The configurator said 'later this year'. That was 2019.

What Tesla was selling

On the Dutch Tesla configurator in 2019, 'Volledig zelfrijdende besturing' (Full Self-Driving Capability) was a paid option for the Model 3. Here's what the product description listed:

"Navigate on Autopilot: automatic driving from on-ramp to off-ramp on the highway, including interchanges and passing slower vehicles. Auto Lane Change: automatic lane changes while driving on the highway. Autopark: both parallel and perpendicular parking. Summon: your car parks itself and comes to meet you."

Directly below that, under "Later dit jaar verwacht" (Later this year expected):

"Recognition of and response to traffic lights and stop signs. Automatic driving within urban areas. Enhanced Summon — your car comes to meet you from the parking lot automatically."

'Later this year' is a deadline, not a wish

'Later this year' isn't vague. It's a concrete, measurable timeline. In March 2019, that meant somewhere in the next nine months. In November 2019 (also archived), it still said 'this year', with five weeks left. Anyone who bought the FSD package on 23 November 2019 was entitled to expect those three specific features within five weeks.

Six and a half years later, in April 2026, those features still don't work in full form on Hardware 3 vehicles. Tesla only offers a reduced 'v14 Lite' version on HW3.

The price kept going up

The configurator displayed a specific sale price for the FSD package. Throughout 2019 and after, the price changed:

• March 2019: €5,300 at order / €7,400 after delivery
• October 2019: €6,400 (single price, Autopilot now standard)
• July 2020: €7,500 (increased)
• January 2022: €7,500

The €6,400 price from October 2019 matches exactly the Tesla invoice for a separate FSD purchase in September 2019. That's the purchase behind this initiative.

The disclaimer they wrote (and the one they didn't)

Below the FSD product in 2019, this disclaimer was displayed:

"The features currently available require active supervision by the driver and do not make the car autonomous. The activation and use of these features depend on achieving a reliability that significantly exceeds that of human drivers. This will be demonstrated through billions of miles driven and legal approval, which may take longer in some countries. As these features for a self-driving car are developed, your car is continuously improved and updated through wireless software updates."

Read it carefully. The disclaimer contains exactly two reservations:

1. Reliability, to be proven through billions of miles driven
2. Legal approval, which may vary per country

Both have been fulfilled by April 2026. The RDW granted type approval for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) on 10 April 2026. Tesla can't rely on this clause anymore.

What's not in the disclaimer matters just as much:

• No reservation that hardware might need to be replaced
• No reservation that older vehicles wouldn't get the features
• No reservation about hardware-dependent performance differences
• No reservation about reduced or 'Lite' versions

The disclaimer actually closes with a confirmation of the delivery mechanism: 'As these features develop, your car is continuously improved and updated through wireless software updates.' Tesla explicitly committed to OTA delivery of the features to existing vehicles.

The quiet addition they made later

The current Tesla NL configurator includes a line that wasn't there in 2019: 'Technical limitations may apply.' That addition is Tesla's tacit acknowledgment that technical limitations exist. But it doesn't say which limitations, for which vehicles, or what a buyer should take from it. The missing specifics are exactly the problem.