CEO of electric car giant Tesla Elon Muskannounced a significant change in autonomous driving technology. From February 14Available for “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) software one time purchaseoption will be removed and users will only be able to use this feature monthly subscriptionThey will be able to use via . With this step, the payment method that aims for permanent ownership becomes a thing of the past. Currently, Tesla owners could either get the FSD package at once or continue using it with a monthly subscription of $ 99.
This subscription-focused strategy, which started when the company reduced the subscription fee from $199 to $99 in April 2024, is now Switching completely to monthly model. new regulation, existing customers who have purchased permanentlyAlthough it does not contain a clear explanation of how it will affect the situation, the expectation in the sector is that the rights of existing owners will be protected. The change is mainly new customersand targets users who are considering permanent purchases in the future.
Users will now have the flexibility to activate FSD on a monthly basis whenever they need it. With this decision, Tesla aims to move its revenue model to a more stable and scalable structure. Efforts are continuing to speed up approval processes in Europe; The Netherlands is expected to approve FSD by February 2026 and it is expected to become widespread in Europe.
Additionally, what is needed to achieve the vision of fully self-driving 10 billion milesis progressing towards its data collection target. Available data is approx. 7.1 billion mileslevel and it is predicted that this target can be achieved in the near future. The general trend in the industry is to stabilize revenue from software services with regular subscription models. In this context, Tesla’s decision was based on sales rather than one-off sales. subscription revenue streamIt aims to establish a standard order.
