Tesla Announces Ability to Transfer FSD; Must Take Delivery in Q3 [Full List of Requirements]

Tesla will allow owners a one-time transfer of FSD to another Tesla, but only third Q3

MKBHD/Twitter

In a landmark second-quarter earnings call, Tesla reported revenue of $24.9 billion and a net income of $2.7 billion, considerably surpassing Wall Street estimates. But catching many by surprise was the company allowing a one-time opportunity for customers to transfer their Full Self-Driving (FSD) package during the next three months.

This topic has dogged Tesla and Elon Musk for years, and rightfully so. The price of FSD has skyrocketed. Therefore any early adopters of the technology that got it for the bargain basement price of $5,000 would have to pay triple that fee if they wanted to update their Tesla. In May, the company posted on Twitter asking for improvement ideas. The ability to transfer FSD was high on the list.

Once again during the earnings call, a question about FSD transferability arose. Musk revealed that, in response to customer demand, Tesla would permit the one-time transfer of FSD for the duration of Q3. This opportunity would allow existing Tesla owners to upgrade to a new Tesla model without repurchasing the costly FSD package, which sells for $15,000 in the US.

Tesla Hints at Potential FSD Licensing Partnership

In the same earnings call, Musk indicated another groundbreaking initiative on the horizon. He revealed early talks of licensing Tesla's FSD technology to another major automaker, without disclosing specifics.

This prospective collaboration underscores Tesla's unique standing in the autonomous vehicle market. Musk emphasized the crucial role of Tesla's extensive road data, gathered through its Autopilot and Dojo projects, in its success. This invaluable pool of data, unmatched by any competitor, underpins Tesla's rapid progress in AI development and its leading position in the industry.

Listen to Tesla's Earnings Call

You can listen to a replay of Tesla's earnings call below.

FSD Transfers and Future Expectations

The decision to allow FSD transfers during Q3 is anticipated to drive a spike in Tesla sales. Owners have traditionally been reluctant to upgrade their Tesla vehicles, as the high cost of the FSD package — coupled with its non-transferability — made such upgrades financially unattractive. This unprecedented concession, combined with Tesla’s existing FSD monthly subscription service in the U.S., is expected to enhance Tesla's market appeal and profitability in Q3 significantly.

Tesla used the Q2 earnings call platform to share another impressive milestone: vehicles equipped with FSD beta have driven more than 300 million miles. The significance of this achievement extends beyond its impressive scale. It represents a wealth of data collected for training Tesla's autonomous systems, further improving the safety and performance of FSD.

Requirements for FSD Transfer

Tesla has now posted the requirements for the transfer of FSD to another vehicle, according to Twitter user, @Kdahlenburg

The requirements are below:

We are pleased to inform you that as a loyal Tesla owner with Full Self Driving capability, you may be eligible to participate in our current transfer program. We appreciate your continued support and dedication to sustainable transportation.

Program: Receive Full Self Driving capability on any new Tesla vehicle delivered between July 20, 2023 and September 30, 2023 when you forfeit the Full Self Driving capability on your current Tesla vehicle. Subject to the below terms and conditions. Tesla does not guarantee delivery within the program's end date.

Terms and Conditions:

In order to be eligible for this program, you must:

1. Be the legal and registered owner of Tesla vehicle that currently has Full Self Driving capability included at the time of delivery of the new Tesla vehicle. The vehicle cannot be the subject of a pending cancellation or buyback request. For EMEA only: Those on an Operational Lease with third-party Lease and Fleet Management companies are ineligible, unless they first purchase the vehicle from the leasing company.

2. Take delivery of your new titled Tesla vehicle between July 20, 2023 and September 30, 2023.

3. Accept the forfeiture of the Full Self Driving capability on your current Tesla vehicle.

Alternatively, you can choose to trade-in your current Tesla vehicle altogether directly with Tesla when you purchase your new Tesla vehicle. Tesla will remove Full Self Driving capability from your current Tesla vehicle up to one week before your scheduled delivery day for your new Tesla. During this process, your current vehicle will automatically reboot for a few minutes after put in park.

