7 ms·

>But I paid an extra $10,000 for a feature that was promised but still hasn't been fully delivered As far as I'm concerned, that $10k is basically an interest

by jdhn 5y ago

>But I paid an extra $10,000 for a feature that was promised but still hasn't been fully delivered As far as I'm concerned, that $10k is basically an interest free loan to Tesla. FSD as promised by Elon is going to take decades, and the worst part is that it's not even transferable from one car to another.

pmastela 5y ago
> the worst part is that it's not even transferable from one car to another. That would make sense to do it that way: Sell FSD as some sort of license that always works in any Tesla one drives. How does it currently work? If someone sells their Tesla does the FSD package follow the car or does the new owner need to purchase FSD for that car?
- jdhn 5y ago
  I believe it follows the car, as you can buy used Teslas with FSD.
  - oses 5y ago
    IIRC it depends on if it was ordered with FSD or bought it as an upgrade. My understanding is if it wasn't originally ordered with it, the new owner has to upgrade again to get it. (Since its on the monroney label they have to keep it for cars that are ordered with it originally)
  - nobodylikeme 5y ago
    It follows the car if you sell directly to another person or through a third party dealership. If Tesla gets the car back, they'll wipe the upgrade and charge for it again.
    - pmastela 5y ago
      thanks for answering my question. wow, "wipe the upgrade and charge for it again"... what a racket smh
popz41 5y ago
Full Self Driving actually counts as deferred revenue to Tesla, and is reported as a liability on the balance sheet. They cant realize that income until the feature is delivered.
- edub 5y ago
  >deferred revenue to Tesla, and is reported as a liability on the balance sheet if it is a liability on their books, then i would agree with OP that it is an interest free loan.
- ping_pong 5y ago
  They can still spend that cash though. It's just an accounting formality.
- justapassenger 5y ago
  They already recognized large part of that revenue. That was the main reason for them to release half baked party tricks, like smart summon, or weird ones like traffic light control (that will stop your on green light). They used it to recognize more FSD revenue. In 2020 they booked over $250M of that revenue, to help them boost profits. Don't underestimate power of accounting, mixed with loose ethics.
  - JoshTko 5y ago
    Interesting. Do you have a source that confirms this?
    - dangrossman 5y ago
      I searched "Tesla recognizes FSD revenue" and found several immediately. https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-autopilot-full-self-driving-fsd-revenue https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-autopil... https://loupventures.com/teslas-software-advantage-is-clear-profitable/#:~:text=A%20deferred%20pile%20of%20profitability,deferred%20revenue%20in%20CY%202020 https://loupventures.com/teslas-software-advantage-is-clear-....

by jdhn 5y ago

pmastela 5y ago

> the worst part is that it's not even transferable from one car to another. That would make sense to do it that way: Sell FSD as some sort of license that always works in any Tesla one drives. How does it currently work? If someone sells their Tesla does the FSD package follow the car or does the new owner need to purchase FSD for that car?

jdhn 5y ago
I believe it follows the car, as you can buy used Teslas with FSD.
- oses 5y ago
  IIRC it depends on if it was ordered with FSD or bought it as an upgrade. My understanding is if it wasn't originally ordered with it, the new owner has to upgrade again to get it. (Since its on the monroney label they have to keep it for cars that are ordered with it originally)
- nobodylikeme 5y ago
  It follows the car if you sell directly to another person or through a third party dealership. If Tesla gets the car back, they'll wipe the upgrade and charge for it again.
  - pmastela 5y ago
    thanks for answering my question. wow, "wipe the upgrade and charge for it again"... what a racket smh

popz41 5y ago

Full Self Driving actually counts as deferred revenue to Tesla, and is reported as a liability on the balance sheet. They cant realize that income until the feature is delivered.

edub 5y ago
>deferred revenue to Tesla, and is reported as a liability on the balance sheet if it is a liability on their books, then i would agree with OP that it is an interest free loan.
ping_pong 5y ago
They can still spend that cash though. It's just an accounting formality.
justapassenger 5y ago
They already recognized large part of that revenue. That was the main reason for them to release half baked party tricks, like smart summon, or weird ones like traffic light control (that will stop your on green light). They used it to recognize more FSD revenue. In 2020 they booked over $250M of that revenue, to help them boost profits. Don't underestimate power of accounting, mixed with loose ethics.
- JoshTko 5y ago
  Interesting. Do you have a source that confirms this?
  - dangrossman 5y ago
    I searched "Tesla recognizes FSD revenue" and found several immediately. https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-autopilot-full-self-driving-fsd-revenue https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/tesla-autopil... https://loupventures.com/teslas-software-advantage-is-clear-profitable/#:~:text=A%20deferred%20pile%20of%20profitability,deferred%20revenue%20in%20CY%202020 https://loupventures.com/teslas-software-advantage-is-clear-....