Tesla will allow ‘one-time’ FSD transfer for one more quarter, says Musk
After repeatedly claiming that Tesla will not allow owners to transfer Full Self-Driving capability to new vehicles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk agreed today that Tesla will allow them to do so for “one more quarter.”
Tesla has been selling its FSD system for many years now, to the point where many early owners have been through multiple vehicles without the software actually being delivered in its full working state.
Those owners are able to use Tesla’s FSD Beta, now called FSD Supervised, but no Tesla owner has yet been able to use an actual full self-driving system that lets the car drive itself with no human intervention.
And so, there has been a constant drumbeat from many of those owners, wondering why they should have to purchase the same software again, when they get a new car, if the software was never delivered from the previous vehicle.
This is particularly tough given that the price of buying FSD now is higher than it was for many of those early owners – though it has gone back down in price recently.
And so, last year Tesla started allowing FSD transfers – but only for two months, and then it would happen never again.
It was seen at the time as a way to stoke demand, rather than an example of Tesla “doing the right thing” and letting owners retain eventual access to the software they paid for but were never delivered.
Then, after that period lapsed, Tesla eventually brought back the FSD transfer this year, allowing it for new orders until the end of Q1. And then, once again, that “one-time offer” was brought back.
But after that, on Tesla’s Q1 quarterly call, the question was asked whether FSD transfer could be made permanent, and the answer was a flat “No.”
However, at today’s shareholder meeting, one questioner once again asked Musk if we could have FSD transfer for “one more quarter,” rather than permanent. Musk hemmed and hawed a little in response, stating that it was “complex” to enable the transfers within Tesla’s sales framework. However, after some back and forth, Musk ended up saying “okay, one more quarter.”
We don’t yet have the details, as this was just announced on stage at the shareholder meeting (which has just finished), but we’ll surely hear some more details soon about how this program will actually work.
Electrek’s Take
We should not have to have this discussion every quarter.
Until FSD is able to follow through on its promise, transfers should be free for anyone who has bought the software.
Any other company that pre-sold software and then refused to deliver it would not be looked kindly upon, particularly if that software was thousands of dollars and many years late.
Yes, people can use something that Tesla calls FSD right now. It is gradually doing a better job and gaining more capabilities. But it does not fully drive the car, doesn’t work without intervention, can’t be summoned across country, can’t be used as a revenue-generating robotaxi (a promise that musk made again today), or any number of other statements that haven’t come to pass. And Musk has repeatedly stated that it will be able to fully drive the car “in about a year” – for many years now.
It’s time to stop stringing owners along. If the problem is difficult, and more difficult than you thought, that’s one thing. But making people buy additional licenses to software you already sold them and did not yet deliver is not acceptable.
Further, this is not about “doing the right thing” for owners. The right thing would be to make transfers permanent until level 5 autonomy is delivered. Even “effective permanence” of continually-rolling offers like this are more about stoking demand during end-of-quarter rushes, making customers think that a limited time offer like some sort of rug store that is perpetually going out of business.
But maybe Tesla owners won’t need to rely on Musk’s “benevolence” to grant them the ability to retain software they’ve pre-purchased a license for for long, as there are several cases in court relating to Tesla’s FSD false advertising that could have sweeping effects on how Tesla sells this software and what rights its owners might have.
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Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.
Electrek’s Take
As we often say over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, “just because you’re working for the power company doesn’t mean you have power,” and there are hundreds of scenarios where the extra power provided by something like the new PU500 would be useful. Its ability to be palletized and easily moved or swapped out of a larger BESS array, too, just add to its flexibility.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo.
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