Tesla FSD Free Trial 2026: How to Get 1 Month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) Free

If you drive a Tesla and have never paid for Full Self-Driving (Supervised), you can try it free for a full month. Tesla's FSD referral program lets current FSD subscribers share a link that unlocks a one-month trial for other Tesla owners. You don't need a promo code, pay nothing up front, and you're under no obligation to subscribe afterward. This guide covers what you get, who qualifies, how to claim it in about two minutes, what to test so the month is worth it, and what it costs if you decide to keep it.

Full disclosure: the referral link on this page belongs to the developer of EV Charger Scout. If you subscribe during your trial, Tesla gives the developer a free month too. It costs you nothing extra, and you decide everything after the trial.

The free FSD (Supervised) month at a glance: who it's for, what it costs and where it's offered. Illustration: EV Charger Scout. Tap the image to enlarge.

What You Actually Get During the Free Month

The trial unlocks the full FSD (Supervised) package your car is eligible for, the same thing a paying subscriber gets. Tesla describes it as driver assistance that can drive your car "almost anywhere" under your active supervision. In practice, once you set a destination, the car follows your navigation route. It changes lanes, takes the right fork, stops and proceeds at intersections, makes left and right turns, handles roundabouts, and gets on and off highways. It works on residential and city streets as well as highways.

Depending on your car, the package also includes Autopark (parallel and perpendicular parking) and Summon. Actually Smart Summon brings the car to you across a parking lot from the Tesla app, and Dumb Summon moves it in and out of a tight space. Tesla notes that Summon is only available on select vehicles, so check your Owner's Manual.

You can also change how the car drives. Under Controls > Self-Driving > Speed Profile, you can choose from five profiles: Sloth, Chill, Standard, Hurry and Mad Max. Sloth drives slowest with the fewest lane changes, and Mad Max drives fastest with the most. There's also a setting for whether the car uses HOV lanes on your route.

Who Qualifies for the Free FSD Trial

Tesla sets the rules, and it makes the final call in the app. Here's how its referral program and Refer and Earn terms read as of November 2026:

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Check your car in 30 seconds

In the Tesla app, tap Upgrades > Software Upgrades. If you see an option to subscribe to FSD (Supervised), your car can run it. If your car needs a prerequisite upgrade, the app says so when you select FSD (Supervised).

How to Claim Your Free Month (Step by Step)

1. 1Update the Tesla app. Tesla says the FSD referral program needs app version 4.62.0 or later.
2. 2Open the referral link on your phone. Use the phone where you're signed in to the Tesla app. On a computer, tap the QR button on the card above and scan the code with your phone.
3. 3Make sure it opens in the Tesla app. Referral trials can only be accepted in the app. If the link opens a web page instead, go back, touch and hold the link, and choose "Open in Tesla."
4. 4Accept the trial with the Tesla account the car is registered to.
5. 5Let the car update. The car has to finish a software update before FSD (Supervised) features appear. Parking it on Wi-Fi helps.
6. 6Turn it on in the car. Tap Controls > Self-Driving > Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and read through the user agreements.
7. 7Start driving with it. Below 85 mph, tap "Start Self-Driving" on the touchscreen. When it's active, "Self-Driving" turns blue and a blue line shows the car's planned path. To take back control, press the brake, steer manually, push the gear stalk up (if your car has one) or press the right scroll wheel (if equipped).

Make the Month Count: What to Test

Most people try FSD on a quiet highway, like it, and never test the situations that decide whether it's worth $99 a month to them. Use your month to try it on the drives you actually do:

On a road trip, FSD (Supervised) follows whatever route is in your navigation, so planning your charging stops still matters. Tesla's own navigation handles Superchargers. For everything else (CCS, J1772 and other networks, plus live filters for connector and charging speed), the free EV Charger Scout map covers it. Before a long or cold-weather drive, the real-world range estimator gives you a realistic number to plan around.

One thing worth having for Supercharger stops on long trips: a way to release the charging cable without getting out of the car. That's useful at a station that doesn't feel right late at night. We compared the options, including Tesla's new Emergency Drive Away, in our EjectX review.

