Tesla is only valuing its Full Self-Driving package high when it’s convenient for the company. When it’s not, like for trade-ins, the automaker is not as optimistic about the value.
Elon Musk famously said that Tesla vehicles have become “appreciating assets” due to the Self-Driving (FSD) package.
The logic behind the claim is that he believes as Tesla improves its FSD package through software updates, it would increase the value of Tesla vehicles. To reflect that, he said that Tesla would incrementally increase the price of the FSD package.
Musk suggested that the value of FSD could end up closer to $100,000 to $200,000 once fully autonomous, but those claims have yet to materialize, and Tesla has missed several of Musk’s public timelines to achieve self-driving.
Instead, the automaker has released FSD Beta and kept increasing the price of the package, which now sells for $15,000 in the US and $19,500 CAD in Canada. That’s when you add the package to a new order or an existing vehicle, but that’s the only time Tesla values the FSD package that high.
Several Tesla owners have reached out to Electrek, frustrated with the process of upgrading their cars with Tesla because of the trade-in value the automaker would assign to their existing Tesla vehicles.
The automaker has started to list its trade-in estimates with the mention that it “includes the value of Full Self-Driving.”
Tesla owners reported that Tesla appears to value the package for trade-ins at a fraction of what it sells it for.
Having a Model 3 with FSD, I checked this out for myself, and sure enough, I was surprised to find out that Tesla was offering me only $41,200 CAD for my car:
That includes the FSD package, which Tesla sells for $19,500 in Canada – about half of the value Tesla is assigning to the whole car.
For reference, a new Model 3 Performance starts at $73,000 CAD in Canada, and it would cost $96,000 when configured like mine with FSD.
If we compare to trade-in estimates Tesla gave to buyers with similar Model 3 Performance without FSD, it would appear that Tesla values the package at well below $10,000. That’s despite not having delivered on the promises of the functionality of the package – aka full autonomy.
Electrek’s Take
What is so frustrating about this is that Elon is always raving about how incredible FSD is and how most people “don’t understand its value,” but yet, Tesla itself heavily devalues it in used cars, despite not delivering on its promises.
I think most people know the solution to this – other than giving a higher value – and that’s letting Tesla owners transfer FSD to new cars.
It would encourage current Tesla owners with FSD to upgrade to new cars without feeling like they bought FSD for nothing, or barely anything, on their previous vehicles.
I don’t understand why Tesla doesn’t do that. It wouldn’t be expensive, and it would help sales while creating some goodwill around FSD.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.