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Tesla bull asks Elon Musk for Full Self-Driving value to be added with vehicle trade-in

An autonomous Tesla Model 3 in action. (Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla will consider adding monetary value to its Full Self-Driving suite when an owner is attempting to trade-in their vehicle. The company is looking into the possibility following a request to Elon Musk from notable Wall Street analyst and Tesla bull Pierre Ferragu.

Ferragu, an analyst from New Street Research, currently owns a Model 3 equipped with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite. After purchasing the self-driving capability in November, Ferragu said he is interested in upgrading from a Model 3 to a Model Y. Still, he isn’t pleased about paying the $10,000 price tag for the semi-autonomous driving feature when he recently shelled out the money for the Model 3.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite is what the company may be most known for outside of its highly-advanced electric vehicle tech, which has made it the undeniable leader in the EV sector. However, the Full Self-Driving suite is not included with the purchase of the vehicle like Basic Autopilot is, and to have the FSD capabilities, the owner must pay $10,000 on top of the price of the car.

@elonmusk: I paid FSD for my Model 3 in November. I now want to upgrade to model Y and your team tells me you don’t value FSD in your trade-in offer because you can do the software upgrade for free. Want me to pay again full price for FSD again? That’s not fair, change that!” Ferragu tweeted to Musk.

Musk and Tesla are considering adding the transfer or giving some credit toward an FSD-equipped vehicle’s trade-in value. Currently, the issue is that Tesla is not giving any monetary value to the FSD suite when someone wishes to trade in their car toward a new one. This would effectively mean that FSD makes the car no more or less valuable than it would be without the functionality equipped. This is causing a dilemma with some owners who wish to upgrade or change their Tesla vehicle as it would require paying another hefty $10,000 fee.

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Musk stated that he would look into the possibility of having FSD add value to a trade-in. The reason Tesla didn’t consider it before, according to Ferragu, is because the company can activate the functionality to any vehicle for free.

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Other owners would be interested in a one-time transfer to a new vehicle, which would be advantageous for multiple scenarios. One would be if a family has two Teslas, but one is driven more than another. If the new car will be driven more frequently, but the current car has FSD, some owners may want to transfer the self-driving capability to the new vehicle. Another situation that would give owners some more leeway would be if they are trading an FSD-equipped vehicle in for a new Tesla. If their FSD purchase was recent and at the same price point as the current $10,000 tag, the feature could be transferred to the new car. If the owner paid less, Tesla could require the owner to pay the difference.

Tesla has been known to listen to real-world owners and use the feedback to improve their cars. Musk will likely update the development as it is figured out. It will be interesting to see how the company values FSD through trade-ins or if it will take the route of a transfer option for recent buyers of the Full Self-Driving suite.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla adjusts Online Design Studio for easier trade-in process

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

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(Credit: Tesla Asia | X)

Tesla has adjusted its Online Design Studio to make for an easier trade-in process, reflecting the details of the exchange for a more accurate reflection of payment terms.

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

Trade-ins are usually given by submitting vehicle details, then Tesla sends an email with an offer. Offers are non-negotiable, but do adjust over time, although the latest offer is valid for 30 days.

I traded my ICE vehicle for a Tesla Model Y: here’s how it went

Knowing your new Tesla’s cash price, leasing or loan details, and monthly payment information used to be done by the car buyer. From personal experience, I simply subtracted my trade-in from the cash price of the Tesla Model Y, and I plugged those numbers into the payment calculator.

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Now, Tesla is implementing the trade-in process directly into the Design Studio. It will adjust the price of the car and the different monthly payment methods automatically:

The change is already noticed in a handful of states, including California, but it has not rolled out across the board quite yet. It will be implemented in all of the U.S., as well as Canada, this coming week.

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The trade-in process is very simple, and after you accept your offer, you simply drop your vehicle off during the delivery process. Making this simple change will be greatly appreciated by owners.

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Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi will hit five new cities in the United States in the coming months, the company confirmed.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

The Robotaxi suite is a ride-hailing service Tesla offers, but the details of it change with each jurisdiction, as regulations vary. For example, in Austin, Tesla can operate the Robotaxi suite without anyone in the driver’s seat, as long as the vehicle does not enter a freeway.

Credit: Tesla

In the Bay Area, a Safety Monitor rides in the driver’s seat, essentially acting as the vehicle operator with Full Self-Driving controlling the car.

The local regulations and how Tesla handles them will continue to be a relevant part of the discussion, especially as the company aims to expand the Robotaxi program to different areas. This has been a primary focus of the company for several months, especially within the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to launch Robotaxi in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. However, the company detailed five specific cities where it will launch Robotaxi next during the Annual Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.

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Tesla will launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami next, broadening its Service Area for the suite to more major cities across the U.S.

It has said it plans to offer the service to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year, but it does not seem as if it will expand to more than a handful of cities this year, which is still tremendous progress, all things considered.

As far as autonomy is concerned, Tesla has always had lofty expectations and has made some even loftier statements.

At the Shareholder Meeting, Musk said that the company would likely be able to enable vehicle owners to text while the vehicle drives, alleviating them from potentially having some of the responsibility they have behind the wheel.

Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’

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It is not confirmed that Tesla will roll this out in the next few months, but Musk said there is a possibility.

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Tesla launches another new Model Y trim at a bargain price with massive range

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched yet another new Model Y trim level, but this time it is in China, and it is at a bargain price.

It also has an insane range rating.

On Friday, Tesla launched the new Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive in China, priced at 288,500 yuan ($40,500), an incredible deal considering it is not a stripped-down version of the vehicle like the Model Y Standard.

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

The big appeal with this new Model Y trim is obviously its price, but its range rating is also one of the best we’ve seen. Rated at 821 kilometers on the CLTC scale, it converts to 510 miles. It uses a 78.4 kWh CATL battery.

Converted to real-world range, however, that 821-kilometer range rated by the CLTC actually is equivalent to about 357 miles on the EPA scale, which is still a very respectable number and comes in at a higher range than the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive configuration that is available in the U.S.

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Tesla has truly brought a wide variety of Model Y trims to the Chinese market, including a new Model Y L configuration that features a slightly longer wheelbase, as well as additional interior features like extended thigh legrests and captain’s chairs with armrests.

It is unclear whether Tesla will bring a Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive option of the Model Y to the U.S., especially as it has already rolled out four configurations of the all-electric crossover in the market. With the new Standard offerings, Tesla will likely keep its lineup as simple as possible.

However, the company has hinted that there is a slim possibility the Model Y L could come to the U.S. sometime late next year, but CEO Elon Musk said that it is not a guarantee.

Tesla is more concerned with self-driving efforts in the U.S., and despite calls from customers for larger vehicles, it does not seem concerned with making them available, at least not for now.

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