Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced on the social media platform X that Tesla will stop selling the buyout version of the FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature after February 14. After that, the feature will only be available through a monthly subscription. This marks a major shift in Tesla's business model.
The FSD feature has undergone multiple iterations since its launch in 2016, evolving from the initial Autopilot driver assistance system to a more advanced intelligent driving system. In February 2025, Tesla began rolling out the FSD intelligent driver assistance feature in the Chinese market in batches, with the software version 2024.45.32.12. It should be emphasized that this feature is still classified as Level 2 driver assistance and requires continuous supervision by the driver.
Musk has always been proactive in promoting FSD. Last June, he publicly urged European regulators to approve the FSD technology as soon as possible, stating that delayed approvals were "very frustrating" and even "threatened people's safety." During a previous earnings call, Musk said that Tesla would only consider granting FSD rights when there was very high demand, and emphasized that the safety level of FSD must be far superior to that of an average human driver.
The shift from a one-time purchase model to a subscription model may help Tesla establish a more stable recurring revenue stream while lowering the initial purchase barrier for users. However, this change also means that owners who purchased the buyout version of FSD will become the "last batch" of users permanently owning the feature, while new users will need to pay a subscription fee continuously to use the FSD feature.
