FSD going subscription only (one-time purchase no longer available after Feb 14)

[Griswold]

In Summary: While FSD is tied to the owner's account, amd npt the VIN, it can and often does transfer in private sales, but don't assume it will; Tesla's internal processes can remove it, especially on vehicles they sell as used, say Reddit users."

AI is going downhill already with typos like that

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[Fugue]

Can you include car, home, health and dental insurance also?

I'd like to cancel my subscription to the IRS.

 

[alpha42]

True today, but fast forward one year (or whatever) when there's only a subscription option and UFSD is more likely.

You're only going to get an 'FSD sale value boost' in a private party situation, and only if your buyer is enough of a Tesla fan to understand exactly what they're getting.

Dealers aren't even bothering to ask if a Telsa has FSD when it comes to appraising them... Year/Color/Miles/Condition and that's it.

I ran my 3 to three places (Carmax + 2 local dealers) to see what I could get on a straight sale versus trading back in to Tesla. Not one of them asked about FSD. I asked the second two out right if they factored it in, they both said no.

Tesla.. I suspect does not factor it in at all either. Of all the dollar offers, trading back in to Tesla was the lowest. If not for trade in value offsetting sales tax in my state and the logistics of needing a set of wheels until my CT arrives, I would have just dumped it to CarMax, they offered the most.

 

[turns2stone]

You're only going to get an 'FSD sale value boost' in a private party situation, and only if your buyer is enough of a Tesla fan to understand exactly what they're getting.

Dealers aren't even bothering to ask if a Telsa has FSD when it comes to appraising them... Year/Color/Miles/Condition and that's it.

I ran my 3 to three places (Carmax + 2 local dealers) to see what I could get on a straight sale versus trading back in to Tesla. Not one of them asked about FSD. I asked the second two out right if they factored it in, they both said no.

Tesla.. I suspect does not factor it in at all either. Of all the dollar offers, trading back in to Tesla was the lowest. If not for trade in value offsetting sales tax in my state and the logistics of needing a set of wheels until my CT arrives, I would have just dumped it to CarMax, they offered the most.

Understand, and that is the pragmatic take... but fast forward 1-2 years, UFSD is 'real' and people are paying a $3K-$5K premium for used FSD Teslas w/AI4 vs. those without. Andy maybe FSD price goes up to $129/month?

 

[YDR37]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if FSD is subscription-only, wouldn't that make operation of a Cybercab completely subscription-dependent?

The plan (as I understand it) is that the Cybercab will have no steering wheels or pedals. The only way to operate it is by using FSD. So does a Cybercab become immobile if you miss the monthly FSD payment?

Maybe Cybercabs will only be available for lease, and the lease payment will include the FSD subscription. If you miss your lease payment, the vehicle could become inoperable -- but that's no worse than a conventional auto lease, where a missed payment could mean that your vehicle gets repossessed.

 

[Cayden Thompson]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if FSD is subscription-only, wouldn't that make operation of a Cybercab completely subscription-dependent?

The plan (as I understand it) is that the Cybercab will have no steering wheels or pedals. The only way to operate it is by using FSD. So does a Cybercab become immobile if you miss the monthly FSD payment?

Maybe Cybercabs will only be available for lease, and the lease payment will include the FSD subscription. If you miss your lease payment, the vehicle could become inoperable -- but that's no worse than a conventional auto lease, where a missed payment could mean that your vehicle gets repossessed.

Or just sell the dam with thing FSD included.

 

[SCTesla]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if FSD is subscription-only, wouldn't that make operation of a Cybercab completely subscription-dependent?

The plan (as I understand it) is that the Cybercab will have no steering wheels or pedals. The only way to operate it is by using FSD. So does a Cybercab become immobile if you miss the monthly FSD payment?

Maybe Cybercabs will only be available for lease, and the lease payment will include the FSD subscription. If you miss your lease payment, the vehicle could become inoperable -- but that's no worse than a conventional auto lease, where a missed payment could mean that your vehicle gets repossessed.

You can't buy a Cybercab and won't be able to for years, if ever.

