Tesla is once again upping the price of its "full self-driving" feature which is available in a number of its car models. This decision was not received well by some analysts and car owners, citing the fact that the feature is not fully functional. Nevertheless, Tesla is bent into pushing through with the price increase.
This is the second time in a span of several months that Tesla increased the price for this particular feature. The announcement was made by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk through a tweet on Tuesday. Full Self-Driving or FSD is a feature that Musk said will one day give Tesla cars complete autonomous driving functionality. As of this writing, the feature costs $6000 without the $1,000 increase.
Musk has, on several occasions, promised that the FSD would be gradually developed over time. When the feature was first announced, it costs $5,000. The first price increase took effect on May 1 and brought the price of the feature to $6,000. Musk has hinted in the past that the price of the feature will eventually reach an increase of up to $3,000. This means that the latest price increase will not be the last one.
Musk confirmed through a tweet that the price of the FSD feature would increase every few months. He added that "Those who buy it earlier will see the benefit."
Tesla cars do not have self-driving or autonomous-driving features. However, Musk has promised owners that Tesla cars have advanced driver assistance capabilities and that the company will continue to improve it until it reached full automation capabilities.
As of this writing, Tesla cars come with the standard Autopilot feature. It is an advanced driver assistance system with features like lane steering and adaptive cruise control. In the past years, Tesla charge owners to have this feature activated. However, the feature became a standard on all Tesla cars starting April 2019.
While the Autopilot does offer minimal driver assistance, the FSD is the next level upgrade of it. The FSD has a Navigate on Autopilot feature which severs as an active guidance system that helps the car navigate from a highway on-ramp into an off-ramp. It also has interchanges and lane change assist features.
Tesla does continue to develop its Autopilot and the more advanced FSD features. Updates on these are done over-the-air. Tesla promised that the FSD feature would soon be able to recognize and properly respond to traffic lights and stop signs.
