2017? Did he buy it new or used and if used, from where did he buy it?

 

[MP3Mike]

I just purchased a family friends 2017 Tesla s 90d with free unlimited supercharging. We have not switched the online account name to mine yet and don’t plan to anymore because when we tried that at first, Tesla took away the unlimited super charging. So we never ended up doing the ownership transfer online/ at Tesla.

I'm not sure I understand what you say happend... You transferred it, they took away FUSC, and then you transferred it back and they re-enabled FUSC?

I plan to keep the Tesla account under his name but my concern is if I switch the title name under mine through the dmv, it will trigger something at Tesla that would take away my unlimited supercharging.

In theory only the owner on the account can authorize warranty repair or get help from Tesla via the phone...

But hey, I'm sure Telsa doesn't mind people stealing from them so whatever.

 

[Brrr4u]

The online Tesla account has nothing to do with your title or your DMV. That said, what month specifically was that car made in 2017? Did he buy it new or used and if used, from where did he buy it?

Previous owner purchased in December of 2016 and if was made in April 2017. He was told that it would be transferable, even when we spoke on the phone with the Tesla rep before I purchased. When I bought the car, we didn’t the online account transfer and then it was taken away. So the previous owner called Tesla and said he never ended up selling it and we transferred the account name back to his. But I do want to register the car under my name, just afraid that it will be taken a way.

 

[Brrr4u]

I'm not sure I understand what you say happend... You transferred it, they took away FUSC, and then you transferred it back and they re-enabled FUSC?



In theory only the owner on the account can authorize warranty repair or get help from Tesla via the phone...

But hey, I'm sure Telsa doesn't mind people stealing from them so whatever.

Yes that’s correct. We did multiple transfers because they took it away. So I plan to keep it under his name for the Tesla account but I want to register the car with the dmv under my name but I’m afraid it will trigger something.

I don’t think it’s stealing from Tesla. He had to pay a premium for the FUSC and was told it would be transferable. I also had to pay a premium to him for it. It’s like if I were to purchase a BMW M3 but then when I sell it to someone else, BMW takes away all the performance of the M and makes it a regular bmw. That’s not right and I know Tesla has been getting a lot of negative feedback on it. It’s more like they’re stealing from the consumer in this scenario.

 

[Brrr4u]

Previous owner purchased in December of 2016 and if was made in April 2017. He was told that it would be transferable, even when we spoke on the phone with the Tesla rep before I purchased. When I bought the car, we didn’t the online account transfer and then it was taken away. So the previous owner called Tesla and said he never ended up selling it and we transferred the account name back to his. But I do want to register the car under my name, just afraid that it will be taken a way.

I wanted to add he bought it brand new from Tesla Fremont. I purchased from him with 45K miles on it.

I actually already did a warranty repair and they didn’t really bat an eye.

just want to transfer the title name under mine but I don’t know what that will trigger to Tesla.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Previous owner purchased in December of 2016 and if was made in April 2017. He was told that it would be transferable, even when we spoke on the phone with the Tesla rep before I purchased. When I bought the car, we didn’t the online account transfer and then it was taken away. So the previous owner called Tesla and said he never ended up selling it and we transferred the account name back to his. But I do want to register the car under my name, just afraid that it will be taken a way.

You were right initially. The car was bought during a time when ALL Model S came with FUSC and also transferred to the next private owner w/o any extra steps required to transfer. It was attached to the VIN and would transfer from private owner to private owner in perpetuity without any additional steps needing to be done by the seller or new owner to acquire.

Tesla were wrong in removing it. The mistake wasn't that you transferred in the first place but that you didn't stick to your guns with Tesla who incorrectly removed it for you, the new owner. The time you wasted to "undo" the sale was wasted because what you need to do is to transfer it to your name and then, if removed, you need to have Tesla replace it and remind them that this car was bought new and was sold to you via private party sale and at no point did the transfer relinquish FUSC.

As long as what I described is accurate then Tesla is wrong. If he bought a car, took delivery prior to January 2017 and then sold it to you via private party sale FUSC should not change one bit with new account transfer. Tesla makes LOTS of mistakes and, sadly, the onus falls on us owners to fight for what we should just have w/o drama.


Edit: I just saw that the car was made in April of 2017 (originally though that was 2016 as well) which means that he didn't take delivery until that date at the soonest. Disregard what I said above as the original owner had to physically take delivery of the car before the deadline (I believe this was 1/15 or 1/31 2017 top be specific) to be eligible for FUSC. I don't believe that his car qualifies for true FUSC and what he probably got was some newer version of the program that was applied only for the original owner. This is similar to the "free supercharging" that they started applying here and there to their used cars as well as it doesn't transfer to the next owner. You may be SOL on this one.

