San Francisco (Reuters) -Tesla slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the United States, as CEO Elon Musk doubles down on self-driving technology.
Musk is betting on the technology to become cash cow for the world’s most valuable automaker. But he has for years failed to achieve the goal of self-driving capability, with the technology under growing regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Musk earlier this month said Tesla (NASDAQ:) will unveil its robotaxis on Aug. 8, after Reuters reported Tesla had scrapped its inexpensive, mass-market car in favour of robotaxis.
According to the Tesla website, customers can now pay $8,000 for the FSD feature, or subscribe to use it for $99 a month.
Tesla recently cut the U.S. monthly subscription price for the feature from $199, while giving every Tesla customer a month’s free subscription to the software.
Tesla has also been cutting prices on its auto line-up in major markets. Grappling with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles, Tesla cut prices by nearly $2,000 across its line-up in China, in line with its price cuts in the United States.
