Tesla is ending the option to buy FSD for customers and why the reason may be linked to Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package
Elon Musk recently announced that Tesla will stop selling full self-driving software (FSD) software after February 14, 2026. Instead, it will be available as a monthly subscription. The announcement, according to a Business Insider report, may be linked to Musk’s $1 trillion compensation package. Approved by the Tesla board in November 2025, the package sets multiple targets for the Tesla CEO before he is paid $1 trillion. One such product goal, as per Tesla’s proxy filing, is “10 Million Active FSD Subscriptions”. “One way Tesla can reach this milestone more quickly is to remove the option to buy FSD outright,” the report says, adding “By mid-February, anyone considering this option will need to subscribe instead.”
The explanation behind the theory is that subscription services bring in more steady income. Investors generally prefer businesses that earn money continuously from subscriptions instead of those that depend on big, one-time purchases. Offering FSD only as a subscription would also give Tesla more room to change or adjust prices in the future.
When Tesla quietly changed FSD definition
Last year, soon after the announcement of Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, the electric car maker changed the definition of FSD on its website. The update then added the following line to the definition: “Currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous”. It also added that the availability of features depends on regulatory approval and further development, which “may take longer in some jurisdictions.”Notably, Tesla’s FSD program has faced legal scrutiny in recent months. A California judge last year allowed a class-action lawsuit to move forward, with plaintiffs accusing Tesla of making misleading claims about FSD’s capabilities.
