Blog Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Option Now Costs $10K

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving option jumped from $8,000 to $10,000 today, as promised by the company last week.

The price of FSD has steadily climbed even ahead of its availability. The software package price increased $1,000 in July, then Chief Executive Elon Musk announced on Twitter last week that another $2,000 increase would go into effect today.

Tesla began releasing the FSD beta last week and owners are finding the software to be much improved over the previous versions of Autopilot. Musk has called the improvements “profound.”

Tesla says FSD features include:

Navigate on Autopilot: automatic driving from highway on-ramp to off-ramp including interchanges and overtaking slower cars.Auto Lane Change: automatic lane changes while driving on the highway.Autopark: both parallel and perpendicular spaces.Summon: your parked car will come find you anywhere in a parking lot. Really.Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control: assisted stops at traffic controlled intersections.

For those not willing to pay for the $10,000 package, there may be other options. Musk said last week that Tesla will offer a subscription service sometime in 2021, but didn’t offer pricing or additional details.

A subscription service may make sense for many Tesla owners who don’t have a regular need for FSD, but would enjoy access to the feature on longer trips. Ultimately, Musk imagines a fleet of FSD-powered robotoxis, so the ability for owners to turn on the feature to make a few bucks may be a nice option too.

 

[laceyboy]

It's now 10K showing on web if you go to Custom Order

 

[noob]

I paid 2K for it back when they had the 1K off deal in Feb/March 2019. Glad I got it when I did, love the traffic light control. Stop sign is way too slow, usually have 1-3 cars passing before it stops (I'm not patient).

 

[Matias]

I don’t understand _Why_ Musk wants to charge 10k. I don’t think that it is just to get more money. Because they most likely will get less revenue than they could get with a more reasonable price. So why?

 

[cartwright]

I don't like how when I bought my car there was an upgrade price advertised and now that price has gone up (twice). I am sure buried in the Ts&Cs it says subject to change, but still, not cool.

 

[Beltsbear]

I don’t understand _Why_ Musk wants to charge 10k. I don’t think that it is just to get more money. Because they most likely will get less revenue than they could get with a more reasonable price. So why?

This. Unfortunately its personal for him. I can tell you that there is a price where total revenue is higher, and he is going in the wrong direction. On top of that, nothing states that FSD has to do the job without Tesla getting a cut of any revenue generated.

To maximize revenue, FSD personal should be cheaper (probably $5000) but will not work with commercial use or the Tesla network. Tesla network buy in could be $10k , 20k or more. Or it could be a share of revenue. OR BOTH.

 

[spokey]

That's why I already bought. I took a gamble that someday while I still have the car, it will work. But I was pretty sure it would price out of my range. I think at the time, 10K was the straw for me. Glad I already have it.

 

[whitex]

I don’t understand _Why_ Musk wants to charge 10k. I don’t think that it is just to get more money. Because they most likely will get less revenue than they could get with a more reasonable price. So why?

Actually, not true. Anyone willing to pay $8K will likely pay $10K. The extra $2K is not going to turn off people, but will provide Tesla more revenue and higher profit margins per car. If you believe Elon's hype that the car will drive your kids to school, pick up you friends, summon across the country, and pay for itself by driving for the Tesla Network when you're not using it, $8K or $10K makes no difference (an extra couple of weeks of driving part time for Tesla Network will cover the extra $2K). Of course if Elon himself believed it, he would have made FSD available in exchange for services of your car - for each day your car drives for the Tesla Network, you get get 1 month of FSD for free.

The other reason is to hype up FSD perceived value - the more something costs the more value some people attribute to it. I say some people, because I'm betting Tesla trade-in department is not upping their trade-in values by $2K for any car with FSD.

 

[rohitgarewal]

Actually, not true. Anyone willing to pay $8K will likely pay $10K. The extra $2K is not going to turn off people, but will provide Tesla more revenue and higher profit margins per car. If you believe Elon's hype that the car will drive your kids to school, pick up you friends, summon across the country, and pay for itself by driving for the Tesla Network when you're not using it, $8K or $10K makes no difference (an extra couple of weeks of driving part time for Tesla Network will cover the extra $2K). Of course if Elon himself believed it, he would have made FSD available in exchange for services of your car - for each day your car drives for the Tesla Network, you get get 1 month of FSD for free.

