Gary Zhou 
A recent tweet from Elon Musk announced a tentative release date for subscriptions to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite. And if the predictions of the CEO are correct, it would mean that a good number of Tesla owners would have the opportunity to subscribe to the best advanced driver-assist features of the company.
Tesla enthusiast @padgeuk asked on Sunday afternoon if FSD could be paid for with an annual plan. It doesn’t really make sense to opt for the full price of FSD if a vehicle is rented, according to the Tesla fan. Musk noted, referring to the query, that FSD subscriptions are still coming soon. “Absolutely. We will release FSD subscription early next year,” Musk wrote.
The concept of FSD subscriptions is even more convincing for customers as the price of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite rises. Currently, the whole FSD suite from Tesla costs a whopping $10,000. Tesla has taken some solid steps towards autonomy with the introduction of the FSD beta, but there is still a lot of work to be done. This makes the $10,000 price of FSD more of an investment in the future.
It is no wonder that some Tesla customers who lease their vehicles are reluctant to pay the full FSD price for their vehicles with these factors in mind. However, a subscription service for the Full Self-Driving system makes a lot of practical sense, because only when they are required will the advanced driver-assist functions require payment. For Tesla customers who only take long trips a few times a year, this may be useful, as FSD functions such as Navigate on Autopilot will make it easier for long drives.
It remains to be seen just how much a Full Self-Driving subscription will cost. Tesla executives have emphasized that ultimately, it is still a far better financial decision to purchase FSD outright. In the Q1 2020 earnings call, CFO Zachary Kirkhorn clarified this. In our opinion, buying FSD is an investment in the future, Musk said during the earnings call, “I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future, and we are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer – to the benefit of the consumer,” he said.
Want to buy a Tesla Model 3, Model Y, Model S, or Model X? Feel free to use my referral code to get some free Supercharging miles with your purchase: http://ts.la/guanyu3423
You can also get a $100 discount on Tesla Solar with that code.
