Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces FSD subscription coming in 2021

[AvMaverick]

Summary

Amidst a series of random tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday, he has confirmed that a Tesla Autopilot will subscription is on the calendar, sometime in Early 2021. This is one of the many things you could once buy moving to a subscription package now. This comes after he announced that FSD will be going up by $2K this monday.

 

 

 

 

Quotes

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Tesla is planning on launching monthly subscriptions to Full Self-Driving by 2021, announced Elon Musk in a recent tweet. He broke the news after setting an updated timeframe for FSD beta’s ~$2,000 price increase on Thursday, October 29.

 

A subscription service would make FSD more affordable to Tesla owners because drivers could opt to use the service only when necessary. From a consumer’s perspective, FSD might be worth buying if it’s bound to be used often. However, a subscription service might be more practical for drivers who won’t use Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite daily and only need it during long drives or trips.

 

An FSD subscription service would not only benefit customers though. It would also benefit Tesla, specifically its AI team. The more data and driving experience FSD’s AI gathers, after all, the better it will perform.

 

With this in mind, making FSD as accessible as possible to Tesla owners should be a key priority for the company. Elon Musk predicted that FSD could be worth more than $100,000 one day. To reach that price point, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capabilities would need to improve dramatically. More real-world driving data means that more improvements could be made.

Tesla’s subscription service has been in the works for some time. EV enthusiast @greentheonly spotted the first signs of a possible FSD subscription service drop while sifting through Tesla’s code in April earlier this year.

 

 

 

My thoughts

This is clearly happening, and there is no workaround. This is one influential step Tesla is taking that makes the vehicle industry more service-based rather than a one-time buy. @LinusTech's prediction on items that we buy soon becoming a service is happening. As a consumer, I feel this is against consumers and more in line for companies wanting to earn more and more, and I feel it's overall impact on consumer culture will be thoroughly negative. His prediction in the heated seat subscriptions stands right here, and as a 15-year old kid, this is scary for me to plan for financially... 

 

 

 

Sources

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fsd-monthly-subscription-release-date-elon-musk/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii7hhbJFpiM&t=2s

[MadAnt250]

On 12/20/2020 at 8:59 AM, AvMaverick said:

I feel this is against consumers and more in line for companies wanting to earn more and more

Agree.

The big problem is that they think the consumers are becoming more stupid and it is kinda true. I here more and more people say "That's the way it is, just accept it", I say, NO, that is BS, simple luxury features in a car should not be locked out by software and a subscription service

 

P.S. If more auto companies start locking out heated seats, then I will let people know how to get that function back, because they do not need to be controlled by one of the car's computers in order to operate. 

[Ein0r]

But how would a subscription service for fsd benefit me? If I'll splurge so much money for a car and I am already interested in fsd, that markup for an fsd feature surely isn't going to break the deal. Especially not when you are allowed to use fsd nearly everywhere (at some point in the future). 

 

And looking at the price for fsd, the subscription fee would be around 100€ per month. Or probably more, given that it is a car and knowing what type of person stands behind the company.

 

The only real benefit that I can see would be for holiday trips, for a week or two. Maybe 20€ for that, sure. For the convenience of not having to deal with slightly different traffic laws, speed limits, driving on the "wrong" side of the road, or just for a convenient gps system.

 

I don't know much about Teslas in general but i thought fsd or assisted driving is one of the main features that they advertise?

[tim0901]

6 hours ago, Ein0r said:

I don't know much about Teslas in general but i thought fsd or assisted driving is one of the main features that they advertise?

Autopilot is already included in the price of your Tesla. FSD is different. (But yes, it is one of the big reasons to get a Tesla as far as I can tell).

 

Quote

But how would a subscription service for fsd benefit me?

It isn't. In the same way as how software-as-a-service benefits people already: not having to pay a huge lump sum up-front. FSD costs $10k to buy outright - it's not cheap. Especially on something like a base-spec Model 3, which itself is $30k, that's a huge increase in the price of your car. That being said, it's not like most people buy cars outright anyway, so yes that is a weak argument.

 

Otherwise, as far as I can tell, rentals are the market for this. Until it becomes the norm at least...

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Imagine if in the aerospace industry you had to pay a monthly or annual subscription for the autopilot. Mid-flight, your subscription has expired and now pilots are gonna have to fly manual for the rest of that 13 hour flight. 

[YellowJersey]

Tesla: The Apple of car manufacturers,

Why lock features behind a paywall?

[Mling]

So I'll be able to drink and drive soon? I dont want heated seats. I want chilled cup holders.

