Tesla cuts price FSD premium driver assistance option by half in U.S.

Tesla said on Friday it would lower subscription prices for its advanced driver assistance systems for U.S. customers

Tesla customers market it as Full Self-Driving (FSD) kit Pay now $99 per month, down from $199.

The price cut goes against previous promises from Chief Executive Musk, who has repeatedly said the cost of FSD will only rise as Tesla adds features and capabilities to the system.

“As the software gets closer to regulatory approval for full self-driving capabilities, the price of FSD will continue to rise,” Musk said. wrote Remarks posted on Twitter (now known as X) on May 18, 2020. He said at the time that each vehicle “is probably worth more than $100,000 in FSD.”

Despite its brand name, the company’s current FSD options do not allow Tesla vehicles to drive themselves or function like a robo-taxi.

Musk has been promising robo-taxis to shareholders and customers for years, saying their existing vehicles would soon be able to drive themselves after receiving over-the-air software updates.

He told investors on a conference call in 2019 that autonomous driving would make Tesla a $500 billion company, up from about $42 billion at the time. (Even without developing self-driving cars, the company is now worth more than $500 billion.) Tesla raised more than $2 billion in debt and equity after the call.

Tesla currently displays notifications to some drivers through the car’s touch screen:

The company uses sensors in the steering wheel above the rearview mirror and in-car cameras to determine whether the driver is paying attention, and emits a sound to remind the driver to focus on the road or keep their hands on the wheel.

In 2022, the California Department of Motor Vehicles formally accused Tesla of deceptive practices in the marketing of its driver assistance systems, including its standard suite of Autopilot and FSD in the United States, according to documents filed with the state administrative agency.

at the same time, letterWaymo is now operate Commercial robotaxi services in several U.S. cities. The company also recently formed a driverless food delivery partnership with Uber Eats. In China, Didi’s self-driving unit operates commercially in markets such as Guangzhou.Including companies such as UK-based Wayve backed by Bill Gates Amazon’s Zoox in the United States is also testing robotaxis.

Last month, in an effort to boost end-of-season sales, Musk asked all sales and service staff to install and demonstrate FSDs to customers before handing over keys. “Few people are really aware of how effective (supervised) FSD actually is. I know it will slow down the delivery process, but it is still a hard requirement,” he wrote in an email to staff.

Subsequently, Tesla also announced that it would provide a one-month free trial period of FSD to all customers in North America.Owner response to the latest version of FSD has been mixed, with some fans being impressed and many safety-conscious drivers turning off the free FSD trial, viewing it as inconsistent and unsafe.

Musk also recently promised to “unveil” a new purpose-built robotaxi on August 8. Tesla’s unveiling was a marketing event and did not indicate a date for the start of production and deliveries. For example, Tesla launched a new version of the Roadster in 2017, as well as an all-electric heavy-duty truck called Semi. It did not start delivering the Semi until December 2022, and it has not yet produced a new version of the Roadster.

Tesla did not respond to a request for more information, including whether the price cuts announced Friday are permanent or temporary.

watch: Musk seeks to highlight the value robo-taxis can bring