Image: Tesla
Tesla has officially killed off Autopilot in the U.S. and Canada, marking the end of a feature that had come standard on every Tesla vehicle for years. All new Tesla purchases now include only basic Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC), while the company doubles down on pushing Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscriptions.
The change quietly rolled out this week via Tesla’s online configurator. Buyers no longer get Autosteer by default, a core part of Autopilot that allowed lane centering on highways. Instead, new vehicles come with a 30-day free trial of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), after which owners must either subscribe or pay outright — at least for now.
Tesla is currently offering FSD as a $99/month subscription, with an option to purchase it outright for $8,000. That one-time purchase option is going away on February 14, though, making FSD subscription-only moving forward. Tesla has also set a March 31 deadline for free FSD transfers between vehicles, adding more urgency for owners on the fence.
Elon Musk made it clear that the $99 price point won’t last forever, either. Responding to the news of Autopilot’s disappearance on X, Musk said, “I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).” That statement underscores Tesla’s long-term bet on autonomy — and its willingness to charge more as the software matures.
For now, FSD is also included with new Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck Cyberbeast orders as part of the Luxe Package. However, there’s no word yet on whether Tesla owners who purchase or receive FSD outright today will continue to get access to updates and improvements (mainly unsupervised FSD) as they roll out or if that too will change down the line.
For some owners, there is a small silver lining. Tesla drivers who previously purchased Enhanced Autopilot can now subscribe to FSD (Supervised) for $49/month, down from $99. Meanwhile, Tesla has also stopped allowing buyers to purchase FSD outright when ordering pre-owned vehicles from inventory (you can still buy FSD later if you take delivery by February 14), further steering customers toward subscriptions.
This move didn’t come out of nowhere. Tesla began pulling Autopilot from inventory cars last month, a shift that now looks like a test run for this broader transition. It also aligns neatly with Musk’s massive $1 trillion compensation package, which hinges on hitting ambitious milestones — including reaching 10 million active FSD subscriptions.
All of this comes as Tesla takes a major step toward autonomy in the real world. Just this week, the company began offering public Robotaxi rides in Austin using unsupervised FSD, with no safety driver or monitor inside the vehicle. While that version of FSD isn’t available to consumers yet, Musk has repeatedly said it’s the breakthrough that will fundamentally change the value proposition of owning a Tesla.
Still, the removal of Autopilot hasn’t gone over well with everyone. Critics point out that rival automakers like Toyota and Hyundai offer lane-centering systems as standard, while Tesla now charges extra for functionality that was once included.
Autopilot may be dead, but Tesla’s message is clear: the future is Full Self-Driving — and it won’t be cheap.