The other reason is to hype up FSD perceived value - the more something costs the more value some people attribute to it. I say some people, because I'm betting Tesla trade-in department is not upping their trade-in values by $2K for any car with FSD.

Not sure I agree with this. I have a 2018 X with EAP (can do everything including Noa), and use use autopilot 90% of the time. Earlier this year the upgrade price was 3, then 5, then 7.

The only reason I didn't buy earlier was because Tesla is always late on their features, and always lowers their price. The amount of times the price fluctuated between 3 and 5k were Numerous.

Now, at 7k, theres no way I'm buying FSD, especially since full rollout is still at least 12 months away, and since I paid 5k initially for the autopilot I have, that would put my cost at 12k.3k is the most I would pay, for the feature.

 

[whitex]

Not sure I agree with this. I have a 2018 X with EAP (can do everything including Noa), and use use autopilot 90% of the time. Earlier this year the upgrade price was 3, then 5, then 7.

The only reason I didn't buy earlier was because Tesla is always late on their features, and always lowers their price. The amount of times the price fluctuated between 3 and 5k were Numerous.

Now, at 7k, theres no way I'm buying FSD, especially since full rollout is still at least 12 months away, and since I paid 5k initially for the autopilot I have, that would put my cost at 12k.3k is the most I would pay, for the feature.

So I think you supported my point, you didn't want to buy it before and you still don't. Doesn't really matter why they didn't buy for $8K (or upgrade for $5K), you have your reasons, others have theirs - bottom line is the decision was not to buy, so the price hike didn't cost Tesla any money in your case or anyone else who made the same decision as you did. As I said earlier, if you weren't going to pay $8K, you're not going to pay $10K. If you talked yourself into paying $8K, you'll pay $10K. Remember that at new car prices, the difference looks even smaller - $69,420 to $77,420 or 79,420 - the big jump in price is FSD or no FSD, not the $2K price hike).

 

[freeAgent]

Actually, not true. Anyone willing to pay $8K will likely pay $10K. The extra $2K is not going to turn off people, but will provide Tesla more revenue and higher profit margins per car. If you believe Elon's hype that the car will drive your kids to school, pick up you friends, summon across the country, and pay for itself by driving for the Tesla Network when you're not using it, $8K or $10K makes no difference (an extra couple of weeks of driving part time for Tesla Network will cover the extra $2K). Of course if Elon himself believed it, he would have made FSD available in exchange for services of your car - for each day your car drives for the Tesla Network, you get get 1 month of FSD for free.

The other reason is to hype up FSD perceived value - the more something costs the more value some people attribute to it. I say some people, because I'm betting Tesla trade-in department is not upping their trade-in values by $2K for any car with FSD.

It's obviously false that a $2k price increase will not turn anyone off who would have paid $8k. It comes down to basic laws of economics. If the price can be increased by $2k without losing any customers, why stop there? Why not increase it to $12k tomorrow and $14k the day after? When do you start losing customers? The answer is that any time prices increase, customers will be lost (all else being equal). Sellers and producers seek to maximize profits, not prices.

 

[whitex]

It's obviously false that a $2k price increase will not turn anyone off who would have paid $8k. It comes down to basic laws of economics. If the price can be increased by $2k without losing any customers, why stop there? Why not increase it to $12k tomorrow and $14k the day after? When do you start losing customers? The answer is that any time prices increase, customers will be lost (all else being equal). Sellers and producers seek to maximize profits, not prices.

I can use the same "incremental logic" to deafeat your own argument - how many more cars Tesla wouldsell if they gave out a "one time discount code for $0.01 off the price of any Tesla"? How many customers would choose to cancel their orders if they found out the price went up by $0.01? If you answer is zero, then your argument that ANY time price changes causes customer loss of gain if false. Not EVERY price change creates a change in demand. My argument is that $2,000 increase in FSD makes no significant difference at all in FSD demand.

 

[BJCard]

I can use the same "incremental logic" to deafeat your own argument - how many more cars Tesla wouldsell if they gave out a "one time discount code for $0.01 off the price of any Tesla"? How many customers would choose to cancel their orders if they found out the price went up by $0.01? If you answer is zero, then your argument that ANY time price changes causes customer loss of gain if false. Not EVERY price change creates a change in demand. My argument is that $2,000 increase in FSD makes no significant difference at all in FSD demand.

Raising prices by $2k turned me off. I know I'm just one person. I could justify $8k, but theres something about going over $10k that just seems too high.

