Tesla Launches New Extended Warranty Option for Some Vehicles

March 23, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla now offers an extended warranty in some regions

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has begun offering an extended warranty called Extended Service Agreement (ESA) in the U.S. The service provides further coverage for eligible vehicles following an accidental leak last year on their mobile app.

You may recall Tesla unintentionally revealed a new extended warranties program when version 4.11.0 of the mobile app went live in July 2022. A new item appeared in the Upgrades section titled Tesla ESA, priced at $7,700.

The description was unclear, with several grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and poor formatting, suggesting that it was not ready for public consumption. It was unknown whether the ESA was being prepared for all models or if the price was a placeholder.

Fast forward to today, Tesla's Vehicle Extended Service Agreement (Vehicle ESA) is now officially available for eligible Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y owners. The Vehicle ESA commences when the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty expires and ends upon reaching the selected time or mileage threshold, whichever comes first.

Eligibility and Coverage

To be eligible, the new vehicle must be purchased directly from Tesla, and the Vehicle ESA must be purchased no later than when the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty expires.

Pricing

The pricing for the Vehicle Extended Service Agreement (in USD) is:

Model S (2 years or 25,000 miles, whichever occurs first): $3,100.00

Model X (2 years or 25,000 miles, whichever occurs first): $3,500.00

Model 3 (2 years or 25,000 miles, whichever occurs first): $1,800.00

Model Y (2 years or 25,000 miles, whichever occurs first): $2,000.00

These prices are notably lower than the previously leaked $7,700 price tag. The Vehicle ESA purchase price does not include applicable state and local taxes.

The new ESA covers Model S built between 2012 and 2020, and Model X built between 2015 and 2020. There are no similar production date limitations for Model 3 and Model Y.

Unfortunately, there is no grace period. The ESA must be purchased before the Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty expires (4 years or 50,000 miles). This means 2018 and some early 2019 Model 3 sedans are not eligible.

Exclusions and Deductible

The ESA covers the repair or replacement necessary to correct defects in the materials or workmanship of most parts manufactured or supplied by Tesla during the coverage period. However, it does not include the high-voltage battery or drive unit, which have their own standard 8-year warranty.

Tesla clarifies that the ESA is not a Maintenance Plan and will not cover wear and tear items like brake pad replacements.

The deductible for Model 3 and Model Y is $100 per visit, and it's believed it will be $200 for Model S and Model X.

How to Get ESA

To purchase the ESA, open the Tesla mobile app, go to the 'Upgrades' tab, and select the 'Extended Service Agreement' option. Follow the prompts to complete the purchase, and the ESA will be added to your account. It's important to note that the ESA only takes effect after your Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty expires. It can be transferred to the next owner, which the company says can improve aftermarket value.

Tesla's Vehicle Extended Service Agreement has evolved from last year's accidental leak to its current official offering. This additional protection aims to provide greater peace of mind and an improved ownership experience for Tesla customers.

Tesla Building Cortex 2.0 Supercomputer at Giga Texas to Power FSD

May 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

FSD’s insatiable appetite for AI compute is taking shape once again at Giga Texas, where Tesla is building out Cortex 2.0 — its second large-scale GPU supercomputer cluster — on the facility’s north side.

This confirmation comes thanks to the detailed research and findings by Giga Texas drone pilot Joe Tegtmeyer, who shared his findings on X.

For months, there has been some speculation on what this new site would be - new storage, the Optimus production line, preparation for the Cybercab’s unboxed assembly process, and more. Now, thanks to permits filed by Tesla, we know that this new area is destined to become the second supercomputer destined for FSD training.

Cortex 2.0

There are some key details we can unpack from what we’ve learned about Cortex 2.0. The new facility will be on the north side of Giga Texas, opposite Cortex 1.0, which is on the south side. The permits explicitly tie the usage of this expansion to Cortex 2.0, namely through the fact that it is a data center.

