Musk Says FSD Subscription Prices Will Rise as Capabilities Increase

Prospective buyers configuring a new Tesla in North America will now see the $99/month FSD subscription offered as a primary purchase option directly in the vehicle configurator alongside the vehicle price, instead of appearing only as a post-delivery option in the app.

This change is part of Tesla’s transition to permanently sunset FSD purchases. The option to buy FSD outright for $8,000 USD remains available for now, but the configurator indicates this is a limited-time offer.

The buy-it-once option will be removed on February 14, 2026, after which the subscription will be the only entry point for new owners.

Capability Will Drive Pricing

Along with the configurator update, Elon Musk warned that the current $99/month rate is effectively a discounted price for today’s capabilities and that it will increase as FSD’s capabilities improve.

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). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026

At $99/month, FSD is positioned as a Level-2 driver assist system that still requires driver attention. Higher prices are likely once full eyes-off, hands-off capabilities, similar to unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin, become available in consumer vehicles.

Tesla plans to price the service based on the value of returning users’ time rather than solely on driving assistance. It would be unrealistic to expect the price to remain at $99/month as the system’s capabilities grow. This shift may explain the upcoming removal of the option to buy FSD outright. Musk has stated for years that FSD’s price would continue to rise as features were added. Historically, the price of FSD increased to $15,000 before Tesla reduced it to $12,000 and later to $8,000 in the U.S.

Valentine’s Deadline

For buyers who are undecided, the deadline is approaching. Removing the lifetime license option in a few weeks marks the end of an era for Tesla ownership.

If you expect to keep your Tesla for more than seven years (at current prices), or want to protect against future monthly price increases, purchasing the lifetime license before February 14 is the most certain way to lock in the current price.

If the subscription rises to $300 or more per month, $8,000 would likely be a bargain, but Tesla has not guaranteed that buying FSD (Supervised) for $8,000 will include FSD Unsupervised when it is released. That inclusion has generally been expected, but the name leaves some uncertainty. Tesla may reserve flexibility, intending to provide FSD Unsupervised to those owners but not committing fully in case hardware upgrades are required.

Tesla recently added camera washers to every camera on the Cybercab and to the fender and rear cameras on the Model Y Robotaxis, which could be among the upgrades seen in consumer vehicles.

After February 14, all owners who subscribe to FSD will be renting the capability indefinitely at whatever price the market sets.