On Saturday, Tesla slashed the price of its 'Full Self-Driving' (FSD) driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the United States as CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed his commitment to self-driving technology.
Musk said in 2019 that a fleet of robotaxis would be operational by 2020. However, the promise has not yet come to pass, and human supervision is still required for the system.
Earlier this month, Musk said Tesla would debut the robotaxis on August 8. This was after Reuters revealed that Tesla had abandoned its low-cost, mass-market vehicle in favor of the robotaxis.
The changes took place on Saturday following Tesla's action to lower the price of three of its five models by $2,000 in the US late Friday. That is the most recent proof of the challenges electric vehicle manufacturers are encountering.
In 2023, Musk claimed that the FSD, priced at $15,000, was extremely low and noted that the car's value would increase significantly if it became autonomous.
Tesla claims that its driving assistant features, which it refers to as Autopilot or FSD, do not turn its cars into autonomous vehicles and still need active driver supervision.
Furthermore, Tesla lowered the price of the Model Y, the company's most well-liked model and the best-selling electric car in the US, and the more costly and older Models X and S. The Cybertruck and Model 3 sedan continued to be priced the same.
The price cut was implemented the day after Tesla's stock fell below $150 per share, wiping out the previous year's gains.
This year, the Austin, Texas-based company's stock price fell around 40% due to declining sales and heightened competition. One strategy to attract more car buyers is to offer discounted sticker pricing.