 

[MP3Mike]

As long as what I described is accurate then Tesla is wrong. If he bought a car, took delivery prior to January 2017 and then sold it to you via private party sale FUSC should not change one bit with new account transfer.

I think you found the problem. Here are the details of the changes to FUSC:

Ensuring Use for Long-Distance Travel
For Teslas ordered after January 1, 2017, 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits (roughly 1,000 miles) will be included annually so that all owners can continue to enjoy free Supercharging during travel. Beyond that, there will be a small fee to Supercharge which will be charged incrementally and cost less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car. All cars will continue to come standard with the onboard hardware required for Supercharging.

We will release the details of the program later this year, and while prices may fluctuate over time and vary regionally based on the cost of electricity, our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center.

These changes will not impact current owners or any new Teslas ordered before January 1, 2017, as long as delivery is taken before April 1, 2017.

Previous owner purchased in December of 2016 and if was made in April 2017.

It sounds like the order was placed in December of 2016, but it wasn't manufactured until April of 2017. So the earliest they could have taken delivery would have been April of 2017 after the deadline to get FUSC.

 

[Brrr4u]

I think you found the problem. Here are the details of the changes to FUSC:




It sounds like the order was placed in December of 2016, but it wasn't manufactured until April of 2017. So the earliest they could have taken delivery would have been April of 2017 after the deadline to get FUSC.

My apologies, it looks like he ordered in December 2016 but took delivery in 02/16/20. It says the manufacture date was 02/16.

I just confirmed with the car receipt dealer gave him when he purchased it.

From my understanding the cut off was delivery before April 2017?

 

[Brrr4u]

If I leave his name on the Tesla account but register it under my name to through the DMV so the title officially transfers over.

Does anyone know if Tesla gets notified of this? Do they have access to dmv registration records?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

My apologies, it looks like he ordered in December 2016 but took delivery in 02/16/20. It says the manufacture date was 02/16.

I just confirmed with the car receipt dealer gave him when he purchased it.

From my understanding the cut off was delivery before April 2017?

If it was ordered in 2016 and hasn't ever been resold by Tesla or a dealer (only resold via private sale) then the FUSC should transfer to the new owner. I sold my S90D from December 2016 to a private party and the FUSC transferred to his account since it stays with the car. He recently put the car up for sale and FUSC should transfer to the new owner.

As for the DMV, I'm sure Tesla is informed of it eventually since they need to know who the owner is if there is ever a recall issued.

 

[Ostrichsak]

My apologies, it looks like he ordered in December 2016 but took delivery in 02/16/20. It says the manufacture date was 02/16.

I just confirmed with the car receipt dealer gave him when he purchased it.

This summary statement is SO confusing and w/o proper dates we can't give you any advice other than what's been posted. He ordered it in 2016 but took deliver at the start of this year? You need to take the time to format a proper response with accurate dates as this is a VERY complex situation involving some deadlines that this car is close enough to that we need to know w/o confusion when the car was manufactured if you're going to get proper information.

From my understanding the cut off was delivery before April 2017?

The car had to be ordered by 1/15/17 and delivered by 4/15/17 to qualify for the original version of FUSC which transferred free-of-charge to subsequent owners without any additional steps. Anything after that date came with nothing but would eventually get the newer version which wasn't FUSC as we knew it in the important difference: it was for that owner only and did NOT transfer to subsequent owners.

Tesla Tweet on 1/1/17: "Because of high demand and to give an opportunity to those customers who could not order over the holidays, we are extending it so customers can place an order for a Model S or X until January 15th, 2017 and take delivery by April 15, 2017 to receive free unlimited Supercharging."

In summary (and making a few guesses at what dates you meant to type) if the car was ordered in 12/2016, built in 2/2017 and he took delivery prior to 4/15/17 and retained sole ownership prior to selling it directly to you via private party sale that car should retain FUSC for you as the new owner and should transfer via VIN w/o you needing to do anything to process it. It should also transfer to the next owner in the same way assuming it's also another private party buyer.


Side note: Premium Data for Life is another feature that mirrors FUSC in terms of deadlines, dates & transferability.

 

[Tam]

...1. Does anyone know if the DMV notifies Tesla of ownership changes?...

I also agree with @MorrisonHiker that Tesla needs to know from DMV of the current status/ownership of the cars they manufactured for various reasons such as recalls, disabling Superchargers for Salvage Titles...

But I am not sure how quickly the enforcement is because it takes money and effort to be timely.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I also agree with @MorrisonHiker that Tesla needs to know from DMV of the current status/ownership of the cars they manufactured for various reasons such as recalls, disabling Superchargers for Salvage Titles...

