Elon Musk announced on January 8 that the price of Tesla's full self driving (FSD)'s high-end package will be increased from US $10,000 to US $12,000 on January 17 for the US customers.
This premium driver assistance option includes the autopilot function and more complicated features, such as auto lane-changing, stop sign recognition, and smart summon. Smart summon allows drivers to call their car to their location in the parking lot. Drivers can use their smartphone's Tesla app like a remote control to activate the smart summon feature.
Tesla's eco system centers on over-the-air software updates. If Tesla continues to develop its cars’ autonomous features (SAE levels), their capabilities will keep improving. Prior to the time when the FSD subscription system was announced, Musk had already stated that the “Monthly subscription price will rise when FSD goes to wide release.” According to a recent tweet, the Tesla FSD price is going to rise near the release of the FSD production codes.
Tesla did not reveal how many customers have chosen the up-front FSD option or what the quarterly FSD subscription volume is in its financial reports. The additional margin that Tesla will earn from the raised prices of its pre-paid FSD option is still uncertain. The Autopilot is the standard driving assistance package of Tesla; the FSD is an advanced option that includes the Autopilot features. All of the new cars from the Model S, X, Y and 3 series come with standard Autopilot functions.
According to Tesla's official website, its Autopilot's features include automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. These functions will allow your Tesla's speed to align with those of its surrounding cars.
There is one more version of FSD, called the “Beta tier,” that includes more advanced functions. Musk expressed that the new 10.9 version release of FSD Beta is nearly completed. This Beta version is from an invitation-only program that is available to drivers who receive high "safety scores" from Tesla and those who receive, buy, or subscribe to FSD.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating Tesla's FSD development and its technologies' reliability. Tesla told these 2 institutions that its FSD technology is only a "level 2" system. According to DMV's definition, a level 2 system might improve safety or assist with driving, but a driver must be present when the driving operations are carried out. Musk has hinted that Tesla's technology has been more advanced than that of Level 2.
On December 28, 2021, someone asked Musk when he thinks “Tesla will solve (the difficulties of) Level 4 for FSD.” Musk replied that it is very likely to happen in 2022. Since 2016, Tesla has kept saying that it will one day offer true autonomous functions, but this promise hasn't been fulfilled yet.
(News source: Leiphone. Image: shutterstock)