There are two main ways to get Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised), or FSD, free right now. Every new Tesla gets a 30-day trial at delivery. If you already have a Tesla, a referral link from an owner who has FSD can get you a one-month trial if you qualify. The main rule: you can’t have subscribed to FSD or redeemed an FSD trial in the past 12 months. After a trial, FSD is a subscription at $99 a month for most cars.
Not sure you qualify? The free FSD month checker asks the same questions and shows the link only if you pass.
The two free trials, side by side
| New-car trial | Referral trial | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets it | Every new Tesla, at delivery | The registered owner or lessee of an eligible Tesla, per the terms (Tesla’s support page says “own”) |
| How long | 30 days | One month |
| How you get it | It comes with the car | Open a referral link from an owner who subscribes to FSD or bought it, inside the Tesla app |
| What rules you out | Tesla’s offers page lists no exclusions | Among other rules: an FSD subscription or any FSD trial in the past 12 months, FSD already on the car, a free one-year FSD grant, a Tesla for Business account, or being a current Tesla employee |
| After it ends | $99 a month if you choose to subscribe | The same, though a lower price has been reported for some cars (below) |
The two don’t stack. The trial Tesla gives at delivery counts as an FSD trial, so a new owner can’t use a referral link until at least 12 months after the delivery trial ends. Buying a car through a referral link doesn’t add anything either: Tesla’s Refer and Earn page lists solar panels as the only purchase that earns a buyer benefit.
Who qualifies for the referral month
Tesla’s program terms took effect on October 29, 2026, and apply only in markets where Tesla runs the program. To get a trial from someone’s link, they say you must:
- Be the registered owner or lessee of an eligible Tesla. “Eligible” includes hardware and firmware requirements.
- Not have an active FSD subscription or an outright FSD purchase on that car.
- Not have redeemed any FSD trial in the past 12 months, including one Tesla gave you at or around delivery.
- Not have subscribed to FSD in the past 12 months.
You also have to be at least 18. The terms leave out Tesla for Business customers, current Tesla employees and anyone who got a free one-year FSD grant from Tesla, and say only primary account holders can redeem benefits.
Tesla’s support page words several of these rules differently. It lists owners, with no mention of leases. It says you must not have bought FSD outright at all, with no mention of which car. And after a new-car delivery trial, it says you can’t receive a referral link “for at least 12 months after your trial is complete.” If you bought FSD on an earlier Tesla, or your delivery trial ended less than a year ago, plan on not qualifying.
Hardware is the other filter. Tesla’s subscription page says you can check whether your car is eligible to subscribe in the Tesla app under Upgrades, then Software Upgrades, and that some cars need a paid prerequisite upgrade first. If your car has Hardware 3 (HW3) rather than Hardware 4 (HW4), read which FSD computer your Tesla has before you start. Notebookcheck reported in November 2025 that Tesla was preparing a lighter FSD build for HW3 cars.
How to claim it
- Check the car first. In the Tesla app, go to Upgrades, then Software Upgrades. If you see an option to subscribe to FSD, the car is eligible to subscribe; tap it to see whether the app asks for a paid prerequisite upgrade first.
- Update the Tesla app. The referral program needs version 4.62.0 or later.
- Get a link. Only owners who subscribe to FSD or bought it outright can share one. Ask a friend who has FSD, or use this site’s link. (Full disclosure: Trendy Tech Tribe may earn a referral reward if you subscribe during the trial.)
- Open it on your phone. Tesla accepts FSD referrals only in the Tesla app. If the link won’t open, touch and hold it and tap “Open in Tesla.” If that option is missing, update the app, and if that fails, delete and reinstall it and sign in to the account your car is on.
- Pick the car. If you have more than one eligible Tesla, you may be asked which one gets the trial.
One privacy note: by redeeming a link, you agree that Tesla may show your name and referral details to the person who shared it, in their Tesla app.
Why a referral link might not work
Each owner can have 12 trials redeemed through their link per calendar year, first come, first served, and a redeemed trial uses up one of those 12 whether or not the person subscribes. Teslarati reported that the count resets on January 1. A link posted on a website, this one included, can run out well before then. If a link doesn’t give you a trial, try another owner’s link before you assume you don’t qualify.