[-Strelok-]

It’s been a half baked feature for quite a while now, I’m still surprised at all the people shelling out $6k-$10k for basically automatic lane changes and a barely working summon feature. At least with a subscription you only waste $100-200 to see how bad it is. I wonder when they’ll start charging for regular autopilot or taking features out. 

[asquirrel]

I'm really hoping that this is an 'in addition to' thing, not a 'replaces current' thing. As in, you can buy a month of FSD subscription if you only ever road-trip once a year, but if you want to buy the thing and be done with it, that would still be an option. That said, I also would not be at all surprised to learn they 'only' offer the subscription model a few years from now. I really don't like my Camry enough to keep it forever, but holy shit, if this 'subscription to a car' bullshit keeps up, I have no intention of ever buying a new car.

[Belgarathian]

13 hours ago, AvMaverick said:

Summary

Amidst a series of random tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sunday, he has confirmed that a Tesla Autopilot will subscription is on the calendar, sometime in Early 2021. This is one of the many things you could once buy moving to a subscription package now. This comes after he announced that FSD will be going up by $2K this monday.

 

 

 

 

Quotes

 

My thoughts

This is clearly happening, and there is no workaround. This is one influential step Tesla is taking that makes the vehicle industry more service-based rather than a one-time buy. @LinusTech's prediction on items that we buy soon becoming a service is happening. As a consumer, I feel this is against consumers and more in line for companies wanting to earn more and more, and I feel it's overall impact on consumer culture will be thoroughly negative. His prediction in the heated seat subscriptions stands right here, and as a 15-year old kid, this is scary for me to plan for financially... 

 

 

 

Sources

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fsd-monthly-subscription-release-date-elon-musk/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii7hhbJFpiM&t=2s

I don't see a problem with the subscription model as a way of reducing the barrier to entry for advanced features that are constantly under development. I do, however, have an issue with BMW's approach to making heated seats, Apple CarPlay, and AWD systems subscription based when they're not adding any value whatsoever overtime and the significant costs are already included in the vehicle (unless the vehicle is discounted to reflect the fact that they're not included in the original purchase).

[xtroria]

I understand tesla charging a subscription based system for the car

 

The system is still developing at quite rapid pace. The system itself requires continuous spending on R&D
 

Look, having subscription system for now means it allows more people being able to use it when they need / want to.

 

Although to be fair, tesla should provide the option of buying this feature outright, even if they are expensive

 

 

[descendency]

I imagine this will eventually be a substitute to buying insurance. 

[wanderingfool2]

3 hours ago, -Strelok- said:

It’s been a half baked feature for quite a while now, I’m still surprised at all the people shelling out $6k-$10k for basically automatic lane changes and a barely working summon feature. At least with a subscription you only waste $100-200 to see how bad it is. I wonder when they’ll start charging for regular autopilot or taking features out. 

Just curious, have you tried the FSD in a Tesla?  (Not the autopilot, but the actual FSD)?  [I don't own a Tesla, but have been able to try...it's actually pretty neat and I can see why some people would dish out $10k for it].  Based on the YouTube videos as well, it looks like the new Beta FSD is performing a lot better as well...in a decent amount of cases being able to go from point A to point B without human intervention.  (Also...I know a fair amount of timid/not great drivers that would love having the car being able to do a lot of the heavy lifting for them)...especially parking.

 

If it's like $200 for a month, I could totally get why people might subscribe to it for road trips/month long holidays

 

2 hours ago, xtroria said:

Although to be fair, tesla should provide the option of buying this feature outright, even if they are expensive

Yea, if they continue having the purchase option, I really don't care as much.  Although, if they remove purchase options, and move towards subscription then I'll be the first one to be lighting the torches and picking up the pitch-forks.

 

12 hours ago, MadAnt250 said:

Agree.

The big problem is that they think the consumers are becoming more stupid and it is kinda true. I here more and more people say "That's the way it is, just accept it", I say, NO, that is BS, simple features in a car should not be locked out by software and a subscription service

 

P.S. If more auto companies start locking out heated seats, then I will let people know how to get that function back, because they do not need to be controlled by one of the car's computers in order to operate. 

Way to make me feel old   "simple features" (remembers when paying for A/C was a luxury...my first car didn't have A/C).  For myself, I am still on the fence about the heated seat debate.  On one hand, I get that it's already in the vehicle and just software locked...on the other hand, my current vehicle doesn't have heated seats and it costs too much to retrofit it into the vehicle.  If the cost of adding in "heated seats" in terms of bomb cost would be the same as having a separate SKU (in the sense that you have to have different manufacturing lines, so the cost of supporting a different SKU would cost money), then I am okay with it.  Even if it does add a bit to the cost, I think personally I am okay with it (again, going back to my argument...I bought my current car and didn't realize how much I missed having heated seats until it was too late).  We'll see though.  If they start taking away features though (or rather start selling vehicles at the same price but less features that you will then have to purchase, then I think it will flip my vote)

[SpaceGhostC2C]

3 hours ago, xtroria said:

I understand tesla charging a subscription based system for the car

 

The system is still developing at quite rapid pace. The system itself requires continuous spending on R&D
 

So basically it's like a videogame: you are supposed to pay a subscription or upfront for something that doesn't exist yet, so the devs get the money to -hopefully- finish it one day.

