Tesla drivers can now subscribe to 'Full Self-Driving.' But Elon Musk isn't sure they should

Thursday, 29 July 2021

Tesla recently started offering subscriptions for the capabilities it dubs 'Full Self-Driving,' making a US$10,000 upgrade accessible to buyers for US$199 per month. But even Elon Musk isn't sure drivers should opt in yet.

'Right now does it make sense for someone to do an FSD subscription?' the Tesla CEO asked on Tesla's quarterly earnings call Monday. 'I think it's debatable.'

It was an eyebrow-raising moment on an otherwise routine earnings call, a forum for analysts and investors to pepper executives with questions about company matters. Musk admitted he doesn't think the new product makes for a compelling 'value proposition.'

Musk, meanwhile, announced Monday could be his final regular appearance on the quarterly earnings calls, where he offers colourful commentary on company matters and even veers into spontaneous rants. Last year he used the forum to take aim at government-mandated shelter-in-place orders, urging officials to give people back their 'freedom' in a profanity-laced tirade, citing the shutdowns as a financial risk for his company.

But the comment about 'Full Self-Driving,' which was hailed with astonishment on Twitter, might have been the final time Musk would stick his foot in his mouth in this particular forum.

Tesla head Elon Musk doesn’t think the company’s ‘Full Self-driving’ subscription makes for a ‘compelling value proposition.’

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Tesla has offered hardware it dubs 'Full Self-Driving' since 2016, promising if owners opted into the features their cars would eventually be able to drive themselves. It has rolled out the ability to navigate city streets to a limited group of beta testers through an early access program. But the software is in development and owners often document instances of cars failing to properly navigate obstacles, requiring owner intervention. Tesla has been criticised by safety advocates and industry competitors for deploying it on public roads.

'Full Self-Driving' builds on Tesla's advanced driver-assistance system known as Autopilot, which has included features such as the ability to navigate from highway on-ramp to off-ramp, and park and summon the vehicle on its own. With 'Full Self-Driving' an owner could choose to navigate on autopilot and monitor the vehicle as it makes a full trip between locations without driver intervention, in ideal circumstances.

But Musk has repeatedly talked about the difficulties of automation and the practically endless stream of challenges the company faces in making vehicles drive on their own. Regulators regard Tesla's software as a driver-assistance system, meaning the operator must pay attention at all times.

Musk said on the call that even though Tesla is selling 'Full Self-Driving' capability to consumers now, it's up to the company to convince users to opt in. Tesla says on its website the US$199 subscription buys the 'capability,' meaning the owner does not immediately receive the latest 'Full Self-Driving' upgrades but rather the ability to obtain them.

'We need to make 'Full Self-Driving' work in order for it to be a compelling value proposition,' Musk said, adding otherwise the consumer is 'betting on the future.'

His comments seemed to imply that by subscribing to 'Full Self-Driving' right now, Tesla owners are doing just that.

Tesla posted a more than US$1 billion profit after delivering more than 200,000 vehicles in the second financial quarter, a record for the electric vehicle maker.