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$12K for FSD is insane

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Tesla, IMHO, is rolling the dice on FSD v 11.0...
and they know pretty much how the dice will roll.

There is a lot riding on v 11.0 by raising the price by $2k just before release. A meh release won't kill the sales, but it will hurt them public arena. Their ace in the hole is their leadership position, and lack of any competition the 2022 model year.

But that will change.
 
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Tesla should offer the ability to move FSD to any new Tesla by the original owner. This would ensure high up front take up rates and sales of newer cars. Additionally used cars could get the subscriptions or new purchases. This approach would net higher revenue overall and more new car sales. Tesla likely is trying to grab what they can in up front fees before things change with demand but it is a bit short sighted as many of their sales strategies are for the long term. Tesla is a demand lever company that looks to the future in many ways but not when it comes to sales, marketing and CS. I will never buy FSD until it is done and then likely subscribe but if I could transfer I would buy today. This would ensure brand loyalty and more users on FSD. Consumer sentiment would also be higher overall and that plus more riders exposed to FSD means more sales again.
 
The closer we get to a release, the closer we get to the service going subscription only. Offering FSD as an outright purchase was just for initial early adopters. Raising the upfront cost is just being done because they don’t need more takers to fund the development, and because they don’t want more takers who won’t need the subscription service once it’s the only option.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is the way the tech industry has been moving for years now. Tesla doesn’t want to charge you $10k for life. They want to charge you $200/month for the first year, then price increases to $300/month for the 3 years after that. Or as others in the thread floated, scale the fee with miles driven. That’s why all cars supposedly come with the hardware for FSD even if you don’t take the FSD package.

SaaS has proven a superior model for the software companies for various reasons, especially the way it smoothes out their revenue to a regular income stream, rather than have it come it jolts with new product releases. That also helps with ongoing funding of the software development. Tesla’s competition like the Luminar-Volvo-Zeneact Drive Pilot, and GM’s Supercruise are also planned to be subscription services.

This price increase is likely due to the release date approaching. The fact that the price increase is also only in the US market tells us the release will only be in the US which is where the regulatory environment is most accommodating (no FSD beta whatsoever outside of the US so far). So the US FSD release date is getting closer, but international FSD release date is probably still a long way off.

I agree with this, but I think you could have dived deeper into the fact that it's not just SaaS, but there are a lot of ongoing costs (liability being a big one) that a provider has to cover. There are also services they must provide for the owner to have a good experience.

In short it's not just about reoccuring revenue, but about sustainability.

There is also the chance that they'll be forced to turn off the service older vehicles which isn't a big deal if its subscription model, but if those customers paid a huge upfront fee they'll be pissed.
 
I paid $6K for FSD, I wouldn't do it again knowing what I know now. The idea of paying $12K for something that doesn't work and might never work is crazy. I bet their uptake on FSD is going to drop to near zero after this price increase. Does anyone feel that FSD is worth $12K, now or if even if they achieve Level 4 (note that Elon said Level 4 on is annual by the end of next year it will work tweet, in the past he always said Level 5 so he's losing confidence).

Not worth it at any price to buy. Rent it for a month as a party trick. I do hope it gets L5, but right now, we are all paying to be Beta Testers. Tesla should be paying us instead.
 
If Mr. Musk was riding with me yesterday, January 8,2021 at 11AM, as my 2019 Model S with the latest Beta Full Self Driving software installed was driving itself from Lompoc California to my home in Solvang (about twenty miles), he would not charge anything for the FSD Option. The weather was perfect, and traffic was light.

I don't want to bore you with all the ways it tried to kill me during a 30-minute drive on city streets, two lane highways, divided four lane highways, a Round-a-bout, ignoring speed limit changes, and a left turn pocket near my home where it was determined to try to remove the left front fender of a huge Semi gravel truck by ramming it with my car's left front fender. My lack of trust prepared me for each event. However, I was not focused enough on the "video" reporting button on my touchscreen to send images. Sorry about that but I was trying to stay alive.

Please don't misunderstand me. I love my Model S, my wife loves her 2018 Model 3 Dual Motor. Both cars have Full FSD. We have Tesla solar panels and a Powerwall. The cars are trouble-free, and Santa Barbara Service is more than Outstanding. But honestly, I don't think Autopilot is quite ready yet for Prime Time.

The only driving that Autopilot seems stable enough to handle is on divided highways of at least two lanes in each direction, having clear lane markings, having no left turn pockets, and a minimum number of on ramps. Except for Phantom Braking, I can drive fairly relaxed with Autopilot under those conditions. That's my experience.
Sincerely,
Jay
 
Why would anyone buy it now at all? It is years away from being ready for reliable functionality. And if and when it does reach that point, I suspect that a whole new pricing paradigm will apply, whether you bought the current version of FSD or not. As somebody else said few posts up, the people currently buying FSD are paying Tesla for the privilege of being (very long term) beta testers. I am very committed to electric motoring and I really appreciate my Model 3, but I said a big 'NO' to the FSD option.
 
