Tesla is increasing the cost of its controversial Full Self-Driving package from $12,000 to $15,000 in North America from September 5.
Customers ordering before that date but taking delivery later will still pay the old rate, but anyone ordering after September 5 will have to shoulder the $3k price hike. Tesla hasn’t outlined whether the current $199 per month subscription plan for FSD will increase, but a rise seems likely.
The increase in cost broadly coincides with the roll-out of FSD beta 10.69, the latest version of the autonomous system’s software. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk told his Twitter followers that “there are many code changes so this will be an extra cautious rollout.”
Only 1,000 Tesla owners will be able to access the new software when it drops on August 20, then beta 10.69.1 will be rolled out to a further 10k owners, followed by the release of 10.69.2 the week after to the remainder of the 100,000 drivers who have signed up to the FSD beta test program.
Related: Ralph Nader Calls Tesla FSD Rollout “Dangerous And Irresponsible”
After wide release of FSD Beta 10.69.2, price of FSD will rise to $15k in North America on September 5th.
Current price will be honored for orders made before Sept 5th, but delivered later.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 21, 2022
FSD is the most advanced of Tesla’s three-tier autonomous packages, the others being Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot. But the company has courted controversy with names of all three of its driver assist system that are still some way from being wholly autonomous.
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recently filed a legal complaint in the state that accused Tesla of making “untrue or misleading” claims about the autonomous capabilities of its own cars, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expanded its investigation into accidents where Teslas collided with parked emergency vehicles when Autopilot was activated. The NHTSA investigation covers over 800,000 Tesla cars sold in the U.S. that includes examples from all four of the 3, Y, X and S model ranges.
Tesla’s major deployment of so-called Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology is one of the most dangerous and irresponsible actions by a car company in decades. My full statement: https://t.co/VsrqQLH0ZO -R
— Ralph Nader (@RalphNader) August 10, 2022
American political activist, Ralph Nader, has suggested the NHTSA use its powers to “order that the FSD technology be removed in every Tesla,” and claimed that the roll-out of “so-called” Full Self-Driving technology is “one of the most dangerous and irresponsible actions by a car company in decades.”
Tesla, meanwhile, insists that its website contains sufficient disclaimers explaining the limits of its cars’ autonomous capabilities, and this month won a legal battle in Germany allowing it to continue using the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”