Tesla is now going to offer U.S. customers a one-month free trial of its Full Self-Driving beta driver-assist system, according to a post on X from company CEO Elon Musk. The move comes as demand for electric vehicles softens and a price war among EV makers rages on. Both factors have hurt Tesla’s sales and margins.
“All U.S. cars that are capable of FSD will be enabled for a one-month trial this week,” Musk posted in a reply to that Whole Mars Catalog guy on X. Musk has also apparently told Tesla staff to give demonstrations of FSD to new buyers and owners of serviced vehicles, according to Reuters. In emails, Musk has apparently said “almost no one actually realized how well [supervised] FSD actually works.” Sure, buddy. Sure.
Musk has long said the $12,000 driver assist software could be a potential profit generator for Tesla, but – as with most things – it has fallen short of his promises, according to Reuters. For years, Musk has said Full Self-Driving will soon be able to be fully autonomous, but that just has not happened at all. Regulatory and legal scrutiny into Tesla’s safety and marketing of the program has not helped matters.
FSD software, which Tesla admits does not make its vehicles autonomous and requires active driver supervision, has also been offered as a $199 per month subscription.
Here’s why analysts think Elon is making this move at the Austin, Texas-based automaker, according to Reuters:
Researcher Troy Teslike said the “FSD take rate” was declining in North America, with about 14% of Tesla customers buying the package in the third quarter of 2022, down from a record high of 53% in the third quarter of 2019.
Tesla’s margins have been hurt by a price war with rivals that started more than a year ago. It also warned in January of “notably lower” delivery growth this year, as it focuses on production of its next-generation EV.
”The combination of substantial price cuts on the vehicles and dramatically lower FSD take rates has severely hurt Tesla’s margins,” said analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Guidehouse Insights.
”The mandate to demonstrate FSD as it is today, is just the latest in a long-running series of end-of-quarter stunts by Musk intended to boost deliveries and revenues.”
So, I guess if you see a Tesla driving next to you, look out. Who knows if the car knows what it is doing, and more importantly, who knows if the guy behind the wheel knows either?