4. The Full Self Driving capability can only be transferred once and so cannot be transferred to another vehicle or to another person even if the vehicle is privately sold. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotion, and is not redeemable for cash.

5. Tesla reserves the right to change, modify, or terminate this offer at any time without prior notice.

6. The forfeiture of Full Self Driving capability on your current vehicle is non-reversible after you take delivery of the new Tesla vehicle, or we remove Full Self Driving capability from your current vehicle, whichever occurs first. This remains non-reversible even in the event that you cancel or reverse your purchase after you have taken delivery.

7. Used vehicles and vehicles for commercial purposes are not eligible for this program.

8. Tesla may remove the Full Self Driving capability from your new vehicle if it determines in good faith that you have breached any of these terms or made any misrepresentations about Full Self Driving on your current vehicle.

9. This offer cannot be applied retroactively after the new Tesla vehicle is delivered.

Please read the terms and conditions above carefully. By signing this binding acceptance letter, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to the terms and conditions outlined above.

To accept this offer, please complete the information below, sign, and return this letter to your Tesla Sales Advisor before delivery of your new Tesla vehicle. Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the Tesla vehicle with forfeited Full Self Driving capability: ...

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Tesla Updates Santa Mode & Rainbow Road to Use Ambient Lighting and Updates SteamOS [VIDEO]

Flo / Roberto Bonato

While Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update brought many new features, including Apple Watch Support, Cross Traffic Alerts, Weather Overlays, Search Along Route, and others, there are also several smaller items in this update that didn’t get much attention.

Ambient Lighting Now Affects Easter Eggs

The 2024+ Model 3 and Cybertruck both come equipped with ambient lighting, and Tesla is now taking advantage of this custom lighting feature by incorporating it into several easter eggs.

Rainbow Road: If you head over to Apps > ToyBox > Rainbow Road, you’ll find a new option available that allows the ambient lighting in the vehicle to also change shades while Rainbow Road is active. The Rainbow Road easter egg is a tribute to the iconic course course in Nintendo’s Mario Kart.

Check out the feature in action below:

🇮🇹 Con l’aggiornamento di Natale, quando attiviamo la pista arcobaleno, anche i LED interni diventeranno arcobaleno. Questa è una novità non documentata, scovata da un utente di TESLERS (chiaramente riguarda le Model 3 Highland)

🇺🇸 UNDOCUMENTED CHANGE: With the Holiday update,… pic.twitter.com/xyocOIrWfX

— 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 (@TeslersOfficial) December 8, 2024

Santa Mode: Just in time for Christmas, Tesla has improved Santa Mode by cycling the ambient lighting between Christmas colors. Similar to Rainbow Road, the use of ambient lighting for the easter egg is optional and can be enabled under Apps > ToyBox > Santa Mode.

When using Santa Mode with ambient lighting turned on, the lights will cycle just between Christmas colors, red, green and white, instead of the full rainbow. There’s a video of the feature below:

Yup and in Santa Mode it cycles between red white and green pic.twitter.com/HVQUlfUyze

— Roberto Bonato (@BonatoRoberto) December 9, 2024

Update: It looks like it affects other Easter eggs as well, such as turning orange when using Romance mode.

SteamOS (Beta) Update

The Model S and Model X vehicles that support Steam gaming are receiving a Steam app update in the holiday update as well. This update could end up being very interesting, but for now Tesla says that the SteamOS, which also runs on Valve’s Steam Deck has been updated to version 3.6.

Valve outlines a wide range of fixes and improvements in their release notes for version 3.6, but Tesla simply states that the OS update includes performance enhancements and improved game compatibility.

The SteamOS hasn’t been updated on the Model S and X for quite a while, so we believe there may be more to this besides performance improvements and fixes. We’ll be looking to share some insights into this in the near future.

