That $8,000 Tesla Upgrade Won’t Be Yours Much Longer

With Tesla preparing to retire its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) as a one-time purchase and move exclusively to a monthly subscription model, the window for transferring the feature to a new car is closing fast. That’s bad news for owners who previously paid upfront for FSD and were counting on being able to bring it along to their next vehicle.

Tesla’s official stance is that anyone hoping to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle must place their order by March 31.

Read: Tesla’s Self-Driving Feature Just Became A Monthly Bill For Everyone

It’s hard not to see the timing as a deliberate nudge for owners of older FSD-equipped models to upgrade now or risk losing the expensive feature they already paid for, leaving the monthly subscription as their only option.

Broken Promises

At its peak, the Full Self-Driving package was priced at an eye-watering $15,000, despite still not having achieved the level of autonomy the carmaker has been promising for the better part of a decade. More recently, the cost has settled around $8,000. Across Tesla’s customer base, there are likely hundreds of thousands who’ve paid for features that haven’t fully materialized.

Moving exclusively to a monthly subscription has been a long-time coming. Similar advanced driver-assistance systems from the likes of GM and Ford are also available as monthly plans.

Not only does it mean a shopper doesn’t need to splurge on an expensive option that they may never be able to use, but if they have a subscription and aren’t satisfied with FSD, the $99 per month subscription can easily be cancelled.

What Changed in the Fine Print?

Interestingly, Tesla recently said that those wanting to make use of the FSD transfer option would have to take delivery of an eligible new model between January 1 and March 31, but according to Not A Tesla App, it has removed the stipulation that the car must be delivered before April. Instead, shoppers simply need to place an order by March 31.

Whether this really marks the end of FSD transfers is anyone’s guess. Tesla has made similar moves in the past, only to bring the offer back during high-stakes sales pushes. For now, at least, the option remains, but the clock is ticking.