Tesla now allows some of its customers to pay a monthly subscription fee for its premium driver assistance service, instead of an upfront fee.
According to reports, Tesla owners can now pay a $199 monthly subscription fee to have the Full Self-Driving (FSD) assistance package on their car. Until now, the package was available at a $10,000 one-time payment but Tesla is letting some of its customers pay monthly instead.
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The subscription allows for features such as Navigate on Autopilot, Auto Lane Change, Auto Park, Traffic Light, and Stop Sign Control, and Smart Summon, a feature which lets a driver call their Tesla to come to pick them up from across a parking lot using the Tesla mobile app as a remote control.
The system still requires an attentive person behind the wheel and is compatible only with Teslas running a Hardware 3 computer, or HW3. Owners of models with lesser technology can upgrade their car’s computer for about $1,500.
The description of the service on Tesla’s website also points out a few restrictions to the service. The company, for example, will not take any responsibility for parking fines, and the subscription is subject to a price change as well as “limited by region.”