Tesla announced, this weekend, that the pricing for its Full Self-Driving software package will go up this month even more. Despite the software’s $10,000 price tag, believe it or not, it is a very popular option among owners. However, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself confirmed, the package would now cost $2,000 more, bringing the total to $12,000.
The news was made, in typical fashion, over Twitter, and it references the $2,000 price hike, the fact that it will go into effect on January 17, and that it will only affect users in the United States. Tesla also provides a $199 monthly subscription service for the FSD package, which will almost certainly go up in price as well. Nevertheless, one does have to wonder whether this package is worth the premium, especially considering it’s not exactly turning your car into a self-driving machine.
To refresh your memory, there are six levels of autonomous technology according to research carried out in the field. They range from 0 to 5, with 0 being a fully unsupported vehicle with only minimal driving aids like ABS and traction control and 5 being a fully autonomous vehicle with no need for a driver, pedals, or steering wheel.
Currently, Tesla has notified government agencies that FSD is only at Level 2 autonomy, despite being widely considered by its customers as one of the most advanced self-driving systems in the industry. Meanwhile, car makers like as Mercedes and Honda, which did not begin substantial work on autonomous vehicles until far later than Tesla, have already received Level 3 approval. However, they are only legal in certain parts of the world for now.
Not to be outshined, Elon Musk said that Tesla should go up to Level 4 as soon as this year. The thing is, the CEO of Tesla has made such claims in the past as well and all of them fell short of their intended goals. Nevertheless, seeing everyone competing against each other in this field will definitely push the technology to market faster than ever. Let’s just hope it’s not going to cost $12,000 on every car out there and that it actually saves lives.
