According to Sawyer Merritt, Tesla has updated its policy so that buyers in the U.S. can no longer purchase Full Self-Driving (FSD) outright when ordering a pre-owned vehicle directly from inventory. Instead, customers are now offered a $99 per month subscription or the opportunity to purchase FSD outright only after vehicle delivery, with the outright option available until February 14th (source: Sawyer Merritt on Twitter). This move highlights Tesla's increasing focus on recurring revenue through AI-powered subscription services, positioning its FSD as a central driver of future automotive AI business models.

According to Sawyer Merritt, Tesla has reduced the monthly subscription fee for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised feature to $49 for owners who previously purchased Enhanced Autopilot, down from the earlier $99 per month. This AI-driven pricing adjustment aims to boost adoption of advanced driver-assistance technologies, making Tesla’s AI-powered FSD platform more accessible to a larger customer segment. By leveraging AI enhancements in FSD Supervised, Tesla is positioning itself as a leader in scalable autonomous vehicle services, opening new recurring revenue streams and increasing the practical business impact of AI in automotive applications (Source: Sawyer Merritt on Twitter).

According to Sawyer Merritt, Tesla has officially discontinued Autopilot in the U.S. and Canada, making Traffic-Aware Cruise Control standard on all new vehicles. Tesla’s online configurator now allows buyers to select the Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscription at $99 per month, or purchase FSD outright for $8,000 until February 14th. Each new Tesla also includes a 30-day free FSD (Supervised) trial. This shift highlights Tesla's AI-driven approach to monetizing autonomous driving features, creating new recurring revenue streams and accelerating the adoption of AI-powered mobility solutions in North America. The move is poised to impact the broader automotive AI market by encouraging the subscription-based model for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), opening new business opportunities for AI software providers. (Source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter)

According to Sawyer Merritt, Tesla's move to discontinue the purchase option for Full Self-Driving (FSD) and focus solely on FSD subscriptions has major implications for AI adoption and business models in the automotive sector (source: Sawyer Merritt on Twitter, Jan 14, 2026). By shifting to subscriptions, Tesla addresses hardware upgrade concerns, aligns with Elon Musk's 2025 CEO Performance Award milestone of 10 million FSD subscriptions, and creates a predictable, recurring revenue stream. This transition supports AI-driven autonomous vehicle deployment at scale and could lower entry barriers by removing FSD from high-end packages like the Model S/X and Cybertruck. The change also opens the door for tiered AI-based FSD subscription offerings, such as an affordable 'FSD Light,' enabling greater market penetration and data collection for AI training. Notably, the subscription model enhances long-term customer engagement with AI-powered services and positions Tesla to rapidly iterate and deploy software updates based on real-world driving data, presenting significant business opportunities in the AI mobility sector (source: Sawyer Merritt, Twitter).