Tesla owners who splurged on the company’s lackluster Full Self-Driving package will soon be able to transfer the software package to a new car. However, like most deals from Tesla, this one has a couple of catches.
Tesla has been selling the Full Self-Driving package since 2016 and had long promised that it had all the necessary systems to achieve fully-autonomous driving without supervision. Many suckers fell victim were convinced that Tesla could deliver on this promise and splurged on the package. Prices for it have soared in recent years to the point where the package now costs $15,000 in the U.S. despite it remaining limited some seven years after its launch.
Then there’s also the issue of Tesla not allowing those who purchased the full-self driving package to have it transferred to a new Tesla should they choose to upgrade. Instead, it stays with the car. However, during the carmaker’s most recent earnings call with investors, Elon Musk announced that Tesla will allow existing owners with FSD to transfer the package to a new car but only if they place a new order this quarter.
In addition, owners must use Tesla to trade in their old vehicle if they want to have the FSD transferred to their new vehicle. If they were to sell their old Tesla on the used market, for example, then they’d have to fork out another $15,000 to get FSD on their new vehicle. Additionally, Tesla is known for ridiculously low trade-in offers, so it may not be as good of a deal as it first seems.
There’s no doubt that through this offer, Tesla is hoping to drive up sales by encouraging existing owners to upgrade to new vehicles while selling their old ones to Tesla, which will then sell them for profit. However, it’s not clear why Musk said the offer will only be valid for new orders placed in the third quarter.