Tesla Inc. is bringing back its “Enhanced Autopilot” driving-assistance package for $6,000, which will sit between standard Autopilot and the automaker’s $12,000 beta test software that it calls Full Self Driving, despite not having that capability.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed the move on Twitter earlier this month in response to a request from Trevor Page, founder of the Tesla Owners Online forum.
“Tesla needs to bring this back for everyone,” Page wrote on Twitter in response to an article announcing the return of Enhanced Autopilot in Australia and New Zealand. Full Self Driving, Page wrote, “is too expensive for what you get.”
The package is often abbreviated as FSD.
On June 17, Musk responded: “Ok.”
Enhanced Autopilot is now available on Tesla’s U.S. website.
Reintroducing Enhanced Autopilot could generate sales for Tesla from customers who find FSD too expensive or too inconsistent, but want additional features beyond standard Autopilot, such as automatic lane changes while navigating on cruise control.
One of the main differences between the two systems is that Enhanced Autopilot is primarily for highway use while FSD includes steering, accelerating and braking on city streets. Standard autopilot functions much like the advanced cruise control offered by most automakers.
Twitter user Troy Teslike, who forecasts Tesla metrics such as sales and satisfaction scores, estimates that the take rate for FSD in North America was 14 percent in the first quarter of this year. That compares to 50 percent in 2019 when it was less than half the price.
Tesla disbanded its press office two years ago and did not respond to a request for comment from Automotive News.
Gary Black, managing partner at The Future Fund, wrote in a social media post last week that Enhanced Autopilot could help Tesla margins, “given FSD’s low take rate.”
But Black, who is bullish on Tesla, also warned that it could cannibalize revenue from FSD.
Tesla has rolled out access to the full FSD beta software over the past year. Previously, only some of its features were available to customers who purchased the package. Musk has said that more than 100,000 drivers now have access to the full suite of features.