This is actually a change from Tesla’s original plans - the northern section was intended to be used as a central campus support facility, with three smaller facilities and water storage tanks. Now, it has been redesignated as Cortex 2.0 and is one large structure.

The permits that have been filed have already been approved and cover the foundations, underground water mains, and building itself. The steel structure is actively being put together on the concrete foundations, and about 50% of the roof decking is already complete, bringing the exterior shell closer to completion.

Fueling FSD’s Brain

The deployment of Cortex 2.0 is the latest in Tesla’s massive and ongoing investment in the computational power required to train FSD. While this primarily covers FSD for cars, this will also eventually apply to Optimus, which is powered by the same AI4 computer and also runs a variant of FSD.

This isn’t Tesla’s first foray into large-scale AI infrastructure and won’t be their last. Alongside Dojo, their home-grown AI supercomputer, Tesla has been partnering closely with Nvidia to ensure they have the GPUs necessary to do all the hard work. Cortex 2.0 is the next iteration, and once it's fully online, we can expect that Tesla’s work on FSD will accelerate even further.

Especially since Elon is planning something truly outrageous once again:

Been thinking about the fastest way to bring a terawatt of compute online.

That is roughly equivalent to all electrical power produced in America today.
— gorklon rust (@elonmusk) May 12, 2025

You can check out Joe’s full video below:

Tesla FSD in Europe: Highway Approval Expected to Arrive in September

May 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

With European Tesla owners eagerly awaiting any news on FSD in Europe, we’ve seen Tesla tease FSD, and also point out exactly what the barrier has been - regulatory approval. Now, following the latest meeting of UNECE, new regulatory amendments are set to unlock “System-Initiated Maneuvers” (SIM) on highways across participating European nations.

This development, highlighted by Kees Roelandschap on X, notes that the latest documents from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) center on amendments to UNECE regulation 171. These changes were formally adopted into UNECE during the WP29 World Forum in March 2025.

Now, the amendment that will enable SIM will come into force on September 26, 2025. This six-month period after approval is standard UNECE procedure and allows objections from party states that would halt the implementation. Objections to UNECE amendments are genuinely rare, with 95% of amendments passing without objection once the World Forum adopts them.

What This Means for FSD in Europe

System-initiated maneuvers will allow your Tesla to perform actions autonomously, such as changing lanes on a highway, while the driver remains fully responsible for supervision. This is a substantial step up from current regulatory standards that only allow for suggested maneuvers or require explicit driver initiation for every automated maneuver.

This inches towards the more normal “hands-off, eyes-on” approach that Tesla has taken with FSD Supervised in North America and China. This regulatory change will help to provide the legal frameworks needed to deploy more advanced autonomy capabilities in Europe, at least matching what’s available on highways in North America.

Tesla is waiting for EU approval (sigh)
— gorklon rust (@elonmusk) May 12, 2025

Highways Only

The UNECE regulation will apply to all countries that adopt its standards, including the European Union, Japan, and South Korea - unless they specifically block it. This is a relatively positive development, but there are some hiccups.

This regulation only allows for system-initiated maneuvers on highways, not low-speed roadways. That means the city streets portion of FSD’s capabilities - including handling ‘Start FSD from Park` and reaching your destination’s parking spot - still won’t be available in Europe.

In addition, the UNECE framework has stricter requirements for driver monitoring and attentiveness - which means that some nags, including the dreaded wheel nag, are likely to remain a key portion of the experience.

Progress on autonomous driving regulations in Europe has been fraught with indecision and caution, which has been a source of frustration for many who are watching the everyday progress of FSD in North America, and more recently, in China. Even with individual countries recently approving testing of FSD on public roads, harmonized UNECE regulations are the key to wider, consistent deployment, which will allow everyday customers to use it as well.

While the path to full parity with North America may be long and involve even more regulatory machinations, the upcoming implementation of System-Initiated Maneuvers is a big step forward for Tesla owners in Europe. It is a key piece of the puzzle that will help Tesla bring some more features of FSD to Europe, assuming the September timeline holds.