Tesla’s increasing the price of its Full-Self Driving (FSD) software to $15,000. In a post on Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the new price will go into effect in North America starting September 5th, representing a $3,000 jump.
Drivers who order a vehicle before September 5th won’t have to pay the newly-increased price, Musk says. The price hike comes as Tesla begins rolling out FSD beta 10.69 to drivers, a version Musk calls “a big step forward.” It’s still unclear whether Tesla plans on raising the price of its FSD subscription, which currently costs $199 per month.
The price of Tesla’s FSD software was originally selling at $5,000 upon launch, but when Tesla started rolling out the FSD beta to a select group of customers in October 2020, it increased its price to $10,000. As soon as the software became more mainstream the price jumped again to $12,000 and now sits at a cool $15,000.
An upcoming feature for FSD is listed as “autosteer on city streets.”
Teslas with FSD enabled also enjoy the features of autopilot and enhanced autopilot, which include “traffic-aware cruise control,” “autosteer,” “navigate on autopilot,” “autopark” and more.
With FSD, Tesla’s can automatically detect stop signs and traffic signs, then “automatically slows your car to a stop on approach.”
Earlier this month, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) accused Tesla of making “untrue or misleading claims” about its vehicles’ self-driving capabilities. The DMV alleges that the names Autopilot and FSD, as well as the language Tesla uses to describe them, could deceive users into thinking that the vehicles can operate autonomously, according to The Verge.
Last August, Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the way Tesla advertises its FSD and Autopilot software. The two lawmakers later sent a letter to Musk to “express significant concerns” over Tesla’s driver-assist system, which Tesla responded to by saying its system can help customers “drive safer than the average driver in the U.S.”
