Starting February 14, Tesla will market its Full Self-Driving Supervised, that is, its supervised autonomous driving system, under a monthly subscription model. This was announced by the company’s own CEO, Elon Musk, through a message on X in which he announced that he was ending the single payment model with which the functionality has reached the market so far.

Tesla’s self-driving system makes it easier for drivers to change lanes and avoid other vehicles and objects, but it does not make the vehicles completely autonomous, since it requires human supervision. This service is one of the main attractions of the company’s cars for drivers.

Over the years Tesla has sold access to its self-driving software at different prices. In 2022 it reached $15,000, but in recent times the company has been charging customers $8,000 or $99 per month in the case of the United States. However, the subscription price reached $199 per month in 2021.
Currently the system is available in the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand.

Elon Musk has not offered explanations regarding the change, but there are various motivations to promote it. According to TechcrunchAs of October 2025, only 12% of all Tesla customers have adopted self-driving. Additionally, revenue from this functionality decreased in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.
Promoting a subscription model with a lower initial cost could help boost these numbers, especially in a context of economic complexity.

In addition, the media also points to Musk’s personal reasons. And in November, Tesla shareholders approved a new salary package for the manager that would give him even more weight and power in the company, and that implies a dividend payment that could reach one billion dollars. One of the milestones Musk must reach to unlock it is to push self-driving software to 10 million monthly active subscriptions by 2035.

The move comes after the Chinese company BYD has unseated Tesla from the top spot as the world’s best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer. Tesla reported that it delivered 1.64 million electric cars last year, which is a 9% drop from the previous year. In the last quarter of 2025, Tesla recorded 418,227 sales, a decrease that would be related, in part, to Trump’s decision to eliminate tax discounts for electric vehicles.

The commercialization of the autonomous driving system under a subscription model would give Tesla a constant base of income in what appears to be a complex period for the company. Among other things, it faces legal problems in California and class action lawsuits for deceptive marketing practices, since the brand suggested in its communications that the driving technology was completely autonomous, even though it required the close supervision of a human driver behind the wheel. This has led to the suspension of the manufacturing license for 30 days.

On the other hand, Tesla is investing aggressively in the robotaxis business, even though its self-driving technology is under scrutiny by regulators for reckless behavior. In this area it also faces competition, led by Waymo, owned by Alphabet.