Tesla Fans Furious as Elon Musk Turns Features like 'Full Self Driving' into Subscriptions

Elon Musk’s Tesla has eliminated Basic Autopilot as a standard feature on on EVs as it also turns “full self driving” into a subscription instead of a feature car owners can buy. EV fans loyal to Tesla are outraged by Musk’s latest money grab, with some quipping, “You will own nothing and be happy.”

Electrek reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will discontinue the option to purchase its Full Self-Driving software outright, transitioning exclusively to a monthly subscription model starting February 14. The decision has sparked widespread debate among consumers and raised broader questions about the automotive industry’s increasing reliance on subscription-based services.

Musk shared the news through his social media platform X, stating that FSD will no longer be available for outright purchase after the mid-February deadline. Following that date, the software will only be accessible through monthly subscription payments. This strategic shift marks a significant departure from Musk’s previous positioning of FSD as an appreciating asset that would increase in value over time, making an upfront purchase advantageous for early adopters.

The announcement represents Tesla’s alignment with a growing trend among technology companies toward software-as-a-service models. Under this approach, companies maintain control over their software platforms, managing updates, security patches, and ongoing maintenance while users pay recurring fees for access. However, the decision has generated considerable frustration among Tesla owners and potential customers who view it as another erosion of true product ownership in the modern economy.

One user responded to Musk’s announcement by writing, “Imagine buying a self-driving car and still having to pay a monthly subscription just for it to actually drive itself.” Another commenter referenced a popular phrase about the future of ownership, stating, “You will own nothing and be happy.”

Under current pricing structures, Tesla customers can purchase FSD outright for $8,000 or subscribe on a monthly basis for $99. The Full Self-Driving system, despite its name, remains primarily a driver-assistance program that requires constant driver attention and does not enable fully autonomous operation. Tesla owners who have already purchased the software outright will retain their access, though uncertainty remains regarding whether they will be able to transfer these rights to new vehicles. Tesla had previously offered limited-time promotions allowing such transfers between vehicles. The company did not immediately respond to requests for clarification on whether pricing would remain stable or vehicle transfers would continue to be possible after the February cutoff date. At the current monthly subscription rate, drivers would need approximately seven years of continuous payments to equal the one-time purchase price.

Tesla has adjusted FSD pricing multiple times since the feature’s introduction. The company gradually increased the outright purchase price from $5,000 at launch to a peak of $15,000 in 2022. Musk justified these price increases by characterizing FSD as a worthwhile investment for consumers seeking early access to improving technology. However, the upfront cost dropped significantly to $8,000 in 2024, coinciding with a reduction in the monthly subscription fee from $199 to $99 in the United States.

These price reductions followed reports indicating low adoption rates among Tesla drivers for the FSD upgrade. While Tesla does not publicly release detailed statistics on FSD usage among its customer base, CFO Vaibhav Taneja addressed the matter during an October earnings call, stating that the share was “still small, around 12 percent of our current fleet.”

The announcement has intensified existing concerns about subscription-based features in the automotive sector. Many responses to Musk’s post expressed frustration with car manufacturers increasingly withholding functionality behind recurring payment walls. One user commented, “People want to own their stuff outright, not be eternally beholden.”

Another user warned, “You will never actually own your EV, because it will be useless without the software that you can never remove, replace, or modify,” before recommending, “Stick to internal combustion engines with as few computers as possible.”

The criticism reflects growing discontent with the software dependency built into modern vehicles, particularly electric cars, which industry observers have dubbed “smartphones on wheels.”