Tesla Raj was hoping that Tesla would allow Full Self-Driving (FSD) to be transferable to an owner’s next Tesla, and so were many, many others. He asked about this at Tesla’s Battery Day event, and Elon Musk said he would think about it. However, Elon came up with an answer to Raj’s request by Tesla’s Q4 earnings call, and it was not an affirmative.
“Unfortunately, we’re not considering that at this time. We do actually offer an increased — higher price for a car with FSD than one without FSD. And I do think that the market currently undervalues — or the consumer market — and arguably the stock market sales probably undervalue just how good FSD is going to be. But we’re not currently planning on offering online to get transferred.”
Although the question has been answered, you can still watch the debate between Raj and Gali on this topic — both had very good points.
For those unfamiliar with the issue, Tesla’s FSD, which is now priced at $10,000, is currently not transferable to another car. So, if a Tesla owner decides to purchase another Tesla, they have to buy FDS again for that new car. They can’t transfer their previous FSD purchase to their new car.
The first thing Raj brought up was the scenario of an accident. You’re a safe driver, have your Tesla and Autopilot, paying attention to the road, and someone hits you. Your car ends up being totaled. “Well, my FSD is gone too,” Raj said. “If I go back and buy another Tesla, I now have to put in another $10K for FSD that I might have only had for a couple of months.”
This has actually happened to some members of the Tesla community. They were hit by a car — the other driver was fully in the wrong — and their car was totaled.
Gali pointed out that this is uncharted territory. “How many cars come with a $10K software option that adds so much value?” Gali noted that Tesla vehicles, being computers on wheels, are new territory. He also mentioned that with FSD Beta and beta testers helping Tesla build the system into a better service, the problem is a lot more complex than it seems.
He mentioned that there are edge cases where someone can get screwed by the non-transferability, but if Tesla was to allow FSD to be transferred, it could “open up another can of worms.” Gali then described a scenario in which, if someone was to sell their Tesla, they could, essentially, scam someone. They could secretly transfer the FSD to their new car while telling the buyer of their older car that it comes with FSD.
Another thought Gali noted was that he believed that Tesla may not want to make it transferable because Tesla doesn’t want to commit to such a big change in policy at this early stage of development. “I feel that’s what Tesla’s position is here it’s just so early and it’s still in such a beta that you’re really just becoming a beta trial user when you sign up for FSD.“
In essence, is FSD part of the car or part of your Tesla account? The two discuss more points on this topic and you can watch the full video here.
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