Photo: Whole Mars Catalog via YouTube
The Tesla Full Self-Driving pricing is again a hot topic after Elon Musk appeared to agree that a more affordable subscription would be beneficial. The FSD pricing has often been criticized, especially as the software is still in development, and many people who paid for it could never benefit.
Autonomous driving has always been an important part of the Tesla mission. Elon Musk often speaks about the importance of full self-driving software, saying that Tesla might have no value without it. At the same time, he always hyped the FSD features, promising that one day, not very far into the future, all Tesla vehicles will be updated to drive autonomously and turn into robotaxis. When this happens, the value of Tesla Full Slef-Driving will go through the roof, considering the potential.
If we look at the FSD pricing, it's clear that Tesla was considering its future potential and Musk's promises rather than its current value. What started in 2019 as a $5,000 upgrade has quickly developed into a very expensive feature, reaching $15,000 in August 2022. Even then, Musk repeated his favorite line, saying that the FSD is undervalued and the price will increase once its capabilities improve. Despite that, Tesla lowered the price to $12,000 in September 2023, although Musk said this was temporary.
Buying the FSD Capability upfront was only one of the options for people who wanted it. In 2021, Tesla also introduced a $199 monthly subscription in the US. At the time, the FSD's full price was $10,000. Although the upfront price increased to $12,000 and later $15,000, the monthly subscription remained $199. Lowering the price back to $12,000 last year also did not influence the monthly subscription. However, this might change soon, as Musk indicated that he's willing to reconsider the subscription price.
Canadian YouTuber Yashu Sharma posted on X a suggestion to lower the FSD subscription price to $99 per month to increase the adoption rate. His post was liked by Elon Musk, meaning that Tesla's CEO is at least considering a price drop. Musk also liked a post by Troy (@TroyTeslike), who ran a survey about FSD subscription pricing, showing that $99 is the sweet spot. Other Tesla influencers ran their own polls, some proposing even lower monthly subscriptions at $49, but $99 still proved the most popular option.
Tesla FSD has become much more competent with the end-to-end AI version 12. The latest iterations made Musk confident enough to drop the Beta label and call it Supervised FSD instead. However, lowering the price at a time when things seem to improve fast is contrary to what Elon Musk said in the past. Could Tesla charge more for FSD if it could drive the car safely? It's unclear, considering that the adoption rate has been mostly flat in the past year.
Tesla is now offering one-month free trials of the FSD Supervised, which means many people will get to drive on FSD. However, how many will continue to pay a subscription or buy FSD upfront for $12,000 after the trial ends remains to be seen. Since many Tesla owners pay around $500 per month to finance their vehicles, adding $199 to the total is steep. At $99, the self-driving features seem much more attractive, making people more likely to want to pay for it.
If we look at the FSD pricing, it's clear that Tesla was considering its future potential and Musk's promises rather than its current value. What started in 2019 as a $5,000 upgrade has quickly developed into a very expensive feature, reaching $15,000 in August 2022. Even then, Musk repeated his favorite line, saying that the FSD is undervalued and the price will increase once its capabilities improve. Despite that, Tesla lowered the price to $12,000 in September 2023, although Musk said this was temporary.
Buying the FSD Capability upfront was only one of the options for people who wanted it. In 2021, Tesla also introduced a $199 monthly subscription in the US. At the time, the FSD's full price was $10,000. Although the upfront price increased to $12,000 and later $15,000, the monthly subscription remained $199. Lowering the price back to $12,000 last year also did not influence the monthly subscription. However, this might change soon, as Musk indicated that he's willing to reconsider the subscription price.
Canadian YouTuber Yashu Sharma posted on X a suggestion to lower the FSD subscription price to $99 per month to increase the adoption rate. His post was liked by Elon Musk, meaning that Tesla's CEO is at least considering a price drop. Musk also liked a post by Troy (@TroyTeslike), who ran a survey about FSD subscription pricing, showing that $99 is the sweet spot. Other Tesla influencers ran their own polls, some proposing even lower monthly subscriptions at $49, but $99 still proved the most popular option.
Tesla FSD has become much more competent with the end-to-end AI version 12. The latest iterations made Musk confident enough to drop the Beta label and call it Supervised FSD instead. However, lowering the price at a time when things seem to improve fast is contrary to what Elon Musk said in the past. Could Tesla charge more for FSD if it could drive the car safely? It's unclear, considering that the adoption rate has been mostly flat in the past year.
Tesla is now offering one-month free trials of the FSD Supervised, which means many people will get to drive on FSD. However, how many will continue to pay a subscription or buy FSD upfront for $12,000 after the trial ends remains to be seen. Since many Tesla owners pay around $500 per month to finance their vehicles, adding $199 to the total is steep. At $99, the self-driving features seem much more attractive, making people more likely to want to pay for it.
Oh shit it’s about to go down pic.twitter.com/A911juAEmG
— Yashu Sharma (@heyitsyashu) April 12, 2024
Elon Musk liked a post from Troy Teslike https://t.co/9RkdGBjTO4
— ELON ALERTS (@elon_alerts) April 12, 2024
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