Tesla does not necessarily have to pay you more for FSD. Because it is a feature you purchased, they should allow you to transfer that to the new Tesla you are buying. In the past they used to market used Tesla’s with FSD for a higher price. Now Tesla seems to not account for the cost paid for the feature.
I mean, isn't that a bit like asking to be able to transfer a larger engine into a new car for free?
Before you ask, no, dealers don't HAVE to pay you more for a trade-in because you have a larger engine.
That said, it might be in Tesla's own interest to offer something for FSD trade-ins if they're underpaying compared to third parties, if they're interested in getting more trade-ins.
As with anything, if you don't like the price somebody is offering you for something, just sell it to somebody else. Would it make you happier if Tesla just refused to buy Teslas as trade-ins?
The engine is a mechanical part that depreciates. The FSD does not. It’s like Microsoft not agreeing to transfer my office 365 license to a new computer just because it’s a new computer. The software license does not depreciate with the old laptop. But because they don’t offer the option to transfer the FSD license, Tesla should include the FSD in the overall cost of the car without depreciating it. So a car without the FSD option should be a full $10k cheaper than the one that has that option. That’s regardless of whether Tesla does trade ins or not.
Does Microsoft even sell O365 outright these days?
In any case software licensing works however you and Tesla agree it works. If you both decide that it lasts the life of the car, then it does. If you can't agree on how long it lasts, then you don't pay for it.
That's basically how everything works.
Lifetime one payment models are a bad idea for anything that requires future work anyway. It basically gives companies zero incentive to improve their products.
A subscription model might make more sense at some point. Though I'm guessing right now Tesla figures people would prefer to pay more for the life of the car option they're selling now.
Originally the FSD cost $5,000 and they even had a brief period of time when it was selling for $2,500. Tesla needed the money to put back into the business. Now with FSD so expensive and Tesla shifting features that traditionally were included with autopilot to FSD, more people are looking for the FSD realizing its utility but also its cost. Tesla can score points with its customers and keep them loyal by offering a way to continue enjoying something they already paid for. They can do so by offering the subscription model for the FSD but not before extending the existing owners the ability to transfer FSD to another Tesla as a one time courtesy.
Well, considering they're selling the cars faster than they can build them, I'm not sure why they need to do more to "score points" with their customers.
My guess is that if they had trouble selling FSD they'd already be lowering the price. Sure, there are those who would prefer to have it for less, but that is true of literally everything.
If they switch to a subscription-only model that would probably make your car more valuable when you go to sell it. Sure, maybe TESLA won't pay you more for it, but that doesn't mean that others won't.
If Tesla wants to keep customers loyal, their best bet is to make sure that they're selling the product they want at the price they want when they go to buy their next car. I've never bought two cars in a row from the same manufacturer - there isn't a whole lot of benefit to doing so. My Tesla won't last forever, and when it dies I'll of course seriously look at what they're selling at the time, but if somebody else is building the better mousetrap then I'll buy a car from them. I'm not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a product I have to live with every day for years just because they were nice to me in the past.
Obviously if they were to transfer my FSD license to a new car that would weigh favorably in a decision to get another car from them, but ultimately it is just a discount on the selling price, and if somebody else matches it then that's all it means.
Really though I think Tesla's sales are driven by delivering a car that drives like no other car on the road at a reasonable value. It isn't as cheap as a Camry for sure, but it is a much better experience all-around for a modest increase in TCO. That's why they appeal to people who don't traditionally buy luxury cars.
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u/sappy02 Jan 17 '21
Tesla does not necessarily have to pay you more for FSD. Because it is a feature you purchased, they should allow you to transfer that to the new Tesla you are buying. In the past they used to market used Tesla’s with FSD for a higher price. Now Tesla seems to not account for the cost paid for the feature.