Tesla reduces subscription fees for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistance software, reflecting the company’s continued commitment financial difficulties. The company has reduced the price to $99/month, down from $199 since at least 2021.
Tesla announced the price adjustment in an article on Pay attention to the road and be ready to take control of the vehicle. (The company has been criticized for failing to include proper driver monitoring and other protections against over-reliance on the system.)
Tesla previously charged owners $199 per month to subscribe to FSD. (The driver assistance system was also available for a one-time fee of $12,000.) FSD was also available as a $99 monthly subscription for owners who already had Autopilot, which is less capable than FSD . But now Tesla is offering Autopilot as standard on all new car purchases, avoiding the need for a price differential.
The company also recently began offering a one-month free trial of FSD in an effort to get more customers to use it. And Tesla would have been mandate its service center employees take all potential buyers for a demo with FSD, under direct order from Elon Musk.
The company also recently began offering a one-month free trial of FSD in an effort to get more customers to use it.
But FSD is not a perfect system. Some Tesla owners praise its capabilities, but others describe it as erratic and unreliable. The company has released numerous software updates in an effort to improve its capabilities, with the last (v12) finally claiming to exploit what Musk calls “end-to-end neural networks”.
Most automakers’ driver assistance systems are intended for limited use on highways, while Tesla is the only one that encourages its customers to use FSD on local roads with traffic lights, intersections, and vulnerable road users. The system controls acceleration and deceleration, makes turns – including unprotected left turns, extremely difficult for automated systems – and recognizes traffic lights and other traffic signs. FSD also requires drivers to pay attention to the road and take control of the vehicle when asked.
Tesla’s driver assistance technology has pushed the limits of what can be safely used by customers on public roads and has attracted the attention of federal regulators. Federal regulators are investigating 16 accidents in which owners of Tesla vehicles using Autopilot crashed into stationary emergency vehicles, causing 15 injuries and one death. The two autopilots And FSD have recently been recalled, with the company offering software updates that ensure security experts described as insufficient.
Tesla’s financial difficulties could be behind the latest price cuts. The company’s quarterly vehicle deliveries declined for the first time in years, putting increased pressure on Tesla to increase revenue through its software services to compensate.
