Tesla kills Autopilot on new cars - Forces users to subscribe to FSD

[jrmbadger]

Elektrek is reporting that today Tesla (effective immediately), is removing autopilot on new cars. To obtain that functionality, they need to pay the $100/month FSD subscription.

I think this is a bad move - I have no interest yet in FSD, but I use autopilot all the time on our model Y. My wife is the same - no interest in FSD, but loves autopilot. It's one of the reasons we bought the Tesla.

I suppose this will be a boost to comma AI.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Not surprised. Like all for-profit businesses, everything is created to generate revenue. Aside from some sort of trial to lure and lull people into believing they need it, nothing is free. Pay to play is always the game. And expect more of it, regardless of brand.

 

[jrmbadger]

Not surprised. Like all for-profit businesses, everything is created to generate revenue. Aside from some sort of trial to lure and lull people into believing they need it, nothing is free. Pay to play is always the game. And expect more of it, regardless of brand.

I don't necessarily disagree, however, one of the key differentiating features for Tesla is the technology. This locks one important piece of the technology behind another paywall that consumers may not find worthy of $1200/year.

This also positions Tesla behind other automakers that offer these systems for free, such as Honda and Toyota.

The value proposition for buying a 50k+ mini-suv (which is what the model y is) really took a hit IMHO.

Frankly, that's one advantage Tesla had over the R2 - free autonomy features - that is now gone. I don't see a reason anyone would buy the Model Y over the R2 (assuming the R2 is as expected).

--or -- the automakers like Honda and Toyota may follow suit following the recent enshittification of everything.

I also wonder if this decision is related to Elon's billion dollar payout targets. He has to hit a certain number of FSD subscriptions to get one of the big stock tranches.

Comma AI to the rescue!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Sharp decline in car sales everywhere. Gotta squeeze blood out of something, anything.

 

[captainjp]

Womp womp…

 

[LNJ]

Be careful what you read. Looking at the Tesla site (as if today) shows that most trims still include autosteer along with traffic aware cruise control. Those two features are what make up the autopilot suite. Looks like only the entry level standard 3 and Y do not have auto steer included, all other versions of the 3 and Y still include it. Maybe that changes later, but as of right now most of their cars still include autopilot

 

[jrmbadger]

I see no option for any autosteer on the Model Y and 3.

Musk replied to a tweet from long time Musk fan Sawyer Merritt and did not deny it.
x.com

 

[jrmbadger]

I'll be honest and say that I think that the ultimate goal of FSD is to mandate its use. Essentially convince the authorities that its so much safer and needs to be mandated for you to drive. That way it locks you into a monthly fee to use your car.

 

[skyguyscott]

Essentially convince the authorities that its so much safer and needs to be mandated for you to drive.

How many campaign contributions does it take to convince lawmakers to sponsor your industry-authored bill, promote it with your PR-Department-written, focus-group-tested talking points, and vote it into law?

I'm no lawyer, but I am surprised, or maybe not so much since it's Tesla, that a company would apparently open itself up to even more liability for such a sketchy, potentially lethal product. It's bad enough to have "autopilot" as one feature among many, but then to now charge specifically for it effectively removes any sort of plausible deniability shielding from lawsuits.

BTW, from the press release, I wonder if they have simply, finally renamed "Autopilot" to "Traffic-Aware Cruise Control" without changing any of the functionality. True, "Traffic-aware cruise control" does not have the marketing ring of "autopilot, " but it is probably a more honest and accurate, and more easily defendable moniker in lawsuits.

Even the term "cruise control" was originally unclear, resulting in the infamous Grazinski v. Winnebago case. In a more precise and duller world without marketing departments and lead instead by engineers(the horror!), the term would probably have been something like "accelerator-free speed set"

 

[VandalSibs]

How many campaign contributions does it take to convince lawmakers to sponsor your industry-authored bill, promote it with your PR-Department-written, focus-group-tested talking points, and vote it into law?

I'm no lawyer, but I am surprised, or maybe not so much since it's Tesla, that a company would apparently open itself up to even more liability for such a sketchy, potentially lethal product. It's bad enough to have "autopilot" as one feature among many, but then to now charge specifically for it effectively removes any sort of plausible deniability shielding from lawsuits.

BTW, from the press release, I wonder if they have simply, finally renamed "Autopilot" to "Traffic-Aware Cruise Control" without changing any of the functionality. True, "Traffic-aware cruise control" does not have the marketing ring of "autopilot, " but it is probably a more honest and accurate, and more easily defendable moniker in lawsuits.

Even the term "cruise control" was originally unclear, resulting in the infamous Grazinski v. Winnebago case.

Traffic aware cruise control was one part of "Autopilot", the other significant part was lane-keeping/assist/steering. The latter is now a part of "Full Self Driving (Supervised)". The "Autopilot" name is gone.

I would say it's sad to see these changes, but it's Tesla/Musk doing what they have been doing for years.

 

[Southern R1S]

This has nothing to do with the fact that Elon's $1 trillion pay package is directly tied to "FSD" subscriptions - right? Right!

https://www.gadgetreview.com/why-el...ation-plan-depends-on-the-autopilot-fsd-shift

 

[BigSkies]

I don't think there are any grownups left on Tesla's management team.

Enshitifying a product by putting a standard feature behind a paywall isn't going to boost car sales. Particularly when that feature is becoming a nearly standard feature among competitors.

Last number I've seen have FSD uptake at around 15%.

There's somewhere north of 50% of buyers that just aren't interested in adding subscription services at any price. Consumers hate subscriptions as much as VC's love them. Putting expected features behind a paywall means fewer vehicle sales.

 

[iamnid]

Isn't our handsfree lane keeping only temporarily free? It was my understanding that they're planning to charge for it at some point as well

 

[VandalSibs]

Isn't our handsfree lane keeping only temporarily free? It was my understanding that they're planning to charge for it at some point as well

Tesla's Autopilot is not a hands-free system - you have to keep some amount of torque on the steering wheel.

Rivians will still have hands-on lane keeping/steering as part of Highway Assist standard with vehicles, per Rivian's Autonomy+ page.

 

[runwithscissors]

I don't think there are any grownups left on Tesla's management team.

Enshitifying a product by putting a standard feature behind a paywall isn't going to boost car sales. Particularly when that feature is becoming a nearly standard feature among competitors.

Last number I've seen have FSD uptake at around 15%.

There's somewhere north of 50% of buyers that just aren't interested in adding subscription services at any price. Consumers hate subscriptions as much as VC's love them. Putting expected features behind a paywall means fewer vehicle sales.

I'd happily pay a subscription to make my Gen1 more capable knowing that an old 2020 cheap Tesla with FSD is far better. I recently drove a 2024 M3 with FSD and it blew my mind with door to door navigation. I haven't driven a Gen2 to compare but I'm assuming it is nowhere near what FSD can do and will always lag behind.

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