Tesla is about to redraw the business model for its most controversial feature. Starting February 14, the company will stop selling its Full Self-Driving package as a one-time add‑on and instead offer the software only as a monthly service, a shift Elon Musk has framed as central to Tesla’s future. For owners and investors, the move turns a long‑promised leap toward autonomy into a recurring line item, with big implications for how drivers pay for advanced driver assistance and how regulators watch it.
The subscription switch and what exactly is changing
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company will halt one‑off purchases of its driver‑assist system and move Tesla FSD to a subscription‑only model after February 14, ending years in which buyers could roll the cost into their vehicle price. Musk stated that Tesla will stop selling FSD after Feb 14 and that FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter, a change that applies to new buyers who want the most advanced version of the software. In his announcement, Musk, identified as Tesla CEO Elon, tied the decision directly to how the company intends to scale its autonomous driving ambitions.
The company has already set expectations on price, telling drivers that they will now only have the option to pay $99 per month for the brand’s FSD autonomous software in markets where it is active. Reporting on the change notes that Tesla owners who already paid upfront keep access, while new customers will be funneled into a $99 subscription that can be turned on or off as needed. A separate breakdown of the policy shift underscores that Tesla will end one‑time purchases of its Full Self Driving software from February 14 and that Tesla will move to a recurring model as it continues to refine the system’s safety and use.
How FSD works today and where it is available
For all the futuristic branding, Tesla Full Self Driving remains a supervised driver‑assist system that still requires human oversight. The company describes Tesla Full Self Driving, also called FSD Supervised, as software that allows the driver to navigate through city driving with lane changes, traffic recognition and automated responses while still needing to pay attention and intervene if needed. Coverage of the feature explains that Tesla Full Self Driving (FSD) Supervised can handle tasks such as lane changes, braking and lane‑keeping on city streets, but that the driver must remain engaged, a point echoed in reports that drivers must pay and be ready to take control.
The FSD feature is currently available in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand, and reporting notes that The FSD feature is currently offered in these markets while the company plans to expand further. In practice, that means a Model 3 or Model Y owner in California can subscribe to FSD and have the car handle turns and respond to traffic signals on city streets, while a driver in Toronto or Shanghai can access similar capabilities. Coverage of the rollout stresses that The FSD feature is still framed as an aid, not a replacement for a human driver, even as Tesla markets it as a step toward eventual autonomy.
Regulatory scrutiny and safety backdrop
The subscription pivot is unfolding against a backdrop of heightened regulatory scrutiny and ongoing safety investigations into Tesla’s driver‑assistance systems. Reports on the change point out that the move comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny and ongoing safety investigations into Tesla’s driver‑assistance systems, including questions about how Autopilot and FSD handle steering, braking and lane‑keeping. In the United States, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has repeatedly examined Tesla’s software, and its official portal for recalls and investigations into advanced driver assistance, including Tesla’s, is maintained by the U.S. National Highway.
Regulators have focused in particular on whether branding like “Full Self Driving” overstates the system’s capabilities and encourages misuse. One account of the new subscription model notes that the move comes as safety agencies continue to probe how Tesla’s driver‑assist technology behaves around traffic signals on city streets and in complex environments. Another report highlights that the change to subscription‑only arrives as move comes amid questions over whether drivers understand that FSD is still a supervised system, not a fully autonomous chauffeur.
What it means for Tesla’s business and drivers’ wallets
From a business perspective, turning FSD into a subscription is a bet that recurring software revenue can become a pillar of Tesla’s valuation. Musk has repeatedly described Full Self Driving as critical to Tesla’s future, and one analysis notes that Elon Musk said Tesla will make FSD subscription‑only and regards the software as critical to Tesla’s future, signaling that the company sees more upside in monthly fees than in one‑time sales. In Tesla’s third‑quarter earnings call, the company’s CFO told investors that only around 12% of Tesla’s current fleet had adopted FSD, a figure cited in coverage that begins, In Tesla’s third‑quarter earnings call, the CFO said only around 12% of Tesla’s current fleet had opted in, underscoring how much room there is to grow subscription penetration if the price and flexibility appeal to more owners.
For drivers, the math shifts from a large upfront payment to a recurring charge that can be toggled on for specific months, for example during a long road‑trip season. Reports on the new structure explain that Tesla owners will now only have the option to pay $99 per month for FSD, and that a monthly subscription priced at $99 per month is being positioned as more accessible than a multi‑thousand‑dollar lump sum. One breakdown of the policy notes that a monthly subscription priced at $99 per month will apply to new buyers, while existing owners who already purchased FSD keep their access without additional fees.
Global rollout, regional exceptions and what comes next
The shift to subscriptions is not landing uniformly across all markets, reflecting how uneven Tesla’s FSD rollout still is. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Tesla told Auto Express that given that FSD has not been fully released there, it probably does not make sense for it to move to a subscription for the time being, effectively carving out an exception until the software is more mature. Coverage of that stance notes that However, Tesla told Auto Express that FSD has not been fully released in the UK and that a subscription model will wait, highlighting how regulatory approvals and technical readiness vary by country, even as the company standardizes pricing in the U.S. and other active markets. That nuance is captured in reports that begin with However, Tesla told Auto Express and go on to explain why the UK is not yet part of the subscription shift, linking the explanation to However, Tesla told that the timing is not right.
Musk’s announcement also fits into a broader narrative about Tesla’s long‑term autonomy ambitions and the role of its Autopilot and FSD stack. One report on the change notes that FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter and places that statement alongside a description of how Autopilot has been marketed as a step toward a future fleet of robotaxis. Another account emphasizes that Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription‑only model and recalls earlier promises of 1 million Robotaxis in operation, tying the new pricing to Musk’s vision of software‑driven revenue from autonomous services. In that context, the company’s own messaging that Elon Musk says Self Driving is central to its future, and that in Tesla’s third‑quarter earnings call the CFO highlighted how few owners currently use it, suggests that the subscription model is as much about seeding that future as it is about smoothing today’s revenue.
