Imagine buying a new car and being told that there’s an additional subscription required to unlock the full car. Sounds like a nightmare, right? But that seems to be what’s in store for Tesla customers.
Tech publication Mashable scraped the details from Tesla’s support page. Essentially, drivers will need to pay up to $199 a month to unlock the vehicle’s full self-driving (FSD) capabilities. The upgrade has two tiers: $199 to upgrade from Basic Autopilot to FSD, or $99 to upgrade from Enhanced Autopilot to FSD.
Tesla’s support page explains that the upgrade gets drivers advanced steering, accelerating, and braking assistance that “provide more active guidance.”
To qualify for the upgrade, however, the vehicle needs to have Tesla’s Full Self-Driving computer 3.0 or above. Additionally, Tesla reminded drivers that despite being called full self-driving, the subscription feature doesn’t make the car autonomous; drivers still need to be alert and ready to take over the controls at any time.
It’s unclear if Telsa intends to retain this model for future cars. The company has been known to change its mind on a whim.