Tesla Discontinues Autopilot in North America
On Thursday, Tesla announced it has stopped offering its basic driver-assistance system, Autopilot, in both Canada and the United States. This move seems aimed at steering customers towards its more advanced fully autonomous driving option, which requires supervision.
Just last week, the company revealed that starting February 14th, the full self-driving (FSD) feature will no longer be available as a one-time purchase for $8,000. Instead, customers must subscribe at a rate of $99 per month to access the software.
On its website, Tesla’s vehicle settings show that new cars will now only include traffic-aware cruise control. This feature helps maintain a set speed while keeping a safe distance from other vehicles.
Additionally, the Autosteer function, which used to work with cruise control for lane centering and curve navigation, has been removed from the standard features list.
Complicating matters, the California Department of Transportation has set a 60-day deadline for Tesla to revise its marketing strategies. If the company doesn’t comply, it could face a 30-day suspension of its retail sales license.
One of the stipulations is for Tesla to stop using the term “Autopilot,” which regulators argue misled consumers into believing that the system could operate entirely on its own.
While the department opted not to comment, Tesla did not respond when asked for clarification on the reasons behind these changes.
Autopilot has historically been a significant selling point for Tesla vehicles, though the company has consistently warned drivers that the system necessitates active supervision and does not make the car fully autonomous.
Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, mentioned on Thursday that the subscription fee for FSD is likely to rise over time as the software continues to advance.
This subscription model is expected to be more practical and widely available in many regions, potentially becoming a major revenue source for the company.
Interestingly, Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja noted in October that only 12% of customers actually paid for the FSD software.
