Tesla’s “Full Auto Drive” (FSD) feature has had a tough history, to put things generously. It has been implicated in numerous flaws, seemingly persistent software bugs, and a barrage of scrutiny from a panoply of regulatory bodies. Plus, it’s about to cost more money.
The increase represents an additional $2,000 being added to the non-insubstantial price: a new grand total of $12,000, or most of the way for a Honda Civil. Nor is it the first time that the FSD has become more expensive. In 2020, Musk (again, on Twitter) announced about $2,000 price increase. This latest increase, Musk clarified, will only apply in the US; he added that the “price of the feature will increase as we get closer to the release of FSD production code.”
Whether this means there are plans for further price increases is anyone’s guess — Tesla dissolved its corporate communications department around the same time the FSD won its $10,000 price tag.
Notably, purchasing the “full automatic drive” feature does not result in a self-driving car. In large part, that’s why Senators Markey and Blumenthal asked the FTC to investigate Tesla and Musk for, among other things, “exaggerations of the capabilities of their vehicles.” According to a survey, only about 11% of Tesla homeowners forgo the money needed to enable FSD, and it’s hard to imagine how the increased financial burden on buyers could reverse this trend.
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