Transfer Tesla Car from my in-law's Tesla account to My own Tesla Account; Will I lose the FSD?

[TechGeek218]

Hello all.

I've finally reached my first year of Tesla ownership and I'm hoping someone else has a similar buying experience as I did as I now want to be the primary account for my MX before I subscribe to the annual premium connectivity.

Last year, I bought my MX along with my dad-in-law as he was working for Tesla during that time, we were able to get free FSD as an employee perk.

The conditions were the following to avail the perk - the car must be reserved and ordered under his company Tesla account only. We financed it, I'm the primary credit owner and he's the co-signer, he had to be in the car register as well, and the car ended up under his Tesla account while I'm just the additional driver. I'm the only one paying for it and the one using it, his name is there purely for free FSD.

Now a year later, I want to move the car from his Tesla account to mine. This is the part where I don't have information, if I do the add/remove process in the app to move the car to mine, will we lose the FSD? Has anyone been in this situation?

In short, I don't think it should be an ownership transfer as both our names are already part of the paperwork but still scary to try and possibly end up losing the free FSD we have.

I'm hoping to find an answer or if anyone can refer me to a Tesla support # I can call as I'm still searching on their website and all I can find are self-help guide with no one to talk to about it.

Thanks for reading my post!

 

[Bigriver]

FSD stays with the car when it is sold and/or transferred to another account. That is in general. I don’t know if an employee-perk FSD has any different stipulations. Wouldn’t your father-in-law have information about that?

 

[njmurvin]

Why not just leave it in your FIL’s Tesla account and remain an additional driver or get his credentials to login directly to his account? It has no bearing on legal ownership of the vehicle.

 

[mxnym]

I guess the right question is this:
Is the employee perk a subscription for as long as the employee works for Tesla and owns the vehicle, or is the employee perk a free upgrade to the vehicle's features?

If the MCU can and does indicate it is a subscription, they would likely remove it. If it's on the window sticker, they shouldn't be removing it, but if neither of those things are true, then the answer still might depend whether it's a paid subscription or a perpetual license to the vehicle. Without knowing the terms of the purchase/perk, we can't possibly know whether or not the license is revocable/can expire without Tesla taking ownership the vehicle.

 

[Tam]

Hello all.

I've finally reached my first year of Tesla ownership and I'm hoping someone else has a similar buying experience as I did as I now want to be the primary account for my MX before I subscribe to the annual premium connectivity.

Last year, I bought my MX along with my dad-in-law as he was working for Tesla during that time, we were able to get free FSD as an employee perk.

The conditions were the following to avail the perk - the car must be reserved and ordered under his company Tesla account only. We financed it, I'm the primary credit owner and he's the co-signer, he had to be in the car register as well, and the car ended up under his Tesla account while I'm just the additional driver. I'm the only one paying for it and the one using it, his name is there purely for free FSD.

Now a year later, I want to move the car from his Tesla account to mine. This is the part where I don't have information, if I do the add/remove process in the app to move the car to mine, will we lose the FSD? Has anyone been in this situation?

In short, I don't think it should be an ownership transfer as both our names are already part of the paperwork but still scary to try and possibly end up losing the free FSD we have.

I'm hoping to find an answer or if anyone can refer me to a Tesla support # I can call as I'm still searching on their website and all I can find are self-help guide with no one to talk to about it.

Thanks for reading my post!

My guess is it depends on what your Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement says.

A standard form would list the FSD feature as "included" or "$0."

In that case, the FSD has been fully paid with $0, and Tesla cannot unilaterally take it back (disable it).

However, if it's a nonstandard form with an asterisk, you need to see what the small footnote says (only while employed or not transferable...) Same if Tesla can produce some form that you signed to give up FSD in certain conditions (only while employed or not transferable...).

 

[TechGeek218]

FSD stays with the car when it is sold and/or transferred to another account. That is in general. I don’t know if an employee-perk FSD has any different stipulations. Wouldn’t your father-in-law have information about that?

Unfortunately, the employee perk information in his Tesla employee handbook/website does not say anything further beyond the requirements of acquiring it. If they did include that information this year, we wouldn't know as he doesn't have access to his account anymore due to retiring this year.

