Last week’s post “I Got A Tesla FSD Transfer Despite Ordering Past ‘deadline’” left out something that I wasn’t aware of when I wrote it.
As I wrote in that post, I bought a Long Range 2024 Tesla Model 3 “Highland” just in time to be able to transfer Full Self Driving (FSD) from my 2018 Tesla to my new car. Trouble is, FSD isn’t yet available on my Highland and I have no idea when it will be.
Prior to and immediately after handing over a >$50,000 check to Tesla, I spoke with Tesla employees who told me that the transfer would take place sometime between right away and 48 hours. But, several days later, when I try to activate FSD, I see still the message “Full Self-Driving (Beta) will be available in an upcoming software release.”
Curious what that meant, I called Tesla support and was told that they would update my car within a day or two with FSD software. After those days went by, I called again and was told that I would have to wait until the next regular release which would probably be within a couple weeks. A different Tesla employee told me that tey are in the process of evaluating whether I am a suitable candidate for the beta, which is odd considering that I used FSD for years on my previous Model 3.
I even spoke with a couple of employees at a Tesla service center, and they too were under the impression that FSD would be transferred to my car within days.
What does work
Regular Autopilot, which comes free with all Teslas, does work as does “Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control (Beta)” though it’s not as reliable as it was on my 2018 Model 3. Nor does it resume travel automatically when the light turns green or there is no cross traffic at a stop sign. The car can also change lanes when you are in Autopilot, but the car will not make turns on city streets as did my old Tesla nor will it exit highways despite the fact that the car’s display does indicate that “navigate on Autopilot” is turned on.
Tesla employees seem clueless
Based on what I’m hearing, the Tesla employees I’ve spoken with appear to be clueless as to what the situation actually is. They contradict each other because no-one seems to have the facts. I blame management, not the employees themselves.
What the ‘Internet’ is saying
Not getting a straight answer from what should be the definitive source, I did what any curious person would do and searched online to see if there were any news reports or reports from other Tesla owners. The only news reports I found confirmed what I already experienced — that Tesla would allow you to transfer FSD if you took delivery on a new one by March 31st. But I did find some user comments on Reddit and other forums from people who bought a new 2024 Model 3 Highland and have been waiting for weeks for their FSD installation. I don’t rely on forum comments from people I don’t know, but all I could find was speculation ranging from any day now to sometime mid-2024 to “never” as one person suggested.
No media office to call
There was a time when I would have settled this question by calling Tesla’s PR department. Back when I bought my 2018 Tesla, there were several professional PR people who would answer any questions I had about the car or the company but in 2020 Elon Musk fired his entire PR department so there is no no-one to answer press questions.
Let me know if you have an answer
If you have an answer as to what is going on with FSD on Tesla’s newest Model 3, please let me know by writing to me at Contact – LarrysWorld.com
