Tesla cuts the price of the premium driver assistance option FSD in half in the US

Tesla said Friday it will cut the price of subscriptions to its premium driver assistance system for U.S. customers

Marketed as a Full Self-Driving or FSD package, Tesla customers will now pay $99 per month, down from $199 previously.

The price reduction contradicts the CEO’s previous promise Elon Muskwho have repeatedly said that the cost of FSD will only increase as Tesla adds more features and functionality to the system.

“FSD prices will continue to increase as the software gets closer to full self-driving capability with regulatory approval,” Musk Written on Twitter, now known as X, on May 18, 2020. At the time, he said “the value of FSD could exceed $100,000” per car.

Despite its brand name, the company’s FSD option today doesn’t make Tesla vehicles autonomous or operate like robotaxis.

Musk has been promising shareholders and customers a robot taxi for years, and has said its current vehicles will soon become self-driving after an over-the-air software update.

He told investors on a call in 2019 that autonomous vehicles would turn Tesla into a company with a $500 billion market capitalization, up from about $42 billion at the time. (Today the company is worth more than $500 billion even before developing self-driving cars.) Tesla lift up more than $2 billion through debt and equity after the call.

In a message now shown to some drivers via their cars’ touchscreens, Tesla said:

The company uses sensors on the steering wheel and a camera in the cabin, located above the rearview mirror, to determine whether the driver is paying attention and will give the driver an audible warning to keep their eyes on the road or put your hands on the steering wheel.

In 2022, the California Department of Motor Vehicles officially charged Tesla of engaging in deceptive practices surrounding the marketing of its driver assistance systems, including the Autopilot and FSD standard packages in the United States, according to filings with state administrative agencies.

Meanwhile, AlphabetWaymo is owned now operating commercial robotaxi service in several US cities. The company also recently reached a partnership with Uber Eats to deliver food without driving. In China, Didi’s autonomous unit operates commercially in markets including Guangzhou. Companies include Bill Gates-backed Wayve in the UK and by Amazon Zoox in the US is also testing robotaxis.

in one Boost quarter-end sales Last month, Musk required all sales and service employees to install and demo FSD to customers before handing over the keys. “Almost no one really realizes how well (monitored) FSD actually works,” he wrote in an email to employees. “I know this will slow down the delivery process, but it is what it is.” a difficult request.”

Later, Tesla also announced it would give away a free one-month FSD trial to all customers in North America. Owner response to the latest FSD version has impressed some fans, and many safety-conscious drivers have turned off the free FSD trial, considering it inconsistent and unsafe.

Musk also recently promised to “launch” a new dedicated robotaxi on August 8. Tesla’s launch was a marketing event and did not indicate a start date for production and deliveries. For example, Tesla unveiled a new version of the Roadster and an all-electric heavy-duty truck called the Semi in 2017 and didn’t start Semi deliveries until December 2022. They have not yet produced a new version of the Roadster.

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

CLOCK: Musk is trying to highlight the value that robotaxis can bring