Saying that raising prices wont lower demand is not accurate.

 

[Need]

I don’t understand _Why_ Musk wants to charge 10k. I don’t think that it is just to get more money. Because they most likely will get less revenue than they could get with a more reasonable price. So why?

Last chance to get the people who really wanted FSD to invest before they made FSD subscription based.

 

[Scott7]

At $10k it’s nearly a quarter the price I paid for my entire car that’s now 2 years old and already been superseded by the refreshed Model 3.

Then the idea I could pay $10k for a software option and then get in an accident where the car is totaled and have my insurance company NOT pay out for the after-sale option is just too high of a risk for me.

Most of the above would be resolved if FSD were account-based, but until then...

 

[whitex]

Raising prices by $2k turned me off. I know I'm just one person. I could justify $8k, but theres something about going over $10k that just seems too high.

Saying that raising prices wont lower demand is not accurate.

So which second Tesla did you just order? You mentioned in another thread that you have a May 2020 Model Y, and since you could justify $8K then you bought it, right? And now you ordered a new Tesla just now (since price hike was very recent) and decided not to buy FSD purely because of the $2K increase? Or when you said "I could justify $8K" you meant purely hypothetically, as in you could but didn't?

 

[freeAgent]

I can use the same "incremental logic" to deafeat your own argument - how many more cars Tesla wouldsell if they gave out a "one time discount code for $0.01 off the price of any Tesla"? How many customers would choose to cancel their orders if they found out the price went up by $0.01? If you answer is zero, then your argument that ANY time price changes causes customer loss of gain if false. Not EVERY price change creates a change in demand. My argument is that $2,000 increase in FSD makes no significant difference at all in FSD demand.

Please go study economics if you wish to discuss it further. If you believe a 25% price increase doesn't affect marginal demand for a product, I have a bridge to sell you.

 

[whitex]

Please go study economics if you wish to discuss it further. If you believe a 25% price increase doesn't affect marginal demand for a product, I have a bridge to sell you.

The price of the car did not go up 25%, one of it's optional components went up 25%. If Porsche increased the cost of their 21" exclusive wheels ($600) option by 25% (so to $750), it would not create any meaningful decrease in the demand for the Taycan Turbo S, or even the wheels themselves (the next wheel option is $4,510 so $600 to $750 increase of the lower option would not make people choose the next option up).

Furthermore FSD is mostly a gamble, definitely worth more as advertised (if you simply let a Model 3 drive 24/7 for the Tesla Network, it would pay for itself and another Model 3 for you to drive - at least according to Elon). As is today, it's not worth the $10K (if Tesla said it's $10K for what you see today, no more updates, it would not sell almost at all). It's a gamble upsell really, Elon is selling it to people who are already shelling out $50K-$130K on a car, so similar to "undercoating", "stick on trim decoration", "stone chip protection", or other up-sells dealerships have been selling for ages.

Given how well this gamble worked out for those who paid for FSD in between 2016 and 2018 with MCU1, I would say you would be more successful selling your bridge to those folks.

 

[BJCard]

So which second Tesla did you just order? You mentioned in another thread that you have a May 2020 Model Y, and since you could justify $8K then you bought it, right? And now you ordered a new Tesla just now (since price hike was very recent) and decided not to buy FSD purely because of the $2K increase? Or when you said "I could justify $8K" you meant purely hypothetically, as in you could but didn't?

I didn't buy a second Tesla. When i bought my Model Y, FSD was a $7k upgrade. I imagined Id spring for FSD in 2021 as an upgrade. When the price went to $8k, the plan didnt change. $10k? Not worth it to me. Maybe I'll get the subscription if its reasonable.

 

[spokey]

The price of the car did not go up 25%, one of it's optional components went up 25%. If Porsche increased the cost of their 21" exclusive wheels ($600) option by 25% (so to $750), it would not create any meaningful decrease in the demand for the Taycan Turbo S, or even the wheels themselves (the next wheel option is $4,510 so $600 to $750 increase of the lower option would not make people choose the next option up).
[snip]

maybe, but perception is import.

NJ is running a 5k rebate but msrp must be below 55K. So I did not order FSD planning to buy it later. So to me I would think of it as an increase of 25%. Hearing rumor of an impending price increase, I popped for the 8K early in Oct. I think the 10K would have killed it for me. I can afford it, but there comes a point . . . . .