There are legitimate arguments to buy the FSD option upfront and to not. I bought FSD upfront for both of my current cars for several reasons:
1) In NJ there is currently no sales tax on EVs. However, anything you buy for the car after sale is subject to 6.8% sales tax
2) The price of FSD goes up by $1,000 after the car transfers title. Therefore, the actual difference in price for a NJ owner is $1,272 ($3,000 now or $4,272 after)
3) I felt that even if FSD is not 100% working, the extra cameras might be used to add extra features to EAP (just a hunch)
4) If FSD requires additional hardware, like a new computer, update cameras or a different type of radar at some point, Tesla will really be under pressure to fulfill that upgrade at no additional charge to those who prepaid for the feature.
Some of these points have been mentioned above, and the tax issue is state dependent. If you are taking out a loan, then you must factor in the interest rate on that $3,000 option (not much) but it should be known before making that decision.
There is one potential huge negative for prepaying FSD. Considering that all of the current hardware is appropriate for FSD, but by the time that feature becomes activated, that hardware might be out of warranty for you (or me)! I am not sure how Tesla will handle these types of warranty claims for those of us who prepaid long before the system was activated.
Lastly, I can't say that I am optimistic that FSD will be arriving anytime soon based on the slow roll out of AP1 parity with AP2 cars. I plan to hold on to both my P100Ds for a very long time. I hope this investment (the whole car) bring me value over a long period of time. Beside the slow AP2 EAP roll out, I am very happy with my decision.
1) In NJ there is currently no sales tax on EVs. However, anything you buy for the car after sale is subject to 6.8% sales tax
2) The price of FSD goes up by $1,000 after the car transfers title. Therefore, the actual difference in price for a NJ owner is $1,272 ($3,000 now or $4,272 after)
3) I felt that even if FSD is not 100% working, the extra cameras might be used to add extra features to EAP (just a hunch)
4) If FSD requires additional hardware, like a new computer, update cameras or a different type of radar at some point, Tesla will really be under pressure to fulfill that upgrade at no additional charge to those who prepaid for the feature.
Some of these points have been mentioned above, and the tax issue is state dependent. If you are taking out a loan, then you must factor in the interest rate on that $3,000 option (not much) but it should be known before making that decision.
There is one potential huge negative for prepaying FSD. Considering that all of the current hardware is appropriate for FSD, but by the time that feature becomes activated, that hardware might be out of warranty for you (or me)! I am not sure how Tesla will handle these types of warranty claims for those of us who prepaid long before the system was activated.
Lastly, I can't say that I am optimistic that FSD will be arriving anytime soon based on the slow roll out of AP1 parity with AP2 cars. I plan to hold on to both my P100Ds for a very long time. I hope this investment (the whole car) bring me value over a long period of time. Beside the slow AP2 EAP roll out, I am very happy with my decision.
