Elon Musk said back in December 2020 that a FSD subscription would be made available next year. He has recently said that it’s coming this month and that it won’t be tied to the wider release of the FSD v9 beta which is expected in May or June. You can probably guess why these two features have similar timelines as Tesla expects FSD v9 to help sell the FSD subscriptions. The new FSD v9 release is also expected to have brand new vector-space visualizations.
We’re now in May and the FSD subscription should be falling upon us any day now. In our initial reporting of the FSD subscription, we talked about why it was smart for Tesla to also offer a FSD subscription in addition to a one-time purchase package. You can read more about those reasons here, but they mostly have to do with the hefty price tag of $10,000, which is a tough pill to swallow for most and also that there are some instances where buying the FSD package outright doesn't make sense, for example if you’re leasing your car.
Here’s what to expect in Tesla’s announcement
The average new car length ownership in the US is 8.4 years. The FSD package currently costs $10,000 USD. So if you take the cost of the package and divide it by the length of car ownership, you get a price of $99/month.
Now, there are probably a few reasons why Tesla wouldn’t want to create a $99/month FSD option, even though it’s a very attractive price.
First, if Tesla were to release a $99/month option, they’d be sure to annoy a whole lot of loyal supporters who spent $10,000 up front when they bought their cars and only had a fraction of the FSD features available.
Secondly, Tesla would much rather you buy the FSD package up front instead of paying for it monthly. By doing that, not only do they have $10k to invest into resources right away, but they also essentially got you to commit to pay for FSD every month for 8-plus years.
So what is a good price? $149 seems plausible. For drivers who have leased their cars for three-years then it’d be a total cost of about $5,300 over the course of the three-years instead of their only other alternative right now, which is the full $10,000 package. This may tip the boat in Tesla’s favor for many.
You can certainly bet that Tesla is closely analyzing the percentage of buyers who currently buy the FSD package today and how many of those buyers they would lose if they were to offer a monthly subscription. The answer to that question lies in whether they would make more through FSD subscriptions than what they’d lose in upfront payments.
If we look at the possibility of a $199/month subscription then we’re looking at someone paying $7,200 over three-years, which seems just way too close to the full price of $10,000 to make sense. That’d be paying over $20k over that 8 year period.
Now, if Tesla were a traditional company, I would feel pretty comfortable with expecting a $149/month FSD subscription becoming available this month. But if there’s one thing that Tesla has taught us over the years, is that there is always a price early adopters pay.
The price of Tesla’s cars has dropped dramatically in some cases. Some folks paid more for an AWD Model 3 then what the Performance model ended up costing later on. Elon Musk has often commented on this; saying that technology gets cheaper and early adopters are often helping pave the road for the future.
Whether Tesla releases a $99/month or $199/month FSD subscription completely depends on how many buyers are buying the FSD package today. I have a feeling it’s rather low or Tesla wouldn’t be considering a monthly subscription in the first place.
As a reader has pointed out, it's possible that Tesla may require a minimum commitment in order to subscribe to FSD at $99/month. This could be used to prevent owners from only subscribing during roadtrips. It could also help offset the costs of any hardware needed to allow FSD, such as upgrading the car's Autopilot hardware from 2.5 to 3.0. Elon Musk has already said that the FSD subscription would cover any hardware needed. A minimum commitment could be one or two-years.
A FSD subscription has the advantage that it is not tied to a particular vehicle, you could subscribe to it in one vehicle, then switch it to another a year or two later. That may be the biggest issue early adopters will have who paid full price for FSD at $7,000 or $10,000. Tesla may allow a one-time transfer of the FSD license for these owners as this has become a popular topic that has yet to be addressed by Elon. It's also possible that Tesla may limit FSD subscriptions to personal use and they would not be able to be used for robotaxis in the future.
We expect Tesla to announce a FSD subscription as low as $99, or as high as $149, in the US very soon.
