Tesla has cut the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the US, as CEO Elon Musk reaffirms his commitment to self-driving technology, according to a Reuters report dated April 20.
The company’s CEO is betting the technology will become a major source of revenue for the world's most valuable automaker. However, he has for years failed to achieve the goal of self-driving capability, with the technology under growing regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Earlier in April, Musk said Tesla would unveil its robo-taxis on Aug. 8, after Reuters reported Tesla had scrapped its inexpensive, mass-market car in favor of robo-taxis. Tesla subsequently cut the US monthly subscription price for the FSD feature from $199 to $99.
In 2023, Musk said that the price of FSD, then priced at $15,000, was very low, saying that the value of the car would increase dramatically if it became autonomous. Tesla calls its driver assistant features Autopilot or FSD but said they do not make its vehicles autonomous and they require active driver supervision.
