FSD (Supervised) is what Tesla has called the system for the past several months. Tesla made no apparent changes to the system with the name change.

Tesla buyers can purchase FSD outright for $12,000 or subscribe for a monthly fee. The company’s website shows no price change for purchasers.

Tesla’s Three Systems

Tesla offers three different levels of automated driver assistance systems.

Related: Self-Driving Cars – Everything You Need to Know

Autopilot comes standard on all Tesla models, though it has sometimes been an added-cost option. It is similar to the driver assists found in most 2024 model year cars. It includes an intelligent cruise control that matches the car to the speed of the surrounding traffic. A lane-centering function helps keep the vehicle in the center of its lane.

Enhanced Autopilot is currently a $6,000 option. It adds navigating highway on- and off-ramps and interchanges on top of what Autopilot can do. It also adds a self-parking system and includes a “summon” function that lets owners call the car to them at parking lot speed from nearby.

Full Self-Driving Capability (FSD) is a $12,000 option, though its price has risen and fallen in the past year. Tesla says the system will read and react to traffic lights and stop signs and steer around some turns with the driver’s “active supervision.”

FSD was subject to a controversial safety recall to increase guardrails on its performance last year. The federal government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is still investigating the system, and Reuters has reported that the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal probe over FSD. But there have been no reports of progress on that investigation in more than a year.

The company teaches its FSD system based on input from users. So, lowering the subscription price and adding more drivers could speed improvement.

Reacting to a Rough Quarter

Tesla’s stock price fell recently based on poorer-than-expected first quarter sales results. Musk has said that the company’s future success hinges on its attempts to automate driving. Reuters reported recently that the company had canceled a long-planned attempt to build an inexpensive EV, planning to put research money into its robotaxi projects instead. Musk disputes that claim.

Also, multiple media outlets today reported that Tesla plans to lay off as many as 14,000 workers globally. A Musk memo leaked to CNBC explains, “As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity. As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally.”