Tesla Full Self-Driving tech goes subscription-only in the US, but not the UK

Elon Musk has announced that as of February 2026, Tesla will stop selling its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software as an option on new models in the US, instead asking customers to pay for it on a month-by-month basis.

In a post on his own social media site, X, Musk wrote: “Tesla will stop selling FSD after Feb 14. FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter.”

The move isn’t entirely surprising given Musk’s seeming fixation with subscription services – note X Premium – as well as the automotive industry’s general shift towards this type of business model. Auto Express recently revealed, for example, that Volkswagen is placing horsepower behind a paywall on the entry-level ID.3, while BMW came under heat a few years ago by requiring a monthly subscription to use its cars' heated seats.

It’s worth noting that FSD is already offered in the US as a subscription for $99 per month, as well as the soon-to-be-discontinued outright purchase option. However, Tesla told Auto Express that given that FSD hasn’t been fully released in the UK, it probably doesn’t make sense for it to be offered as a subscription for the time being. Instead, it will allow buyers to continue to futureproof their car by purchasing the software outright.

Tesla did say, though, that it will explore both the subscription and outright purchase options whenever FSD does finally land in the UK in full. For now, British Tesla owners’ most comprehensive road-legal self-driving option is the Advanced Autopilot software, which won’t be offered as a subscription for the time being.

Currently, both the Tesla Model Y SUV – the UK’s best-selling electric car – and smaller Model 3 saloon are offered with Basic Autopilot as standard, which includes adaptive cruise control with lane centring. For an extra £3,400, buyers can specify the aforementioned Enhanced Autopilot, which enables the car to enter and exit motorway slipways, as well as change lanes and overtake autonomously.

Finally, there’s Full Self Driving, which will set you back an eye-watering £6,800 and is largely superfluous for the time being in the UK given that it’s yet to be homologated for British roads. This system in effect enables the car to drive itself, stopping automatically at traffic lights. That said, it does require occasional inputs from the driver – something that has generated controversy in the US, because FSD’s name indicates a fully autonomous experience.

Tesla has teased that it is currently testing FSD in the UK, though, posting a video online of a Model 3 navigating the infamous Magic Roundabout in Swindon hands-free. All of this points to FSD becoming available for UK Tesla drivers in the near future, and also raises the question whether Tesla’s Robotaxi service, which employs FSD tech, could also come to London as part of the Government’s driverless taxi trials, too.

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