Newshot Report: Tesla's Removal of Base Autopilot Was 马斯克's Personal Decision, Aimed at Boosting FSD Subscriptions
IT Home, November 12 — When Tesla stopped offering base Autopilot for free on new cars earlier this year, many owners suspected the move was meant to push more consumers toward buying the Full Self-Driving (FSD) service. Now, a person familiar with the matter has told media outlet Not a Tesla App that this is indeed the case, and that the decision was made personally by Tesla CEO Elon 马斯克 (Elon Musk).
According to the report, 马斯克 decided to remove base Autopilot, including Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer, from new cars in order to drive growth in FSD subscriptions. Notably, FSD subscriptions are also one of the performance targets 马斯克 must meet to earn rewards under his compensation package.
In November 2025, at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting, shareholders approved 马斯克's 2025 CEO performance award package. The package includes multiple operational targets, one of which requires Tesla to raise the number of active FSD subscribers or purchasers to 10 million, while also requiring the company's market capitalization to reach $2.5 trillion (IT Home note: about 16.71 trillion yuan at current exchange rates).
About two and a half months later, in January 2026, Tesla began removing base Autopilot from new cars in the U.S. and Canadian markets. After that, new cars offered only the adaptive cruise system (TACC). If owners wanted to use Autosteer to keep the vehicle centered in its lane, they had to buy or subscribe to FSD.
At the time, consumers could still buy FSD outright with a one-time payment, but that option was eliminated just a month later. Since then, FSD in the North American market has been available only through a monthly subscription.
Autosteer was not free from the start. In its early days, Tesla required owners to purchase Enhanced Autopilot to use the feature. In addition to TACC and Autosteer, that version offered automatic lane changes, Navigate on Autopilot, Autopark and Summon, and was priced at $6,000 (about 40,115 yuan at current exchange rates) before it was discontinued.
Around 2019, Tesla split these features apart and began making base Autopilot standard on all new cars, offering TACC and Autosteer for free. Later, as Tesla shifted its strategic focus to FSD, Enhanced Autopilot gradually exited the North American market.
For many owners over the years, base Autopilot has been sufficient for everyday driving needs, especially on highways. These owners, accustomed to using the basic driver-assistance features, are exactly the group this adjustment targets.
Current data suggests the removal of base Autopilot appears to be working. In its Q3 2026 financial report, Tesla said FSD subscriptions hit a record 1.74 million, with more than half of them on monthly plans. Tesla also disclosed that 75% of new-car orders in the North American market during the quarter included FSD.
On Tesla's Q3 earnings call, an analyst estimated that FSD's annual recurring revenue (ARR) was approaching $1 billion (about 6.686 billion yuan at current exchange rates), and Tesla confirmed the estimate was accurate.
At the same time, Tesla is continuing to expand the reach of FSD. Previously confined mainly to North America, FSD has now successively entered South Korea and a growing number of European countries. Each new market means a further expansion of the potential subscriber base.
Despite the rapid growth in FSD subscribers, the company is still far from the 10 million target. To achieve it, Tesla may need to secure EU-wide approval for FSD. According to reports, the relevant decision is expected to be announced in December. In addition, further developing new markets and continuously improving FSD features will also be important factors in driving user growth.
Removing base Autopilot has indeed brought Tesla more monthly subscription revenue, but at the same time the company has removed a feature that is gradually becoming common across the auto industry — lane-centering assistance.
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