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What Happens When the Free Month Ends

Subscribing is a separate step you choose in the Tesla app. If you don't, the trial simply ends and FSD (Supervised) turns off. If you decide you want to keep it, you can subscribe in the Tesla app (Upgrades > Software Upgrades) or on the car's touchscreen (Controls > Upgrades). If you subscribe during the trial, Tesla says payments start when the trial ends, so you don't lose any free days.

Outside the US you pay in local currency, and Tesla shows the exact price in your app before you confirm. For the bigger picture on what a Tesla costs to own and charge, see our Tesla 2026 buying guide and the home charging cost calculator.

Does Your Tesla's Hardware Matter?

Yes. FSD (Supervised) runs on your car's driver-assistance computer, and what you get depends on which one it has. To check, go to Controls > Software > Additional Vehicle Information on the touchscreen and look for the Autopilot computer listed there.

• →Hardware 4 (AI4). Fitted to newer Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X and every Cybertruck. These cars get Tesla's latest FSD (Supervised) software first.
• →Hardware 3. Many 2019–2023 cars still use it. Since mid-2026, Tesla has been rolling out a separate, scaled-back version called FSD v14 Lite to Hardware 3 cars in the US and Canada. Tesla has also said Hardware 3 won't support unsupervised self-driving.
• →Older cars. Some older cars can't subscribe until they get a paid prerequisite upgrade. The app tells you when you select FSD (Supervised).

The free month is a good test for Hardware 3 owners in particular. You'll see what the Lite version does on your roads before you spend anything.

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Where FSD (Supervised) Is Available Worldwide

FSD (Supervised) needs regulatory approval country by country, so availability varies widely. Here's Tesla's list of markets with monthly FSD (Supervised) subscriptions as of November 2026:

Tesla documents the FSD referral program on its US support site and doesn't publish a separate referral page for each country. If you're in a subscription market outside the US, open the link in the Tesla app. If your account is eligible, the app offers you the trial. If it doesn't, the referral trial isn't available to you yet. Either way, you can still subscribe directly. Taking a Tesla abroad? Our global adapter and plug guide covers connectors by region.

How the Referral Works (and Why We Share It)

Tesla's FSD referral program is simple. An owner who subscribes to FSD (Supervised), or bought it outright, shares a link from the app's Refer and Earn menu. Eligible owners who open it get a free month. If one of them subscribes during the trial, the person who shared the link earns a reward. A subscriber gets one free month of FSD (Supervised), and an owner who bought FSD outright gets a $99 Tesla Credit. Tesla caps referrer rewards at 12 per calendar year, and each one expires 12 months after it's granted.

We share the developer's link because it costs you nothing and directly supports this free app. If you'd rather see the full eligibility checklist with a scannable QR code on a single page, it's at freefsd.evchargerscout.com. EV Charger Scout is independent and isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Tesla.

Troubleshooting: Common Problems

• →The link opens a web page, not the app. Touch and hold the link and choose "Open in Tesla." If that option doesn't appear, update the app. If it still doesn't work, delete and reinstall the app, sign in to the account linked to your car, and try the link again.
• →The app says you're not eligible. The usual reasons are a paid FSD subscription in the last 12 months, a new-car trial that ended less than 12 months ago, FSD bought outright, a car that needs a prerequisite upgrade, or a market where it isn't offered.
• →You accepted, but FSD doesn't appear in the car. The car has to finish a software update first. Connect it to Wi-Fi, install any pending update, then look under Controls > Self-Driving.
• →You're signed in with the wrong account. Only the Tesla account that owns the car can add FSD (Supervised). Another driver with access to the car can't accept it from their own account.
• →FSD shows as suspended. Too many inattention strikeouts trigger a one-week suspension. Controls > Self-Driving shows how many strikeouts you have left.

One month, no cost, and no commitment. The only way to know if FSD (Supervised) is worth $99 a month to you is to drive with it on your own roads.