But I am not sure how quickly the enforcement is because it takes money and effort to be timely.

I owned a Honda CR-V for 20 years before I bought my first Tesla. In those 20 years, I had at least 5 different addresses and Honda always managed to track me down and send me recall notices, warranty notices, etc.

I never gave Honda any of of those addresses so they must've gotten them from my DMV registration records.

 

[Brrr4u]

This summary statement is SO confusing and w/o proper dates we can't give you any advice other than what's been posted. He ordered it in 2016 but took deliver at the start of this year? You need to take the time to format a proper response with accurate dates as this is a VERY complex situation involving some deadlines that this car is close enough to that we need to know w/o confusion when the car was manufactured if you're going to get proper information.



The car had to be ordered by 1/15/17 and delivered by 4/15/17 to qualify for the original version of FUSC which transferred free-of-charge to subsequent owners without any additional steps. Anything after that date came with nothing but would eventually get the newer version which wasn't FUSC as we knew it in the important difference: it was for that owner only and did NOT transfer to subsequent owners.

Tesla Tweet on 1/1/17: "Because of high demand and to give an opportunity to those customers who could not order over the holidays, we are extending it so customers can place an order for a Model S or X until January 15th, 2017 and take delivery by April 15, 2017 to receive free unlimited Supercharging."

In summary (and making a few guesses at what dates you meant to type) if the car was ordered in 12/2016, built in 2/2017 and he took delivery prior to 4/15/17 and retained sole ownership prior to selling it directly to you via private party sale that car should retain FUSC for you as the new owner and should transfer via VIN w/o you needing to do anything to process it. It should also transfer to the next owner in the same way assuming it's also another private party buyer.


Side note: Premium Data for Life is another feature that mirrors FUSC in terms of deadlines, dates & transferability.

I was on the road when I was originally replying so sorry for the typos.

The previous owner ordered in December 2016 but took delivery in February 2017.

I just don’t know if we try and go back to Tesla and tell these terms if they will honor it as they already took it off the first time we trie that. And after reading some if these replies, it sounds like the DMV will get notified. I just dont understand how tesla can just take it away considering the guidelines regarding the transfer on their site, in addition to the original owner purchasing fusc for a premium and promised it stays with the vin/life of the car.

Has anyone had a similar situation where they transferred the title and kept fusc?

 

[Ostrichsak]

I was on the road when I was originally replying so sorry for the typos.

The previous owner ordered in December 2016 but took delivery in February 2017.

I just don’t know if we try and go back to Tesla and tell these terms if they will honor it as they already took it off the first time we trie that. And after reading some if these replies, it sounds like the DMV will get notified. I just dont understand how tesla can just take it away considering the guidelines regarding the transfer on their site, in addition to the original owner purchasing fusc for a premium and promised it stays with the vin/life of the car.

Has anyone had a similar situation where they transferred the title and kept fusc?

They can take it away if you let them. That's what all this BS is about because they're trying to confuse people and intimidate them into not doing anything about it. The choice is yours.

As for has anyone transferred title and kept FUSC... me. Several times. And if I bought one that I knew for a fact was supposed to have it and they removed it I would contact them and make them add it back.

Don't let them blame their complete and utter incompetence & get away with it.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I was on the road when I was originally replying so sorry for the typos.

The previous owner ordered in December 2016 but took delivery in February 2017.

I just don’t know if we try and go back to Tesla and tell these terms if they will honor it as they already took it off the first time we trie that. And after reading some if these replies, it sounds like the DMV will get notified. I just dont understand how tesla can just take it away considering the guidelines regarding the transfer on their site, in addition to the original owner purchasing fusc for a premium and promised it stays with the vin/life of the car.

Has anyone had a similar situation where they transferred the title and kept fusc?

When I sold my December 2016 Model S90D in early 2019, FUSC stayed with the vehicle and the new owner was able to use it. That owner is now selling the car and FUSC will stay with the vehicle and will show on the new owner's account.

 

[Doanster1]

OP, you are in the clear based on the true dates you’ve listed now. Should’ve just stuck to those dates and had them reinstate FUSC the first time instead of all the transfer runaround. Most important is to get the title/registration taken care of first since you need to be listed as the official owner. How did you get warranty service already? Pretended you were the previous owner when you brought it in?

 

[Brrr4u]

Thanks for all the input guys. I am going to submit it to the DMV and hope for the best and fight it if they take it away again. Based on my research and these responses, I am in the right and they should transfer it over.

Ill give you guys an update once I do so!

 

[creative]

Hey OP,
Could you share a quick update on your story please ?
Thanks !