Tesla finally addresses one of its customers' biggest gripes — but only for 3 months

Elon Musk announced the limited-time deal during
Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call.
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images

Tesla is addressing one of its customers’ biggest complaints. 
But the offer only lasts for three months. 
Elon Musk announced that Tesla owners can transfer their Full Self-Driving package to a new Tesla for a limited time. 

Elon Musk has heard you, Tesla owners. 

Musk on Wednesday announced a solution to one of his customers’ biggest gripes — but the deal won’t last long.

For a limited time, he said, Tesla owners will be able to transfer their expensive Full Self-Driving package to a new Tesla. He announced the move in response to an investor question during Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call. 

“Yeah, this is a question we get asked a lot,” Musk said. “So we’re excited to announce that for Q3 we will be allowing transfer of FSD. This is a one-time amnesty, so you need to take advantage of it in Q3,”

“I hope this makes people happy,” he added with a chuckle. 

Tesla charges $15,000 for a suite of driver-assistance features it calls Full Self-Driving (FSD). The system, which relies on an array of cameras to watch the road, has been in the prototype phase for years and still can’t actually drive a car all on its own reliably. As they’ve waited for FSD to live up to its name, Tesla owners have long complained that they aren’t able to hang onto the pricey, experimental feature when they trade in for a new car. 

For years, Musk has claimed that FSD would be able to drive completely autonomously any day now, adding to the frustration among some owners. Clips shared online show that FSD Beta still drives inconsistently, sometimes navigating complex routes without human intervention and sometimes botching the most basic driving maneuvers. 

All the while, Tesla has raised the price of FSD by thousands of dollars. 

The move could help juice sales right when Tesla needs it most. Musk on Wednesday warned that Tesla’s production would slow down in the third quarter due to planned factory upgrades. Moreover, Tesla faces mounting competition from established car manufacturers diving headfirst into the electric market.