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Tesla’s Dan W Priestley attended the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Anaheim, California, and provided an update on Tesla’s Semi truck program. The presentation covered several key developments on the status of Tesla’s Nevada Semi Factory, refinements to the Semi, and Tesla’s plans for charging and ramping production through 2026.
Let’s dig in and take a look at everything that was captured by the Out of Spec team at ACT Expo. The original video is embedded below if you’d like to watch it.
Semi Factory & Production Ramp
Priestley reaffirmed the timelines mentioned during Tesla’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call that Tesla will scale Semi production in 2026. To achieve this, Tesla has been actively building and expanding the Gigafactory Nevada site, specifically to support the production of the Tesla Semi. The dedicated Semi facility will have a targeted annual capacity of 50,000 Semi trucks.
Following the beginning of production, Tesla will utilize the initial trucks to integrate into its own logistics operations. This will serve as both a final real-world testing ground as well as an opportunity for Tesla to gather data internally. Tesla plans to begin subsequent customer deliveries throughout 2026 as the ramp-up continues.
Reuters also reported that Tesla is hiring over 1,000 new employees at the Semi Factory to begin the rapid ramping of the program.
Semi has already amassed 7.9 million miles with Tesla’s current testing and operational fleets, providing some real-world data and testing. Feedback for the truck has been exceptionally successful, with many drivers praising the Semi’s performance and comfort.
New Tesla Semi Features
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Tesla keynote without showing off some new things. The Semi will be available in 500-mile and 300-mile range configurations, now featuring updated mirror designs and a drop-down glass section to improve visibility and allow easier interaction with external elements—such as control panels at ports, for example.
New Electric Power Take-Off (e-PTO)
The Tesla Semi will also feature a new capability called Electric Power Take-Off, or e-PTO system. Similar to the PTO systems found on other vehicles, this will allow the Semi’s high-voltage battery to power auxiliary equipment at variable voltages. That includes being able to power things like climate-controlled reefer trailers, potentially replacing the noisy and polluting diesel generators traditionally used for this purpose.
Charging and Batteries
Out of Spec BITS/YouTube
Tesla is also working on an updated battery pack design for the final production design of the Semi. This new pack is designed to be more cost-effective to manufacture. The battery pack itself is slightly smaller than before, but the truck maintains the same level of range through efficiencies. Dan also confirmed during his keynote that the battery cells for the Semi will be sourced domestically inside the United States, helping to alleviate potential burdens due to tariffs.
On the charging front, Tesla is using MCS - the Megawatt Charging System - capable of 1.2MW - and designed specifically for Semi. The system uses the same V4 charging hardware found at Supercharger sites but focuses on that larger power output. Alongside a smaller physical footprint, Tesla will be able to configure these V4 cabinets for either dedicated Semi charging or for shared power scenarios with regular Superchargers. Tesla is also working on an integrated overnight charging product, but Tesla isn’t ready to talk about it yet.
46 Semi Charger Sites Coming
The 46 new MCS sites coming soon.
Out of Spec BITS/YouTube
Finally, Tesla has made substantial investments in a public charging network for the Semi. There are currently 46 sites in progress throughout the United States, and plans for significant expansion throughout 2026 and 2027. These sites are strategically located alongside major truck routes and within industrial areas to support long-haul and regional operations. Tesla is aiming to offer the lowest possible energy costs to operators to help incentivize adoption.
This was one of the best updates to the Tesla Semi we’ve received since its initial unveiling. It seems that the Semi will receive a big portion of Tesla’s attention in 2026, while Robotaxi and FSD Unsupervised take the stage this year.
The Tesla Semi has the potential to transform transportation even more dramatically than EVs already have, serving as a testament to Tesla’s mission to electrify the world.
Sentry Mode is an invaluable tool for owners - capable of keeping the vehicle safe and secure even when you’re not around. This is especially true in recent times, with the misguided and unfortunate incidents surrounding Tesla ownership, including damage to Tesla vehicles, showrooms, and Superchargers.
