Tesla to raise Full Self-Driving price to $12,000

By Henry Farkas

On January 17th, Tesla is raising its Full Self-Driving price by $2,000, bringing it to $12,000 in the US.

Tesla's FSD to cost $12k
Tesla's FSD to cost $12k
BlackTesla/YouTube

What's interesting about this price increase is that if you buy a Tesla with FSD, you won't actually get the main feature, autosteer on city streets, until after you press the "button", get the safety score game, and play the game long enough to amass at least a few hundred miles of driving with a safety score of 99 or 100. There have been some testers who received the beta with scores as low as 97, but that has not been the norm.

What's also interesting is that you can rent FSD for $199 a month. The price of the monthly subscription is not going up, making it look more attractive after this latest price hike.

You previously had to keep the monthly subscription for 50 months before buying the FSD package became more economical. With this latest FSD price increase, it will now take you more than 60 months. That's more than five years straight of having the monthly subscription before the FSD package would be the better choice.

Tesla has been steadily increasing the price of its FSD package. After restructuring the FSD suite in 2019, Tesla added basic Autopilot for free and made FSD a $5,000 add-on.

A month later the cost of FSD went up to $6k and it has steadily gone up since then. Elon Musk has said that Tesla will continue to raise the cost of FSD as Tesla gets closer to achieving full autonomy.

Historical FSD Prices

Historical FSD prices since Tesla revamped it's FSD offering in 2019.

Date FSD Cost
April 2019 $5,000
May 2019 $6,000
August 2019 $7,000
July 2020 $8,000
October 2020 $10,000
January 2022 $12,000

Once FSD becomes a truly autonomous algorithm, Elon Musk has said that people will be able to send their cars out to work as a ride share vehicle without needing to be in the driver's seat.

If you live in an area where lots of people use ride share cars, you could probably put a fleet of Teslas on the road and each one would pay for itself, but Tesla is years away from achieving a truly autonomous vehicle.

Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied. 

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.

Tesla Launches 'TeslaVision' Contest With Big Prizes — See Last Year’s Winner [VIDEO]

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s marketing has always been relatively unconventional, relying on word-of-mouth rather than traditional advertising. The passion of the owner’s community is always massive, but it is especially high now with the launch of the Robotaxi network just around the corner.

Tesla is now tapping into that spring of fan creativity and announced the TeslaVision video contest, with some seriously impressive prizes up for grabs.

The Contest

The core of the contest is simple. Create a video that shows how your Tesla gives you more in life. Tesla is looking for submissions that highlight themes of freedom, safety, fun, and convenience.

Prizes

The prizes definitely make this contest worth entering if you’re good with a camera and have some basic video editing abilities.

For North America, the prizes include a brand new Model Y AWD Long Range, alongside an all-expenses-paid trip to Austin for a tour of Giga Texas. The grand prize winner will also be able to custom order their Model Y, allowing them to select their preferred wheels and color.

The two runners-up won’t get a Model Y, but they’ll also enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Giga Texas for a tour of the factory.

The travel and tour include lodging in Austin for 2 nights, as well as economy-class round-trip tickets from anywhere in North America. Tesla will also provide a vehicle for use during the trip.

Hopefully, these winners will also have the opportunity to experience the Robotaxi network while they’re in Austin, as it’s expected to be opened to the public later this month.

Project Loveday

For long-time followers of Tesla, this contest may feel familiar. The contest is a direct throwback to the 2017 Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a letter to Tesla from a 10-year-old aspiring marketer. That contest was won by MKBHD, with his submission below:

How to Enter

If you’re ready to start filming, here are the key pieces of information you’ll need to know:

  • Video must be 90 seconds or less

  • Video must be uploaded to YouTube with a public URL

  • Make a post on X and Instagram tagging “@Tesla” and include the words “TeslaVision contest” in the post.

  • Provide links to both social media posts in your submission to Tesla’s form

  • Provide your personal details in the form

  • You have until July 17th, 2025, or until Tesla receives 10,000 entries, whichever comes first.

You can find the official submission form and all region-specific details on Tesla's website.

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