Musk removed Autosteer from new Teslas in the US. Goal: 10 million FSD subscriptions
Elon Musk personally decided that new Teslas in the U.S. and Canada will no longer come standard with Basic Autopilot, which includes active cruise control and Autosteer. The goal was to encourage more buyers to switch to the FSD subscription. This was revealed by the Not a Tesla App site based on information from someone familiar with the decision-making process. FSD subscriptions are one of Musk’s performance targets, and Tesla is still far from meeting that goal.
From free Autosteer to a pure subscription
Tesla’s shareholders approved the 2025 CEO Performance Award package at the annual meeting in November 2025. One of its operational milestones requires 10 million active FSD subscriptions (or purchases), along with a market capitalization of $2.5 billion.
About two and a half months later, in January 2026, new vehicles in the U.S. and Canada began leaving the factory equipped only with TACC (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control). Autosteer, which keeps the car in the center of its lane, required the purchase or subscription of FSD.
One month later, the option to buy FSD outright was also removed, so starting in February, the system is available in North America only as a monthly subscription.
Autosteer was not always included in the car’s price. Initially, an additional fee was required for Enhanced Autopilot, which, along with TACC and Autosteer, included automatic lane changing, Navigate on Autopilot, Autopark, and Summon. It cost $6,000 at the time. Around 2019, Tesla separated these functions, with Basic Autopilot becoming standard in every new vehicle. Enhanced Autopilot later disappeared from the North American lineup as the company focused on FSD. For many drivers, especially those who primarily drove on highways, the free Basic Autopilot was sufficient, which was exactly the target of this change.
1.74 million subscribers, still a long way to go
The numbers show that the initiative is working. In its report for Q3 2026, Tesla reported a record 1.74 million FSD subscribers, with over half paying through monthly plans. FSD was also included in 75% of new orders in North America. During the earnings call, one analyst estimated that annual recurring revenue from FSD was approaching $1 billion, a figure Tesla confirmed. However, only about 17% of customers meet Musk’s threshold for the premium package.
The expansion is expected to bring in more subscribers. FSD has already reached South Korea and an increasing number of European countries. Finland was the eleventh country in Europe to approve the system, which is now called Tesla Assisted Driving on our continent. Poland is not on this list. A decision on approval for the entire Union is set to be made in December. Not a Tesla App notes that Tesla has taken away from drivers the ability to keep the car centered in its lane, a feature that is becoming increasingly common in other vehicles.
From the editorial team: A driver in the U.S. who only wants to stay in the lane on highways now pays monthly for the entire FSD package and cannot purchase it permanently. Just a year ago, they got this same feature at no extra cost as part of the car price.
Source: NotATeslaApp
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