Tesla officially cancels the FSD "buyout system," leaving only a $99 monthly payment. Elon Musk's $1 trillion salary aims to reach tens of millions of subscribers.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced that starting February 14, Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system will officially discontinue the one-time purchase option of $8,000 and will transition entirely to a subscription model at $99 per month (or $999 annually).
(Background: Musk praised Seedance 2.0 as “AI video development is advancing too quickly”! ByteDance believes the model is not yet perfect)
(Additional context: Musk: X Money external beta testing to launch within two months, transforming X into a hub for financial transactions)
Table of Contents
- Musk’s $1 Trillion Salary Plan Requires 10 Million Subscribers
- Global FSD Subscription Pricing and Market Status
- Old Cars Retain Value, but Used Car Market May Be Impacted
Musk confirmed via a post that Tesla will cease selling FSD as a one-time purchase after February 14, shifting entirely to a monthly subscription model. Previously, owners could choose to buy it outright for $8,000 or subscribe monthly at $99.
The new pricing structure is as follows:
- Standard FSD Subscription: $99 per month / $999 per year
- Owners with Enhanced Autopilot (EAP): Eligible for half-price at $49 per month
- Owners who purchased FSD outright: unaffected, continue to use existing features
However, according to Not a Tesla App, Musk has indicated that the current $99 monthly fee is “actually a discount,” and as FSD features continue to evolve, future subscription prices will increase.
Musk’s $1 Trillion Salary Plan Requires 10 Million Subscribers
Tesla shareholders approved Musk’s exorbitant compensation plan in November 2025 with over 75% support, totaling $1 trillion. The plan consists of 12 tranches of stock options, each comprising about 35 million shares, totaling over 423 million shares.
This reward is not free; Musk must meet both market capitalization and operational targets, one key indicator being: accumulating 10 million paid FSD subscription users.
The issue is that Tesla disclosed FSD user data for the first time in Q4 2025, revealing approximately 1.1 million active FSD users worldwide. Of these, 70% (about 770,000) are one-time purchase users, while only about 330,000 are paying monthly subscribers.
According to Yahoo Finance analysis, the one-time purchase users are not counted as “subscriptions” for compensation purposes. In other words, discontinuing the buyout option effectively forces all future users to subscribe, directly feeding the numbers Musk needs.
Global FSD Subscription Pricing and Market Status
FSD is now available in multiple markets worldwide, but pricing and features vary significantly:
- USA, Canada: $99/month / $999/year (EAP owners $49/month)
- Australia: $149 AUD/month (EAP owners $75 AUD/month), buyout deadline extended to March 31
- New Zealand: $159 NZD/month (EAP owners $80 NZD/month)
- Mexico, Puerto Rico: subscriptions now open
- China: FSD currently only offers a buyout for 64,000 RMB (about $8,850 USD); subscriptions not yet available
- South Korea: FSD available, subscription details not announced
- Europe: Dutch traffic authority RDW expects to approve FSD compliance by February 2026, but not officially open yet
- Taiwan: FSD not yet available; EAP pricing undecided
Old Cars Retain Value, but Used Car Market May Be Impacted
For owners who paid $8,000 for a one-time FSD purchase, the good news is their features remain unaffected and no additional payment is required. This could even make these vehicles more scarce in the used car market.
However, subscription-based FSD does not transfer with the vehicle. When a car is sold, the new owner must subscribe anew to enable FSD, which could lower the resale value of used cars with FSD subscriptions.
From Tesla’s perspective, subscriptions provide predictable recurring revenue. With approximately 330,000 monthly subscribers paying $99 each, annual revenue is about $3.9 billion. If Musk’s goal of 10 million subscribers is achieved, this figure could balloon to nearly $12 billion annually in pure software revenue.
Tesla is gradually becoming a company that primarily produces hardware but earns most of its income from software.