Elon Musk Defends Tesla’s Latest FSD Price Increase Says People Don’t understand Its Value

The goal of Tesla’s autopilot software is to eventually solve real-world AI that can perform unsupervised and generalized full self-driving. However, until the day comes when Teslas are able to drive anywhere in the world on their own, the EV maker has chosen to release autopilot software with increasing levels of driving proficiency.

And as Tesla’s autopilot software grows to tackle more complex driving situations such as traffic lights, roundabouts, and unprotected left turns, the EV maker has chosen to initially deploy and test the new capabilities on US roads.

The main reason Tesla chose the US to be the testbed for the company’s full self-driving capability is that the EV maker’s engineers working on the autopilot software are situated in the US. And more specifically the engineers are situated in the Bay Area.

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Because of this fact, Musk has previously said Tesla’s FSD software works best in the Bay Area. And once you zoom out to the US, autopilot’s ability to deal with complex driving situations starts to decrease.

And when you see autopilot’s performance outside the US, Teslas’ ability to self-drive starts to suffer even more. Autopilot users in Europe have especially pointed out the difference in capability between their vehicle’s autopilot as compared to US Teslas.

However, Elon Musk has said March of this year Tesla will release a significant autopilot upgrade for Tesla owners around the world. Still, until that day comes, US FSD software is much superior to autopilot in the rest of the world and that’s why Tesla recently increased FSD price in the US from $10,000 to $12,000.

The price increase has irked a lot of Tesla fans to the point several people have said at this price point FSD is no longer worth it. Tesla fan, investor, Model 3 driver, and FSD Beta tester Tesla Raj recently echoed the same point saying “FSD now is $12,000, subscription model sounds like a much easier pill to swallow.”

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Musk in response said, “people do not yet understand how valuable an autonomous vehicle will be.” Previously Musk has said when level 5 full self-driving is achieved, a Tesla will be worth $200,000. If Musk’s prediction comes true, buying a feature that will increase your vehicle’s value by over $100,000 for $12,000 still looks like a bargain.

People do not yet understand how valuable an autonomous vehicle will be— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2022

However, at this point FSD is still a level 2 system and the more impressive FSD Beta is only available for select FSD buyers, and shelling out $12,000 still doesn’t guarantee access to the version of autopilot that can handle surface streets.

Musk has said FSD’s price will keep increasing as software becomes more capable we will be sure to keep you updated as Tesla improves FSD and increases the price. Make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest update.

So what do you think? Disappointed Tesla has increased FSD price even more? Or do you agree with Elon Musk and you think it is a bargain? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

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Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.