Tesla has been one of the hottest car brands of 2020, hitting a 700% increase in sales within the year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been developing a full self-driving (FSD) car since 2014.
According to Mashable, while the company has already offered the highly advanced technology to select consumers, more people might be able to try out this feature in 2021. Instead of paying $10,000 for the 36-month access to the feature, FSD will be offered on monthly subscription.
Tesla full self-driving mode subscription
Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday, December 20, that Tesla's FSD or autopilot feature will be offered on subscription at the start of 2021. The subscription plan was earlier revealed during the Q1 2020 conference call by Musk and Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn who said this will allow "customers to spread out the cost of ownership of FSD or subscription over time" since not everyone purchased the feature upfront.
As Musk have mentioned, Tesla would allow any Tesla owner to pay for the auto driving mode on a monthly basis. This would open the FSD feature to wider clientele who can it try our, particularly those who want their Tesla car to drive itself on the highway and certain streets while they sit behind the wheel, not doing anything, but still paying attention in the road.
However, as Electrek noted, buyers would still be able to get a better deal when they buy the feature while the car is on a 72-month lease since they would just be paying $97 per month to access the feature. While Tesla still has not released its official pricing for the monthly subscription, it is rumored to cost about $100 or more per month. Nevertheless, Tesla drivers who rarely use their cars on FSD mode are likely to welcome this development.
Meanwhile, Elektrek noted that while getting the feature upfront will allow buyers get discount, those who did not will have to pay less insurance and taxes for the vehicle. Then, they could opt to add the feature whenever they want.
Yet, Tesla is positive that the feature will attract more subscribers, despite the high price of the monthly subscription. Also, Tesla said that the package price may be increased in the near future as new features will be added.
Tesla enters S&P 500 list
After failing to make it to the S&P 500 list in July that led to great slump in Tesla stocks, the company finally joined the elite companies on December 14.
On December 18, CNN noted that Tesla will easily become the top performing company for 2020 Index. Tesla shares are up by almost 700%, which is more than twice the current top performer of 2020. In November, its stock ms have surged by almost 65% after its S&P 500 inclusion was announced.
Meanwhile, another S&P 500 newcomer currently ranks second in best performing stock. Etsy, an e-commerce firm, is up by around 325% for 2020. On the other hand, Carrier Group is up by 225% after its merger with Raytheon.
Related article: Tesla CEO Elon Musk Will Bring Full Self-Driving to Canada, Norway After US
This is owned by Tech Times
Written by CJ Robles
