Full self-driving (FSD) is an incredibly useful feature that can make driving a lot easier. However, it is currently priced at $10,000, which may be too expensive for some Tesla owners. Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote that the company will introduce the possibility of using FSD by subscription. This is great news as it will expand the usability of the vehicle for owners.

At the end of April 2020, Tesla hacker @greentheonly/Twitter shared that the EV automaker's vehicles already had the necessary source code for a pay-as-you-go FSD subscription. Later in October, Musk tweeted that FSD Beta will become available as a monthly subscription service, sometime in 2021.

Price change is pushed to Thursday next week. Applies only to US for now. One week clock will start in other countries as beta is released. FSD monthly rental will also be available sometime next year.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 22, 2020

Now, it has now been observed that Tesla is adding a new 'Subscribe' button in the upgrades section of owner's accounts online. If the owner is not subscribed to Premium Connectivity, then the website in a new section invites the user to subscribe to it. If the owner is already subscribed, the website offers the user to “check back for future subscriptions,” Drive Tesla Canada reports. This new subscription option has yet to hit the mobile app.

Source: Drive Tesla Canada

It seems that Tesla has begun preparations for the FSD Monthly Subscription. As Tesmanian previously reported, the Subscription option will potentially be split into multiple levels for different functions. In mid-November, Deutsche Bank hosted Martin Viecha at their AutoTech Conference, which confirmed this. After the meeting, Deutsche Bank wrote:

"Full self-driving beta testing continues and Tesla is making improvements with each release. Longer term, as the price of the FSD increases, the company is planning to launch some type of subscription option next year. Although it would not provide details, it could envision the subscription service layering in several tiers of pricing to account for different use cases such as highway pilot only or full robo-taxi mode."

A pay-as-you-go FSD subscription service would make the feature more affordable for customers, especially for those who don’t expect to use it often. With a FSD subscription option, Tesla owners or renters can choose to pay for the feature for a limited time, and when they feel it would be necessary or most helpful. For example, a FSD subscription—perhaps a one-time use—could help during long trips.

© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter

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