The primary massive nugget of reports from immediately’s quarterly Tesla convention name is that Tesla will lastly enable Tesla homeowners who’ve a automobile with Full Self Driving (FSD) to switch that to a brand new Tesla buy — however it is a one-time supply, so act shortly! Let me clarify. …

Traditionally, when you purchase a Tesla and purchase the Full Self Driving (FSD) software program suite, that FSD buy sticks with the automobile, not the proprietor. So, when you promote the automobile, the brand new proprietor will get FSD with the automobile. Nevertheless, when you then go and purchase one other Tesla, you must pay for FSD anew.

This has little question dampened gross sales, particularly since FSD has gone up in value an ideal deal up to now few years. I purchased our Tesla Mannequin 3 in August 2019, and I purchased the FSD package deal for $6,000. It now prices $15,000 to get FSD. Shopping for a brand new automobile with the identical software program would thus price me an additional $9,000 simply to maintain that FSD software program.

Folks have been wanting superior Autopilot and FSD packages to stay with the proprietor for years — like, virtually a decade. For many who suppose this needs to be a everlasting coverage, sadly, it received’t. Nevertheless, for some purpose or one other, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has determined to permit homeowners with FSD to commerce of their Tesla and get one other one with FSD at no further price for one time solely — within the third quarter (present quarter) of 2023. And, to be clear, so long as you place the order within the third quarter, you’re good. (Although, I’d be cautious about making any modifications to that order after the third quarter.)

Tesla Full Self Driving in motion. Photograph by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

However why? Why is Tesla lastly providing this? And why for simply this one time? Nicely, one clue could also be in Musk calling this a sort of one-time “amnesty” supply. The definition of amnesty is: “a normal pardon for offenses, particularly political offenses, in opposition to a authorities, typically granted earlier than any trial or conviction.” Is that the precise phrase right here? Nicely, maybe what Musk is acknowledging is that he made loads of claims about FSD reaching robotaxi functionality a lot before it has (it nonetheless isn’t robotaxi succesful), and he made these claims for a number of years. Once I purchased my Mannequin 3 in mid-2019, it was presupposed to be “characteristic full” by way of robotaxi functionality by the top of the yr. It wasn’t even near characteristic full by the top of the yr. Many individuals who purchased FSD anticipating eventual robotaxi functionality have already offered or crashed their vehicles. Others, like me, could have thought of or be contemplating buying and selling of their Tesla for a brand new one, however don’t need to take a $9,000 haircut to get the nonetheless very imperfect FSD suite once more. So, maybe this one-time supply is a sort of apology and concession for years of delay on FSD targets.

One other chance, in all probability one that enhances my earlier concept, is that Tesla is on the lookout for methods to stimulate extra gross sales. The corporate has been making value cuts so much this yr, and as we speculated beforehand and confirmed only a few minutes in the past, Tesla stock has gone up this yr whereas the order backlog has shrunk. Is Tesla dealing with a requirement problem? Who is aware of, however permitting many early Tesla patrons to commerce of their Teslas and get new ones with out having to pay one other $9,000 ($15,000 minus the $6,000 or so we have now already paid) for a similar FSD software program ought to spur loads of trade-ins and new automobile purchases.

This was actually the shock of the quarterly Tesla convention name, and people are my ideas on it. Did I miss something or misunderstanding something on this subject?

(Facet word: Prepare for all the Tesla homeowners who traded of their vehicles with FSD up to now few months to rise in uproar and never getting included on this new deal.)

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