 

[TechGeek218]

Why not just leave it in your FIL’s Tesla account and remain an additional driver or get his credentials to login directly to his account? It has no bearing on legal ownership of the vehicle.

I'll probably end up doing this if we can't find any information about it. And I do already have his credentials. I just wanted to consolidate it into my tesla account if it was possible, just more convenient that way.

 

[TechGeek218]

I guess the right question is this:
Is the employee perk a subscription for as long as the employee works for Tesla and owns the vehicle, or is the employee perk a free upgrade to the vehicle's features?

If the MCU can and does indicate it is a subscription, they would likely remove it. If it's on the window sticker, they shouldn't be removing it, but if neither of those things are true, then the answer still might depend whether it's a paid subscription or a perpetual license to the vehicle. Without knowing the terms of the purchase/perk, we can't possibly know whether or not the license is revocable/can expire without Tesla taking ownership the vehicle.

That's a better way to phrase it. I'll check my agreement that we received after getting vehicle delivery and see if it has any mention of this perk.

I do know for sure he doesn't have to be with the company to keep it as he has retired from Tesla and we still have it.

In the app, under manage subscription, active, it shows FSD as included.

 

[TechGeek218]

My guess is it depends on what your Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement says.

A standard form would list the FSD feature as "included" or "$0."

In that case, the FSD has been fully paid with $0, and Tesla cannot unilaterally take it back (disable it).

However, if it's a nonstandard form with an asterisk, you need to see what the small footnote says (only while employed or not transferable...) Same if Tesla can produce some form that you signed to give up FSD in certain conditions (only while employed or not transferable...).

My guess is it depends on what your Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement says.

A standard form would list the FSD feature as "included" or "$0."

In that case, the FSD has been fully paid with $0, and Tesla cannot unilaterally take it back (disable it).

However, if it's a nonstandard form with an asterisk, you need to see what the small footnote says (only while employed or not transferable...) Same if Tesla can produce some form that you signed to give up FSD in certain conditions (only while employed or not transferable...).

Mxnym did mention the agreement too. I'm going to check it today and see.

 

[TechGeek218]

I've looked up and read my Motor Vehicle Purchase agreement and I don't even see any wording in regard to FSD.

 

[mxnym]

In the app, under manage subscription, active, it shows FSD as included.

I think you mean "manage upgrades" because there is no "manage subscriptions" ... BUT ... When I look at Upgrades, there is "Software Upgrades" and "Manage Upgrades" where the former has "Buy" and "Subscribe" headers while the latter has "Active" and "Inactive" headers. In the former, mine says "You have all the software upgrades" under both headers. In the latter, mine says "Included" under "Full Self-Driving Capability" under the "Active" header. If you could see what it looks like for someone with a subscription vs me (with a perpetual license), then you could be more confident in what the app reflects. ... HOWEVER ... Without something in writing (MVPA or window sticker) you still can't prove that the vehicle should have it and it shouldn't be revocable, so you wouldn't really have any recourse if Tesla removed it on transfer (even though they shouldn't be able to under normal retail circumstances).

 

[DingoStar]

I've looked up and read my Motor Vehicle Purchase agreement and I don't even see any wording in regard to FSD.

Hey did you ever figure this out? I am hoping to transfer a car from a family member's tesla account to mine and keep the FSD.

 

[H4RDWRK]

Hey did you ever figure this out? I am hoping to transfer a car from a family member's tesla account to mine and keep the FSD.

Im actually in the same boat here, but sadder news.

My mother in law passed away, my wife inherited her mothers car legally, we still have access to the Tesla account and have not changed anything because we have Free Supercharging & FSD, but not the supercharging that transfers when car is resold.

We also still have MCU 1 and the car has not received any updates in over a year & we still have not gotten the Beta…which don’t get me started about upgrading to MCU 2.

Poor lady that passed away was ill and she wanted the FSD cause she thought the car could drive her around more easily as she got into her older years…now she’ll never see the day. Unfair.

Anyway, we’re still here and are afraid to notify tesla cause we think they’ll strip her supercharging if we complain about the MCU 1 lagging us with our Beta update….pathetic situation.

 

[Bigriver]

@DingoStar, FSD stays with the car when it is transferred to another account. The OP’s question was linked to whether there was any special stipulation because the car in question had belonged to a Tesla employee who got FSD for free.