Image: Tesla
Tesla is about to make a major change to how it sells Full Self-Driving (FSD). On Wednesday morning, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla will stop offering FSD as a one-time purchase after February 14. Going forward, Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system will only be available via a subscription, marking the end of the controversial upfront purchase option that has existed in various forms for years.
Currently, FSD can be purchased outright for $8,000 in the U.S., or accessed through a subscription priced at $99 per month or $999 per year. That one-time purchase price has fluctuated dramatically over the years, peaking at $15,000 in 2022 — when it often drew criticism given the system’s evolving capabilities at the time.
Tesla’s shift to a subscription-only model significantly lowers the barrier to entry. Rather than committing thousands of dollars upfront, owners can enable FSD only when they want it — such as during road trips or busy travel seasons — and then cancel when it’s no longer needed. From Tesla’s perspective, it also simplifies monetization and creates a steadier recurring revenue stream.
However, major questions remain unanswered. Tesla has not yet shared how it plans to handle the large number of lifetime FSD packages already sold, nor what this change means for FSD transfers when owners buy a new Tesla. The company currently allows limited FSD transfers in select markets tied to specific trade-ins and purchases, but it’s unclear whether that policy will survive once the one-time option disappears.
The timing is notable. FSD is currently undergoing rapid evolution, with Tesla already testing an internal “unsupervised” version on its Robotaxi fleet in Austin. Public releases are also becoming increasingly capable, with recent updates even allowing drivers to text behind the wheel under certain road and traffic conditions. Interest in the system is surging, too — MotorTrend recently named FSD (Supervised) the best driver assistance technology of 2025, and the system has now surpassed 7 billion miles driven globally.
The move also aligns closely with Musk’s recently approved, historic $1 trillion CEO compensation plan, which ties his stock awards to ambitious milestones — including reaching 10 million active FSD subscriptions over the next decade. Making FSD subscription-only could be a critical step toward hitting that target, as could securing regulatory approval for the system across Europe.
For now, Tesla owners have until February 14 to lock in FSD as a one-time purchase — after that, subscriptions will be the only way in.
