- Tesla slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000.
- The price cut comes as CEO Elon Musk reaffirms his commitment to advancing Full Self-Driving (FSD).
- Tesla has adjusted its pricing strategy for FSD from $199 to $99 per month, aiming to make the feature more accessible to customers.
Tesla announced that it will significantly reduce the price of its Fully Self-Driving (FSD) Driving Assistant software, with the US price cut from $12,000 to $8,000, a significant one-third reduction.
Musk’s commitment to self-driving technology
Tesla CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed his commitment to self-driving technology on Saturday.
Musk believes the Full Self-Driving (FSD) will become a major source of revenue for the world’s largest automaker by market capitalisation. But for years he has failed to realise his goal of autonomous driving, a technology that has come under increasing regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Despite the many challenges that lie ahead on the road to full self-driving technology, Musk remains optimistic about Tesla’s progress in this area.
Also read: Tesla to adopt new assembly technology, reducing production costs
Also read: Tesla’s Texas battery factory can supply 1,000 Cybertrucks weekly
Tesla’s new round of price hikes
Earlier this month, Musk said Tesla would unveil its robotaxis on August 8, which is when the price hike move was made. This proves that Tesla has scrapped its cheap mass-market cars in favour of robot taxis.
Besides, Tesla has adjusted its pricing strategy for FSD from $199 to $99 per month, aiming to make the feature more accessible to customers.
Musk has long emphasised the potential value of self-driving technology, stating that the perceived low price of FSD in 2023, then at $15000, will be worth significantly more if the car becomes fully autonomous.
It’s worth noting that Tesla refers to its driving assistant features as Autopilot or FSD, but says they don’t make the car self-driving and require active supervision by the driver.
In addition to these developments in autonomous driving technology, Tesla has dropped the price of its models in response to market dynamics, including a nearly $2,000 price cut for all models in China, which mirrors the price cuts in the United States.
