Tesla has officially increased the price of its Advanced Driver Assistance System Full Autopilot (FSD) package to $15,000 (about RMB 103,900), according to the company’s CEO Elon Musk.
According to foreign media reports, there are views that the FSD system is not worth $15,000 at present. In addition to the original price of $3,000, the system does not add new features; compared to the enhanced version of Autopilot, although more than $9,000, but the hands-on users only have the opportunity to experience the latest test version of FSD.
For years, Musk has said that as the FSD system continues to improve, it will eventually allow the car to achieve fully autonomous driving. Tesla will also gradually increase the price of this system.
So far, FSD is far from living up to its name. Although two years of testing have been conducted, there is still a long way to go before the car is fully autonomous.
Technically speaking, the FSD system is capable of operating in most traffic situations, including crossing intersections, but the responsibility for driving still rests with the driver, who still needs to stay focused and ready to take over control at all times. Industry insiders believe that the most important step for companies developing autonomous driving systems to achieve this goal is a willingness to assume responsibility for driving with the system activated.
Tesla has made it clear that it can’t do that yet. The company sent a series of warnings to users who participated in the FSD Beta test, making it clear that the responsibility for driving remains with the driver.
Tesla, for its part, believes that each update to the FSD system means a step closer to achieving the goal of fully autonomous driving, and believes that some of those updates are worthy of raising the overall price of the system.
Last month Musk also bragged that Tesla would raise the price of the system from $12,000 to $15,000 as the company rolled out beta FSD Beta 10.69 on a wider scale.
On Monday, Tesla updated the price information for FSD on the vehicle customization page of its website — raising it by $3,000 — but it didn’t include any more new features. The page description, which includes the words “coming soon” and “auto-steering on city streets,” is still in beta testing for invited users and is not much different than the previous routine updates.
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If a user already has Tesla’s enhanced Autopilot system, forking out an additional $9,000 doesn’t add anything beyond the opportunity to experience the latest beta FSD, and the beta experience itself isn’t exactly a bonus.
Musk has made it clear that a fully autonomous driving system is worth much more than $15,000. He says the price will continue to rise. In fact, the initial price of the FSD system was only $6,000, and what you’re getting for an extra $9,000 is not what users really want, but rather a bet that Tesla will be able to offer true Autopilot in the future and get in first at a lower price.
But it’s not clear how Tesla will let the beta FSD evolve into a safe autonomous driving system willing to take responsibility.
