Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature will soon be available as a subscription. Current owners and those looking to buy a Tesla vehicle may be wondering whether it’s better to purchase this outright or to subscribe. Tesla advanced from Autopilot to Enhanced Autopilot and now offers FSD in beta form and subscriptions will be coming in the near future.
All Tesla vehicles made since 2016 include the necessary hardware to support FSD, but in 2019 the self-driving computer was upgraded so some older cars may need the new computer installed. For vehicles made since the computer upgrade, it is a software update only. The name is a bit misleading because Tesla specifies that this is not autonomous driving, but rather computer-assisted driving. Autopilot allows the car to match the speed of surrounding vehicles and steer to stay within the current lane. FSD goes far beyond that to automatically change lanes when needed, navigate on highways, and suggest turns when traveling on city streets. Autopark handles parallel and perpendicular parking, while Smart Summon brings the car to the driver in a parking lot, moving at slow speeds, of course. Autosteer on city streets is coming next and the long-term plan is autonomous driving.
Tesla vehicles come with Autopilot now, but Full Self-Driving costs extra. For an added cost of $10,000, FSD can be added at the time of purchase. Since Tesla has sold Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot in the past, which include some aspects of FSD, special pricing is available for those that purchased the earlier versions. Owners can check their Tesla account for details specific to their situation. The possibility of FSD as a subscription was suggested in the past, but it has been confirmed by Tesla founder Elon Musk via Twitter. Musk was answering a question about the possible loss of value when purchasing the upgrade for a leased car. Tesla recently announced that it was offering leasing options in the U.S. If leasing, the car would need to be returned in three years. Since Tesla currently connects software upgrades to the vehicle rather than the driver, the $10,000 investment would be lost when returning the leased car. Musk replied that FSD subscriptions are coming early in 2021. According to Electrek, Musk has stated in a conference call that buying FSD is the best choice and should be considered an investment.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Subscriptions
On that same conference call, Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn suggested that a Full Self-Driving subscription for a Tesla vehicle into the purchase of a lease as a loan would make an affordable monthly option. This has led to speculation based on loan calculations about the possible cost. Many are estimating a cost of $100 per month, though this is calculated using a 72-month term. Since a lease is only 36 months, the monthly fee could be higher. Tesla hasn’t elaborated on the pricing details and, at this point, any pricing being discussed by others is no more than an educated guess. There is also a possibility that software upgrades, such as FSD, may be connected to the owner rather than the car in the future since another concern is that, when upgrading from a Model 3 to a Model X or Model S, the FSD purchase doesn’t travel with the owner.
Regardless of how it is paid for, there is little doubt that Tesla’s FSD feature is a very intriguing upgrade that many will be interested in. Making it available at a low monthly cost will likely increase usage. Even though, the outright purchase makes the most sense in the long-term, being able to try FSD for a month at a price far below the $10,000 purchase price will be a popular option. The vision of autonomous driving is exciting, but likely a few years away still. The biggest hurdle may not be the technical capability, but instead the legality and insurance concerns with placing a computer in control of full-size sedans operating at human driving speeds on city streets. It’s equal parts exciting and frightening. Tesla's Full Self-Driving is already here in beta form and subscriptions will bring the feature to more drivers in the near future.
Source: Elon Musk/Twitter, Electrek