 

[YDR37]

Maybe Cybercabs will only be available for lease, and the lease payment will include the FSD subscription. If you miss your lease payment, the vehicle could become inoperable -- but that's no worse than a conventional auto lease, where a missed payment could mean that your vehicle gets repossessed.

Or maybe if you miss a payment or two, the Cybercab quietly backs out of your driveway in the middle of the night and drives to the repo yard by itself.

 

[baska]

Huh, didn’t see this coming. I understand why Tesla likes the subscription model, but dropping the one-time FSD purchase altogether is kind of a bummer. Some people just prefer paying once and being done with it.

Subscriptions make sense in theory, but for something this expensive it starts to feel like you’re renting a feature instead of owning it. It’s a little ironic too, considering Tesla has picked up customer choice awards in the past. This doesn’t exactly scream “more choice” for owners.

I’m glad existing buyers are locked in, but I really wish they’d kept both options on the table. Curious how this plays out for resale and whether it ends up turning people off FSD entirely.

 

[zend]

FSD (Supervised) gift card @ https://shop.tesla.com/product/one-month-full-self-driving-_supervised_-gift-card

The terms disclaim the possibility of price increase. Interesting how it handles tax rate too.

Glad to have FSD on the Beast. The break-even math heavily favors long term owners (without factoring in subscription price increases). I think resale value entirely depends on what features we get locked in when robotaxi and ride share are in full swing.

 

[Sjohnson20]

Not sure if this was mentioned here but this seems to have something to do with the February 14th deadline from the California DMV about false advertising. So they didn't decide to just stop selling FSD for their own reasons. I guess we will see what happens with that.

 

[HaulingAss]

Seriously. You obviously haven't been paying attention. Let me assist:

Tesla has stripped FSD from many FSD-purchased vehicles. I have purchased FSD three times. The first I was able to transfer to another owner successfully after a private purchase. Tesla now NORMALLY allows this after losing a lawsuit. They still did maintain that they had the right to restrict FSD to the original owner unless stated in teh contract, many of which do not have transfer language, and some vehicle purchase agreements still reflect this. This is fact, notwithstanding your assertion. I traded the first in at a Ford dealership ('19 MX on '22 Lighting) and Tesla stripped the feature when the next purchaser attempted to transfer. I became involved and was unsuccessful in assisting the transfer. It was lost (back when it was $10k). The other I still own ('26 MY Launch). Here's the AI answer to help you from an independent source, since anything I say triggers fanbois:

"Yes, Tesla has historically restricted FSD to the original purchaser's account, but they've offered limited-time exceptions, primarily through private sales or special transfer programs (like to a new Tesla) to boost sales, though FSD can stay with the car in private transfers if done correctly, creating a gray area where Tesla sometimes removes it from used cars, especially from auctions.
Key Points on FSD Transfers:

• Private Sales (Owner-to-Owner): Generally, FSD transfers with the vehicle in private sales, allowing the new owner to use it once added to their account, but it's not guaranteed and can be stripped by Tesla.
• Tesla Used Cars/Auctions: When Tesla resells a used car (especially through auction), they often remove FSD to sell it again to the new buyer, forcing a repurchase or subscription, notes Reddit users.
• Transfer Programs: Tesla has run temporary programs allowing owners to move FSD from an old car to a new one (e.g., for Model 3 refreshes), requiring specific terms and conditions.
• "FSD Retention" Services: Some third-party dealers offer paid "FSD Retention" services, claiming they can prevent Tesla from removing FSD from used cars, though this isn't officially sanctioned.

The Inconsistency:
Tesla's policy isn't always consistent, acting as a sales lever; FSD often stays with the VIN in private sales but can be removed when Tesla reacquires the vehicle, creating frustration for buyers of used Teslas.
In Summary: While FSD is tied to the owner's account, amd npt the VIN, it can and often does transfer in private sales, but don't assume it will; Tesla's internal processes can remove it, especially on vehicles they sell as used, say Reddit users."

Obviously, if you trade the car into Tesla you don't own it anymore and Tesla can do whatever they like with FSD.

But when you sell a Tesla with FSD to another person, you can advertise it with FSD and the buyer will get a car with FSD. End of story.

