No Tesla sales in California
Tesla was told that if it could not resolve the misleading marketing within those 60 days, the sales suspension would take effect. That would be bad for the automaker, as California is by far the largest market in the US, even though it is shrinking every quarter. It would be disastrous if sales in the state were completely suspended. Some had speculated that Tesla could change Autopilot's name to something less misleading, but the company took a more drastic approach.
Now, if you buy a new Tesla and want it to drive itself – while you pay attention to the road – you'll have to pay for FSD. This is possible until mid-February for a one-time fee of $8,000. But starting February 14, that option will also disappear and the only choice will be a $99 per month FSD subscription.
But probably not for very long. Last night, Musk revealed on his social media platform that “the $99/month for supervised FSD will increase as FSD capabilities improve. The huge jump in value is when you can be on your phone or sleep the entire ride (unattended FSD).”
The quest for recurring revenue streams is becoming something of a holy grail in the auto industry, as OEMs that previously treated their customers as a single sale are now looking to make themselves more attractive to investors by encouraging customers to pay them regularly.
This may have contributed to General Motors' decision to drop Apple CarPlay and Android Automotive. BMW has also experimented with subscription services. Tesla's share price remains so high that such plays are probably not necessary here, but with declining profit margins, falling sales and the loss of emissions allowances to bolster the bottom line, one can see why regular cash injections from Tesla drivers would be desirable.
