Tesla slashes price of its premium driver assistance option by half in U.S.

Tesla
said
on
Friday
that
it’s
cutting
the
subscription
price
of
its
premium
driver
assistance
system
for
customers
in
the
U.S.

Marketed
as
its
Full
Self-Driving,
or
FSD,
package,
Tesla
customers
will

now
pay
$99
per
month,
down
from
$199
previously.

The
price
cut
is
at
odds
with
previous
promises
from
CEO

Elon
Musk,
who
has
repeatedly
said
that
the
cost
of
FSD
would
only
go
up
as
Tesla
adds
features
and
functionality
to
the
system.

“The
FSD
price
will
continue
to
rise
as
the
software
gets
closer
to
full
self-driving
capability
with
regulatory
approval,”
Musk

wrote
on
Twitter,
now
known
as
X,
on
May
18,
2020.
He
said
at
that
point
“the
value
of
FSD
is
probably
somewhere
in
excess
of
$100,000”
per
car.

Despite
its
brand
name,
the
company’s
FSD
option
today
doesn’t
make
Tesla
vehicles
autonomous
or
functional
as
robotaxis.

Musk
has
promised
shareholders
and
customers
a
robotaxi
for
years,
and
has
said
their
existing
vehicles
would
soon
become
self
driving
after
an
over-the-air
software
update.

He
told
investors
on
a
call

in
2019
that
autonomous
driving
would
transform
Tesla
into
a
company
with
a
$500
billion
market
cap,
up
from
around
$42
billion
at
that
time.
(The
company
is
worth
over
$500
billion
today
even
without
having
developed
an
autonomous
car.)
Tesla

raised
over
$2
billion
through
debt
and
equity
after
the
call.

In
a
notice
that’s
now
shown
to
some
drivers
through
the
touchscreen
displays
in
their
cars,
Tesla
says:

The
company
uses
sensors
in
the
steering
wheel
and
cabin
cameras,
positioned
above
the
rearview
mirror,
to
determine
if
a
driver
is
attentive
or
not,
and
will
audibly
alert
drivers
to
keep
their
eyes
on
the
road
or
hands
on
the
wheel.

In
2022,
the
California
Department
of
Motor
Vehicles
formally
accused Tesla of
engaging
in
deceptive
practices
around
the
marketing
of
its
driver
assistance
systems,
including
its
standard
package
Autopilot
and
FSD
in
the
U.S.,
according
to
filings
with
a
state
administrative
agency.

Meanwhile,


Alphabet-owned
Waymo
is
now

operating
commercial
robotaxi
services
in
several
U.S.
cities.
The
company
also
recently
struck
a
partnership

with
Uber
Eats
for
driverless
food
delivery.
In
China,
Didi’s
autonomous
unit
operates
commercially
in
markets
including
Guangzhou.
Companies
including
Bill
Gates-backed
Wayve
in
the
U.K.
and


Amazon’s
Zoox
in
the
U.S.
are
testing
robotaxis
as
well.

In
a push
for
end-of-quarter
sales last
month,
Musk
mandated
that
all
sales
and
service
staff
install
and
demo
FSD
for
customers
before
handing
over
the
keys.
He
wrote
in
an
email
to
employees,
“Almost
no
one
actually
realizes
how
well
(supervised)
FSD
actually
works.
I
know
this
will
slow
down
the
delivery
process,
but
it
is
nonetheless
a
hard
requirement.”

After
that,
Tesla
also
announced
it
would
give
away
a
one-month
free
trial
of
FSD
to
all
customers
in
North
America.
Owners’
responses
to
the
latest
version
of
FSD
have
been
mixed
with
some
fans
impressed,
and
many
safety-conscious
drivers
switching
off
the
free
FSD
trial,
viewing
it
as

inconsistent
and
unsafe.

Musk
also
recently
promised
to
“unveil”
a
new
dedicated
robotaxi
on
Aug.
8.
Tesla
unveilings
are
marketing
events,
and
don’t
indicate
a
date
for
the
start
of
production
and
deliveries.
For
example,
Tesla
unveiled
a
new
version
of
the
Roadster,
and
a
fully
electric
heavy-duty
truck
called
the
Semi
in
2017
and
didn’t
begin
Semi
deliveries
until
December
2022.
It
still
hasn’t
produced
the
new
version
of
the
Roadster.

Tesla
didn’t
respond
to
a
request
for
more
information,
including
whether
the
price
cut
announced
Friday
is
permanent
or
temporary.

WATCH:

Musk
is
trying
to
highlight
the
value
that
robotaxis
could
bring