Tesla About To Hike FSD Prices Second Time This Year — Buy It By This Date Or Pay $15,000

Tesla, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) controversial full-self driving package is getting another price hike, CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter.

What Happened: Tesla will increase the price of FSD to $15,000 in North America on Sept. 5 following a wider release of beta 10.69.2, Musk said. This represents a hefty $3,000 or 25% hike from the $12,000 the company currently charges. It is also currently available for a $199 monthly subscription. The previous hike was announced in early January when Musk communicated a $2,000 increase.

Tesla began beta testing the software with select customers in October 2020 and had priced it at $8,000 at that time. In a week’s time, the company raised the price to $10,000.

Musk said Tesla users ordering before Sept. 5 will be charged the current price. He also noted that users can upgrade their existing cars to FSD in two minutes through the Tesla app.

See also: Working With Elon Musk: 'If You Were Getting Micromanaged By Elon, You Were Probably On Your Way Out'

FSD Updates: Musk confirmed that beta 10.69 started rolling out to Tesla owners on Saturday. He also called the build a “big step” forward.

The 10.69.1 would have a wider release by the end of the week, the Tesla CEO said. He expects version 10.69.2 to be ready to be rolled out to all FSD beta participants in a few weeks.

When a Tesla user who tried the 10.69 beta had some positive things to say about the latest upgrade, Musk chimed in with its merits.

“Tesla Autopilot/AI team did great work with 10.69! Some point releases needed for polish, so 10.69.2 should really shine,” he said.

Why It’s Important: Tesla bulls are convinced of FSD’s potential, both in terms of functionality and financial payback.

Loup Ventures’ Gene Munster said in a note in July 2021 that FSD alone will be worth $850 billion for Tesla in a decade, compared to its then market cap of $620 billion. The electric vehicle pioneer’s market cap has swelled since then and is currently at $929.6 billion.

That said, there is a lot of apprehension surrounding Tesla’s FSD, especially regarding its safety and its ability to live up to the promise of providing autonomous driving.

Recently, software expert Dan O’Dowd posted a video showing a Tesla vehicle being navigated by FSD beta running over child-sized mannequins multiple times and called upon lawmakers to ban the feature.

Tesla closed Friday’s session up 2.05% at $890, according to Benzinga Pro data.