Top News

• Musk said the biggest leap in Full Self-Driving’s value comes with unsupervised use, when drivers can fully disengage during trips.
• Tesla has removed Autopilot in the U.S. and Canada, steering buyers toward FSD options.
• Fundstrat’s Mark Newton said Tesla shares show early stabilization, with rising volume and a break in a minor downtrend.

Tesla Inc. shares rose 0.4% in premarket trading on Friday after CEO Elon Musk said the company plans to raise the price of its $99-per-month Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscription as capabilities improve.

Musk Signals FSD Price Hike 

“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve,” Musk said on X, adding that the “massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).”

Musk’s comments came in response to an X post by Tesla investor and influencer Sawyer Merritt, who noted that Autopilot has been discontinued in the U.S. and Canada, with all new Tesla purchases now equipped with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. The online configurator still allows buyers to choose the $99 FSD subscription, or to purchase FSD outright for $8,000 until Feb. 14, and new vehicles include a 30-day free trial of supervised FSD.

Tesla previously said it will transition FSD to a subscription-only model, ending one-time purchase options, as software improvements advance the product toward more capable automated driving.

Robotaxi Deployment Adds Momentum

Supporting the broader autonomy narrative, Musk said on Thursday that Tesla has begun offering robotaxi rides in Austin without a safety monitor in the front seat for public riders.

Tesla initially deployed a small number of Model Y vehicles with safety monitors, and Ashok Elluswamy, a founding member of Tesla's Autopilot team and VP of AI software, said some vehicles will continue to run with monitors for now, with the proportion of unsupervised vehicles increasing over time.

The robotaxi development follows Musk’s remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos that self-driving is “essentially solved” in the U.S. and that robotaxis should be “very widespread” by the end of the year.

Wall Street Views

Morgan Stanley said removing safety drivers from portions of Tesla’s Austin fleet is a pivotal moment in proving its vision-only approach to autonomy. The firm reiterated its forecast of 1,000 robotaxis on the road by the end of 2026 and maintained an 'Equal Weight' rating with a $425 price target.

Meanwhile, ARK Investment Management’s Director of Investment Analysis, Tasha Keeney, said that the debate has shifted from whether autonomous driving will work to when it will scale, highlighting manufacturing integration and vehicle utilization as drivers of lower per-mile costs. 

Mark Newton, head of technical strategy at Fundstrat, said on X that recent sessions show signs of stabilization in Tesla shares following Musk’s comments on autonomy and FSD, with an uptick in volume and a break of a minor downtrend.

FSD Faces Regulator Scrutiny

Tesla's full self-driving software still requires drivers to pay attention in the U.S., and it's under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency has extended its review of potential FSD-related traffic violations to Feb. 23.

It's not just Tesla competing for robotaxis. Alphabet's Waymo said on Thursday that it has begun charging customers in Miami for its robotaxi service. Waymo has plans to expand to additional cities in 2026.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla was ‘bullish’ amid ‘normal’ message volume.

Tesla’s stock has risen 8% over the past 12 months.

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