Tesla FSD Subscription Pricing: What Owners Are Proposing for the Future | Taha Abbasi

With Tesla’s shift to a subscription-only model for Full Self-Driving, Taha Abbasi examines the pricing debate that’s consuming the Tesla community. The $99/month price point has generated a take rate of roughly 12 percent — and both Tesla and its owners are searching for the sweet spot that could change that equation dramatically.

The Current FSD Pricing Landscape

Tesla officially removed the one-time FSD purchase option from its US Online Design Studio in mid-February 2026, confirming what CEO Elon Musk had signaled for months: FSD is going subscription-only. As Taha Abbasi has covered extensively, this represents a fundamental shift in how Tesla monetizes its most advanced technology. The current $99/month subscription gives access to the full FSD suite, including both supervised and the nascent unsupervised capabilities.

But a 12% take rate isn’t enough — especially with Musk needing significant FSD adoption to hit milestones in his new compensation package. The community has responded with a range of creative proposals.

Owner Proposals: From $49 Budget to Tiered Pricing

The Tesla community has coalesced around several pricing models. The most popular suggestion is a simple price reduction to $49/month, which many owners say would be their immediate trigger to subscribe. Others humorously suggested $69, playing on Musk’s well-known affinity for that number.

A more sophisticated proposal that Taha Abbasi finds particularly compelling is tiered pricing: $50/month for supervised FSD and $300/month for unsupervised FSD including insurance. This model acknowledges the vastly different value propositions — supervised FSD is a convenience feature, while unsupervised FSD is essentially a chauffeur service.

The Unsupervised Premium: Why It Changes Everything

The distinction between supervised and unsupervised FSD isn’t just technical — it’s economic. Supervised FSD requires you to stay alert and ready to intervene. Unsupervised FSD, which Tesla is actively testing with its Cybercab program in Austin, means the car handles everything. That’s a fundamentally different product worth fundamentally different money.

As Taha Abbasi has analyzed from his own real-world FSD testing, the supervised experience is already remarkably capable in most driving scenarios. But the jump to unsupervised — true robotaxi capability — represents perhaps the biggest value unlock in automotive history.

Usage-Based Models and the Fleet Owner Angle

Some owners proposed usage-based pricing — pay per mile or per trip rather than a flat monthly fee. This model would appeal to occasional users who don’t drive enough to justify $99/month but would love FSD for road trips or heavy traffic days. It would also more closely mirror how robotaxi fleets will eventually be priced.

Fleet economics are where Tesla’s subscription model gets really interesting. If Tesla enables a revenue-sharing robotaxi network where owners can deploy their vehicles to earn money, a $200-300/month FSD subscription that generates $1,000+/month in robotaxi revenue becomes an obvious investment.

What Tesla Should Actually Do

The smartest move, as Taha Abbasi sees it, would be a three-tier approach: a basic Enhanced Autopilot subscription at $29/month for highway autonomy, supervised FSD at $79/month for full city driving, and unsupervised FSD (when available) at $249/month including Tesla Insurance integration. This would capture casual users, enthusiasts, and fleet operators — maximizing both adoption and revenue.

Sources: Teslarati

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About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com