One of the big selling features of Tesla vehicles is the autonomous driver-assist features it is capable of, the biggest one being the add-on Full Self-Driving (FSD) package.
The problem for many is that the price of the FSD package is Canada is a little too much, currently at $9,200. The price is also expected to rise in a few months based on recent comments by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The problem is particularly apparent for customers in B.C. who are buying the Standard Range Plus (SR+) Model 3. In B.C., there was a new luxury vehicle tax implemented in the province, which increased the tax payable on cars above certain dollar amounts.
If you add on FSD at the time of purchase, that would kick you in to the next tax bracket, making the $9,200 price tag that much higher (pro tip: if you are thinking of buying FSD, do it after delivery and you won’t pay the extra tax).
To help customers in China handle that extra cost of the FSD package, Tesla has just introduced for a limited time a new 3-year 0% interest loan option for buyers of the Model S, Model 3, or Model X.
Today @Teslacn released 3-year zero interest financing for #FSD (¥56k or $8k). Many 🇨🇳 M3 owners didn’t purchase FSD at the time of buying their 🚗. Now is the great time to buy & enjoy the tech. Which automakers can sell upgradable software other than Tesla? NONE! Creative idea. pic.twitter.com/Yu2w5iioKe
— Ray4️⃣Tesla⚡️🚘☀️🔋 (@ray4tesla) April 17, 2020
The loan, which applies only to the FSD package, is also available to current Tesla owners who did not purchase the FSD package when they ordered their car.
In addition, if those owners have HW2.5 in their vehicle, Tesla will still update them to the new HW3.0 computer for free.
If this were implemented in Canada, it would work out to $255 per month, before tax. Still a hefty price tag to pay each month, but much easier for many people to handle, especially with 0% interest, than handing over $10,000+ at one time.
What would be even better is if Tesla were to unbundle the FSD package and allow owners to purchase the individual pieces of FSD at a sum price more than the current FSD price.
Another great option would be to allow for subscription based pricing, much like Premium Connectivity where you pay a monthly or annual fee for the features, and can cancel at any time.
Would you purchase FSD if a similar promotion was offered in North America?