The other reasons are the rules above: a trial or subscription in the past year, an outright FSD purchase, a car that can’t subscribe, an app older than version 4.62.0, opening the link in a browser instead of the app, or signing in with an account that isn’t the car’s primary account holder.
What happens when the month ends
Tesla’s subscription page says payments start once you buy a subscription and the software update is done, “either immediately or after the end of your trial period if applicable.” Check the billing date the app shows before you subscribe.
If you subscribe and later change your mind, you can cancel at any time in the app: Upgrades, then Manage, then Full Self-Driving (Supervised), then Cancel Subscription. Tesla doesn’t offer refunds on FSD subscriptions or prorate them, and you keep FSD until the current billing period ends.
Tesla’s support page lists the price as $99 a month. In January 2026, Not a Tesla App reported a $49-a-month price in the US and Canada for owners who had bought Enhanced Autopilot, so check what the app quotes for your car. If you’re not sure what FSD adds over the features your car already has, Autopilot vs. FSD lays it out.
How to get a fair test in a month
FSD doesn’t make the car drive itself. Tesla says the features “require a fully attentive driver, who is prepared to take over at any moment.” If you ignore several warnings for inattention, the system turns off for the rest of the trip, which Tesla calls a strikeout. Three or five strikeouts, depending on the car, suspend FSD for a week, and strikeouts by anyone driving your car count. Each one clears after half a week without another, and the car’s touchscreen shows how many you have left under Controls, then Self-Driving. A suspension in the middle of a one-month trial costs you a week of it, so watch the road.
Beyond that, the useful test is your own driving. Use it on your commute, on a highway trip, and on the streets you find stressful, and note where you took over. For winter driving, Does Tesla FSD work in snow and rain? covers what the owner’s manual says.
Other ways Tesla has handed out free FSD
Tesla has also run trials on its own schedule. In November 2025, Notebookcheck reported that Tesla gave a 30-day FSD trial to owners of HW4 cars running FSD 14.2 or later in North America and Puerto Rico, and left HW3 cars out.
Some new cars come with more. Tesla’s offers page says the Model Y L Premium Launch Series includes a year of free FSD. Separately, the referral terms rule out anyone who received a complimentary one-year FSD grant from Tesla.
You can’t plan around Tesla’s own promotions. If you’re eligible and the link still has trials left, the referral month is the one you can claim on your own timing, for as long as Tesla runs the program; its terms say it “will not remain open indefinitely.”
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Tesla FSD free trial?
A new Tesla gets 30 days at delivery. A referral link gives an eligible owner one month.
Can you get a free FSD trial on a used Tesla?
Often, through a referral link. The car has to be registered to you, its hardware has to support FSD, and it can’t already have FSD. You also can’t have subscribed to FSD or redeemed an FSD trial in the past 12 months, and business accounts, current Tesla employees and one-year FSD grant holders are out. Tesla’s support page adds that anyone who has bought FSD outright doesn’t qualify.
Does the FSD trial turn into a paid subscription on its own?
Tesla’s pages don’t say so directly. The subscription page ties payments to buying a subscription: they start “either immediately or after the end of your trial period if applicable.” You can cancel any time in the app, but Tesla doesn’t offer refunds on FSD subscriptions.
How many people can use one owner’s referral link?
Twelve per calendar year, first come, first served. The person sharing it can earn at most 12 rewards a year and 48 over the life of their account.
What does the person who shares the link get?
If you subscribe during your trial, they may get a free month of FSD, or a $99 Tesla Credit where Tesla Credits are available if they bought FSD outright. If you don’t subscribe, they get nothing, and your trial still counts toward their yearly limit.
Sources (8)
- tesla.com Tesla Legal: FSD (Supervised) Referral Program Terms
- tesla.com Tesla Support: FSD (Supervised) Referral Program
- tesla.com Tesla Support: Full Self-Driving (Supervised) Subscriptions
- tesla.com Current Offers
- tesla.com Tesla Support: Refer and Earn
- notateslaapp.com Tesla Reduces FSD Subscription to $49/Month for Vehicles With Enhanced Autopilot
- notebookcheck.net Tesla Gives Free FSD Holiday Gift to All but HW3 Vehicles
- teslarati.com Tesla Full Self-Driving Becomes Main Pillar of New Referral Program
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