If you spring for Tesla’s Autopilot with Full Self Driving Capability (FSD), the price is going up.
After teasing a big update to Autopilot earlier this year, Tesla has rolled out an upgraded, beta version of FSD. But anyone who wants to try it, either via a software upgrade on their existing Tesla or as an add-on for a new car, will pay an extra $10,000, up from $8,000.
The price increase went into effect on Thursday and currently only applies to the US. As it rolls out in other countries, Tesla will start a “one-week clock” for a similar price increase. Musk says an “FSD monthly rental will also be available sometime next year.”
Full Self-Driving mode is…not fully self-driving. As Tesla explains, “Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.”
As Electrek notes, Tesla is taking a Kickstarter-like approach to FSD. Sure, it costs $10,000 to add it to your car now, but as new capabilities are added via software updates—and the initial price of entry goes up—existing owners won’t have to pay more. Musk says the value of FSD could be $100,000 once it reaches “full self-driving capability with regulatory approval,” but it’s unclear if Tesla would actually charge that much.
A year ago, the price increased from $6,000 to $7,000 and then to $8,000 earlier this year. The question is, will Tesla Autopilot reach that level of autonomy to make it worth the big investment? A number of Tesla fans are betting it will.
Right now, FSD includes navigating on Autopilot, automatic lane changes on the highway, auto-parking (both parallel and perpendicular spaces), summoning (your parked car comes to find you anywhere in a parking lot), and assisted stops at traffic lights and stop signs. Tesla states that the mode will soon enable auto-steering on city streets.