B-pillar Camera Recording and Dashcam Viewer
With the 2025 Spring Update on 2025.14, Tesla is expanding Sentry Mode’s functionality for certain vehicles with some much-needed changes. Sentry Mode and Dashcam can now record footage from the vehicle’s B-pillar cameras. These cameras are located on the side pillars of the vehicle, between the front and rear doors.
This adds two crucially needed viewpoints, making Tesla’s Sentry Mode a truly 360-degree security system. These cameras also provide the best angles for capturing license plates when parked, so they will be greatly appreciated by owners in the event of an incident.
These vehicles are also receiving an improved Dashcam Viewer, which now displays the six camera feeds along the bottom and a new grid view. It also allows users to jump back or forward in the video in 15-second increments.
However, to the disappointment of many owners, not all vehicles are receiving these updates due to the additional processing power needed.
Limited to Hardware 4 Vehicles, Ryzen Isn’t Enough
We have confirmed that Tesla is only adding the additional camera recording and improved Dashcam Viewer on hardware 4 (HW4 / AI4) vehicles. The newer hardware presumably has the additional processing power and bandwidth needed to handle recording and saving the two additional video streams during Sentry Mode and Dashcam.
For the time being, owners of HW3 vehicles are not receiving this feature. This includes all vehicles with HW3, even those with AMD Ryzen infotainment systems. If you’re not sure whether your vehicle has HW3 or HW4, you can refer to our FSD hardware guide.
While there’s no doubt that recording two additional camera streams would be more computationally intensive, we hope that Tesla adds the improved Dashcam Viewer to HW3 vehicles in a future update.
Cybertruck Also Missing Improved Sentry Mode
Surprisingly, and most confusing for many - is the fact that the Cybertruck is also not receiving the improved Dashcam Viewer and B-pillar camera recording with this update. This struck us as odd, especially since the Cybertruck is currently the only vehicle with the improved, more efficient version of Sentry Mode.
Every Cybertruck is equipped with HW4 and AMD Ryzen infotainment units, so this clearly isn’t a hardware restriction. It’s possible the more efficient Sentry Mode is playing a role here due to the infrastructure changes. However, we expect Tesla to address this in a future update and eventually release these features for the Cybertruck as well.
Given the Cybertruck’s high visibility and its status as a frequent target for both positive and negative attention, many owners hoped that the Cybertruck would be one of the vehicles to receive this feature.
Adaptive Headlights
Tesla finally started rolling out its adaptive headlights in North America. While the new Model Y already came with the feature when it was released last month, other vehicles with matrix headlights are now receiving the feature in the Spring Update.
All vehicles with matrix headlights are receiving this feature, which includes the new and old Model 3, first-gen Model Y, and the new Model S and Model X.
If you’re not sure if your vehicle includes matrix headlights, check out our guide. What’s interesting here is that older vehicles that were retrofitted with matrix headlights due to an accident or user replacement are also receiving the adaptive headlights feature.
Legacy Model S & Model X
As with most updates, the older legacy Model S and Model X are not receiving all the features included in this update. Unfortunately, some of the features, which include the Blind Spot Camera on the instrument cluster, Save Trunk Height Based on Location and Keep Accessory Power On are limited to the new Model S and X.
Legacy S and X models will receive the Alternative Trip Plans feature, Avoid Highways (Requires Intel MCU) and the Keyboard Languages feature.
These vehicles are also receiving all the features in the Minor Updates section except for the visualization showing how far the door is opened, which is exclusive to the Cybertruck. These additions include improved music search results, contact photos in the phone app, automatic connecting to hotspots, the ability to show third-party chargers, view Supercharger amenities, and various improvements to music services.
While many users will be disappointed not to receive the B-pillar camera recording and Dashcam Viewer improvements, it’s important to remember that Tesla typically does a great job at bringing features to older vehicles, at least with the Model 3 and Model Y. If a feature isn’t added, it’s usually due to a hardware limitation.
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