Why would anyone buy it now at all? It is years away from being ready for reliable functionality. And if and when it does reach that point, I suspect that a whole new pricing paradigm will apply, whether you bought the current version of FSD or not. As somebody else said few posts up, the people currently buying FSD are paying Tesla for the privilege of being (very long term) beta testers. I am very committed to electric motoring and I really appreciate my Model 3, but I said a big 'NO' to the FSD option.
A fool and their money...

The biggest issue I have with the current package is that they're bundling a useful, well-working highway feature (user-initiated auto lane change) with $12,000 worth of alpha quality garbage and empty promises. There is no valid reason to have this feature not be part of the base autopilot package like it was for so long.
 
Only reason it is worth the $3k I paid when it was "on sale", is that it covered the cost of the new computer they installed in my '18 M3. It is a fun gimmick that can kill you if you're not really paying attention. I'm now worried that the great performance of autopilot on the highway will be ruined once they switch to the single stack for FSD & NOA. I'm not looking forward to phantom braking returning to highway driving.
 
I initially had FSD in my purchases but since I got 3 mo free when I took delivery, I backed it out of the order figuring I would just do it after the 3 month trial was up. Needless to day, the trial is up and I have not purchased it again for $10k nor will I for $12k. I also think the subscription model is priced wrong. Its a shame esp. since Tesla takes it back if you trade the car back into them--just seems greedy.
 
I paid $6K for FSD, I wouldn't do it again knowing what I know now. The idea of paying $12K for something that doesn't work and might never work is crazy. I bet their uptake on FSD is going to drop to near zero after this price increase. Does anyone feel that FSD is worth $12K, now or if even if they achieve Level 4 (note that Elon said Level 4 on is annual by the end of next year it will work tweet, in the past he always said Level 5 so he's losing confidence).
To us it wasn't worth $10K. I am not buying a Tesla MYP to drive like a grandma to "earn" the right to get a 99 score so I can use the very item I am paying $10K for.

When this is actually a completed product/service that all can use without strings attached then MAYBE, just maybe it would be worth it for some. It is CRAZY to me that people have spent this kind of money on something completely half baked.
 
I paid $6K for FSD, I wouldn't do it again knowing what I know now. The idea of paying $12K for something that doesn't work and might never work is crazy. I bet their uptake on FSD is going to drop to near zero after this price increase. Does anyone feel that FSD is worth $12K, now or if even if they achieve Level 4 (note that Elon said Level 4 on is annual by the end of next year it will work tweet, in the past he always said Level 5 so he's losing confidence).
I would still pay 12k
 
I got EAP and glad I did. Not seeing FSD anytime in my future. Not sure if EAP is an off line adder or not, but they offered it at the end of one quarter for 3 days and I bit. I got everything that FSD does but on the old stack!! atlleast for now that is.
 
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They should go back to offering an option for enhanced Autopilot features. i.e. the current FSD features that are not in the FSD beta. I upgraded from EAP to FSD for $2k when it was a limited time special. I'm generally a fan of navigate on autopilot and the automatic parallel parking. I use both on a regular basis.
It would be even better if they just included those features in the base price with basic autopilot, but I'd be willing to pay $3-5k additional for them if I bought a new Tesla. $12k (or even $10k) is too steep for those features and I would definitely skip for now. I'd probably consider going subscription if they ever get the FSD working more reliably, but I don't see that happening soon.
 
am w
Why would anyone buy it now at all? It is years away from being ready for reliable functionality. And if and when it does reach that point, I suspect that a whole new pricing paradigm will apply, whether you bought the current version of FSD or not. As somebody else said few posts up, the people currently buying FSD are paying Tesla for the privilege of being (very long term) beta testers. I am very committed to electric motoring and I really appreciate my Model 3, but I said a big 'NO' to the FSD option.
because you don’t realize how much of a pipe dream it is until you live with AP. My dad basically gifted me a new model 3 (honestly I did not even want it) but he wanted to do something nice for me and my kids after making a boatload on Tesla stock. I didn’t do enough research because knowing what I know now (a mere 2 months into ownership) I would never buy FSD. Hell, I would never buy another Tesla ever again as this has been a miserable and cut-rate ownership experience from the day we placed a deposit. I should have done more digging, but my sister who loves her model X never warned me. Right now, wrongly or rightly, I feel scammed. AP and TACC are flat dangerous and true FSD is not happening any time soon (I have my doubts about in our lifetimes). There are just too many variables and split second judgments that a computer is incapable of processing. It really makes you appreciate how amazing and beautiful the human brain is.

If it was my own money, I would have never even placed a deposit due to the poor website alone. Red flags were already going off. But my dad insisted, so I pressed the button and here I am.
 
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However, I was not focused enough on the "video" reporting button on my touchscreen to send images. Sorry about that but I was trying to stay alive.

I can relate to this. Not sure how long you've been on FSD beta, but I started to build the habit to press the button after 3 releases. Also, you don't need to hit the button immediately after the bad behavior. 5-10 seconds after is fine.