So, there you have it—three new features in the Holiday update that have mostly gone under the radar. While they may not apply to everyone, there are plenty of other cool features in the Holiday Update, like the arrival of Dynamic Road Closure Routing and Nearby Parking, that are coming to every vehicle, so go check out the full release notes.

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New Report Offers Specs & Price for Tesla's Upcoming Next-Gen Model

A concept of Tesla's 'Model Q'

@DominicBRNKMN on X

At the 2023 Q3 Earnings Call, Tesla provided an update on its next-generation model, what many are referring to as the “Model 2” or “Model Q.” Although the actual model name is yet to be determined, it is known internally as Redwood.

During the 2024 Shareholder Meeting, Musk again mentioned the upcoming model, saying that Tesla is working on new products, including a more affordable vehicle and a larger SUV.

While we know the next-gen vehicle is aimed at the $25k to $30k USD market, we now have some new information thanks to a new report out of China.

Launch & Price

According to the Chinese outlet CNMO Technology News (Sina Finance), Travis Axelrod, Tesla’s Head of Investor Relations, announced plans to launch a new model. Axelrod shared this update while addressing senior corporate investors at an investor conference hosted by Deutsche Bank on December 5, 2024.

The goal of Project Redwood, internally dubbed “Model Q” by Deutsche Bank, is to achieve a post-subsidy price of under $30,000 USD. With the Federal EV Rebate potentially expiring next year, this suggests that the Model Q’s starting price will be around $30,000 USD. For comparison, the Model 3 currently starts at $42,490 in the U.S.

We previously reported that Tesla has already been speaking to suppliers and is looking to begin volume production of the vehicle sometime around June 2025. Of course, prototyping is still necessary, but we haven’t seen any signs of Tesla testing a new vehicle since spotting the Cybercab on the streets ahead of We, Robot.

Specs

The Model Q will supposedly be about 15% smaller and 30% lighter than the Model 3, with an approximate length of 3,988mm, or 157 inches. For scale, the Mini is 157 inches, while the Model 3 is 185 inches, so it’s fairly compact.

The battery will also be smaller to match the vehicle’s smaller size as Tesla tries to reduce the vehicle’s price while maintaining a similar range as its other vehicles. Tesla is expected to offer two models—a single-motor RWD model and a Long-Range Dual-Motor AWD variant.

The lower trim level will include a 53 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, while the AWD version is expected to include a 75 kWh LFP battery. The report says that the vehicle will be able to travel up to 500 km (310 miles) on a single charge, but it’s not clear whether this will be for the more efficient RWD version or the AWD variant.

Given the vehicle’s weight reduction compared to the Model 3, this type of range is likely for the lower trim level.

There’s no news yet on the price of the AWD version, but we expect it to be about $5,000 more expensive than the RWD variant.

Once the vehicle ramps up in production, Tesla intends to produce about 10,000 of these per week globally or about 500,000 per year. As Tesla mentioned during one of their previous earnings calls, this next-gen vehicle will be built using Tesla’s current assembly lines with minimal changes. This should allow for a smoother and more predictable production ramp. While Tesla still plans to use its new unboxed assembly process, it’s now saving it for the robotaxi.

Project Juniper

One of the items that came up during the investor conference was Tesla’s Project Juniper—the Model Y refresh. Juniper has already had a few leaks, including some images and information that mention a return to the 7-seat, 3-row format—at least in China. 

We’re expecting Juniper to launch early next year, as production has supposedly already begun at Giga Shanghai, at least on a limited prototyping basis. If the rollout matches the Model 3 Highland refresh, we’ll see Juniper arrive in China first and then make its way to North America and Europe by the end of 2025. The performance variants should launch in early 2026, after the standard models.

If you’re excited about Juniper, so are we! Check out our wishlist of features for Tesla’s Model Y refresh, and see everything we know so far.

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