Tesla says it is starting to give early access software updates to early Full Self-Driving buyers

Tesla says that it is now starting to give early access to software updates for owners who bought the Full Self-Driving package before the price drop.

In March, Tesla slashed the prices of Autopilot and Full Self-Driving upgrades.

At the time, Tesla said that it would offer the Early Access Program (EAP) for people who bought the Full Self-Driving package before the price drop:

“Customers who previously purchased Full Self-Driving will receive an invitation to Tesla’s Early Access Program (EAP). EAP members are invited to experience and provide feedback on new features and functionality before they are rolled out to other customers.”

The idea is to compensate the buyers for having bought features that Tesla never delivered and that are now sold for less than they paid.

Months later, Tesla had yet to make that happen and they removed that blog post, but they now say that they have a different solution – first reported by Ars Technica.

A Tesla spokesperson said that the recent software update that gave owners the choice between receiving updates on a “Standard” timeline or an “Advanced” timeline is now their way to deliver the software early to those owners.

Last month, we reported on the update enabling owners to have their car check for new software updates:

Software Update Preference

You now have the option to receive new software updates as soon as they are available for your car configuration and region. Tap Controls > Software > Software Update preference > ADVANCED.

Tesla told Electrek that people who bought the FSD package early and choose the ‘Advanced’ setting are going to be “among the first to receive new software releases” dependent on location, model, and some other factors.

Electrek’s Take

I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt right now, but it does look like they are backtracking to me. If you are an early FSD package buyer, please let us know if you happen to get early access software by setting the software update preference to ‘Advanced’.

Some of those buyers paid $3,000 more than others for features that have not been delivered to date. Tesla fans like to defend the company for doing things like this, but it would never fly with another company.

I think those buyers have a right to be upset.

Tesla should offer other ways to compensate them. Since the new Hardware 3.0 computer retrofit is linked to the FSD package and the retrofit process is expected to be long, Tesla should offer to put those owners on the front of the list.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.