You are constantly spreading fake anti-Tesla narratives. And spare us about how you are their biggest supporter.

 

[HaulingAss]

Tesla isn't planning on giving anyone "newer hardware". The verbatim quotes from Oct 22, 2025 earnings call on the subject are as follows:

I believe after a certain date, there were Version 3 cars that were not sold with the promise that the hardware was sufficient for full autonomy. My guess is those comments provide a way to continue to keep improving those cars FSD supervised (by leveraging the same types of improvements in software ver. 14) without the goal of full autonomy. There is also a chance the improvements will be sufficient to allow full autonomy, but Elon made it clear on the Q4 2024 call that he thought it very likely new hardware would be required.

Earlier vehicles with Version 3 and Version 2.5 hardware were promised that the hardware was sufficient for full autonomy. These are the cars that will be eligible for hardware upgrades at no cost (if 14 "lite" is not sufficient). Cars that are not eligible will likely be able to purchase the hardware upgrade and have it installed by Tesla Service. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but this is my best guess as to how it looks to be playing out at this stage, according to statements from Tesla.

Transcript from Q4 2024 January 29, 2025 conference call:

(Elon Speaking) Yeah. I mean, I think the honest answer is that we're going to have to upgrade people's Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought Full Self Driving, and that is the honest answer and that's going to be painful and difficult but we'll get it done. Now I'm kinda glad that not that many people bought the FSD package haha.

It's always possible that new programming/training techniques will make a hardware upgrade unnecessary but, if it is necessary, Elon has already committed to doing exactly that.

 

[HaulingAss]

This isn't true. It was 3 out of the top 5 questions before that call. These questions are approved.or rejected by Tesla(typically Elon) the day before.

Elon addressed it before and during the Q&A, but it was asked.

Elon volunteered the hardware upgrade information right after CFO Vaibhav Taneja indicated a software solution would follow Version 14 for Hardware 4.

In the Tesla Q4 2024 earnings call on January 29, 2025, the discussion on Hardware 3 upgrades occurred during the Q&A session. The analyst's question was: "Is it expected that Tesla will need to upgrade Hardware 3 vehicles? And if so, what is the timeline and expected impact to Tesla's capex? I think they're referring to cost there."CFO Vaibhav Taneja responded first: "I guess we haven't started working on Hardware 3 yet. We are still making software releases. We released the 12.6 release recently, which was like a baby V13, but it's a significant improvement compared to what they had previously. People are still finding ways to distill larger models in the smaller models. So, we're not giving up on Hardware. We're still working on it. Just will trail the Hardware 4 releases."

Then Elon volunteered: "Yeah. I mean, I think the honest answer is that we're going to have to upgrade people's Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought Full Self Driving, and that is the honest answer and that's going to be painful and difficult but we'll get it done. Now I'm kinda glad that not that many people bought the FSD package haha."

 

[SCTesla]

Elon volunteered the hardware upgrade information right after CFO Vaibhav Taneja indicated a software solution would follow Version 14 for Hardware 4.

In the Tesla Q4 2024 earnings call on January 29, 2025, the discussion on Hardware 3 upgrades occurred during the Q&A session. The analyst's question was: "Is it expected that Tesla will need to upgrade Hardware 3 vehicles? And if so, what is the timeline and expected impact to Tesla's capex? I think they're referring to cost there."CFO Vaibhav Taneja responded first: "I guess we haven't started working on Hardware 3 yet. We are still making software releases. We released the 12.6 release recently, which was like a baby V13, but it's a significant improvement compared to what they had previously. People are still finding ways to distill larger models in the smaller models. So, we're not giving up on Hardware. We're still working on it. Just will trail the Hardware 4 releases."

Then Elon volunteered: "Yeah. I mean, I think the honest answer is that we're going to have to upgrade people's Hardware 3 computer for those that have bought Full Self Driving, and that is the honest answer and that's going to be painful and difficult but we'll get it done. Now I'm kinda glad that not that many people bought the FSD package haha."

Again, it was 3 of the top 5 questions. They had to address it.

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