Only you are beta-testing with your life on the line  

[Spindel]

Thank you everyone that thinks music streaming is a good idea, you guys started this...

[piratemonkey]

1 minute ago, Spindel said:

Thank you everyone that thinks music streaming is a good idea, you guys started this...

Don't blame a kooky inventors decision on people who want convenience

[Spindel]

Just now, piratemonkey said:

Don't blame a kooky inventors decision on people who want convenience

I don't blame the inventor, I blame the consumers. 

[Ein0r]

With a little luck the subscription payment will count towards the purchase price, but I doubt it. 

[kewtz]

From a US economic perspective, this service is the difference between something being accessible or not.
Let's not forget that many (read: most) Americans live paycheck to paycheck. A subscription based model appears more attainable or reachable compared to buying it outright.

As the price of the car itself comes down and becomes more attractive for the "common" buyer, a subscription may make sense to that buyer.

 

Also remember this is a good method for Tesla to standardize the manufacturing process.

If you consider that car brands can have up to 8 different trim levels for 1 model, Tesla has a single trim level that fits everyone.

Imagine buying a base model that you can "pay to upgrade" over time as your financial situation allows it.

 

I think it's crazy that you can get the car you want (maybe not need)...and upgrade its features over time versus having to buy a new car - which is a financial mess.

[AvMaverick]

7 minutes ago, kewtz said:

I think it's crazy that you can get the car you want (maybe not need)...and upgrade its features over time versus having to buy a new car - which is a financial mess.

You can always buy FSD after you purchased your car. It's just a software upgrade away.

[cj09beira]

8 minutes ago, kewtz said:

From a US economic perspective, this service is the difference between something being accessible or not.
Let's not forget that many (read: most) Americans live paycheck to paycheck. A subscription based model appears more attainable or reachable compared to buying it outright.

As the price of the car itself comes down and becomes more attractive for the "common" buyer, a subscription may make sense to that buyer.

 

Also remember this is a good method for Tesla to standardize the manufacturing process.

If you consider that car brands can have up to 8 different trim levels for 1 model, Tesla has a single trim level that fits everyone.

Imagine buying a base model that you can "pay to upgrade" over time as your financial situation allows it.

 

I think it's crazy that you can get the car you want (maybe not need)...and upgrade its features over time versus having to buy a new car - which is a financial mess.

if said features are software sure, but for hardware ones i dont think its a good idea

[Master Delta Chief]

5 hours ago, Spindel said:

Thank you everyone that thinks music streaming is a good idea, you guys started this...

What a terrible comparison. Music streaming and FSD are completely different kinds of things. One is a feature and another is basically a library with a bunch of songs and other stuff depending on the service. And to blame this on the consumer is just outright ignorant and quite frankly insulting almost. Certain things can be acceptable in subscription form, but there are limits to it that everyone should be able to understand. Things like that heated seats thing from BMW is just bullshit and unacceptable behavior of some greedy corp. 

[jagdtigger]

9 minutes ago, Master Delta Chief said:

And to blame this on the consumer is just outright ignorant and quite frankly insulting almost.

Its painful but it is the reality so you just have to deal with it. I have to face this every year when there are xmas sales and the inflated prices before it so the discounted price is the same as it was before they pumped it up. Guess how many ppl noticed this? Well the huge line before the checkout tells me none.....

[HarryNyquist]

11 hours ago, asquirrel said:

As in, you can buy a month of FSD subscription if you only ever road-trip once a year, but if you want to buy the thing and be done with it, that would still be an option.

Don't give them an inch. Buying a tesla is easily 50,000+ USD. If that's not enough to cover their R&D for this feature, then the cars are priced too low.

 

It's very John Deere-y. The mile they take will be disabling your car if you put an non-OEM oil filter and non-OEM oil in your car at a non-OEM shop or on your own.

[Curufinwe_wins]

As a Tesla owner with normal autopilot... literally the only feature that interests me one bit is the auto lane change, and only on big road trips (9k miles in my car in 3 months).

 

Normal autopilot does everything I'd want it to for a regular drive. Oh and in general, it still gets spooked really easily, so yeah, if you dislike random heart-rending braking when the road dips under a bridge etc, not the tool for you.