Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently confirmed that the company is once again raising the price of its "full self-driving" (FSD) software by another $2,000 in the United States. Initially, the software was to cost $8,000, then $10,000, and now Musk tweeted the new price will be $12,000 starting January 17th, 2022.

UPDATE: 1/18/22

Tesla increased the price of its FSD Beta to $12,000 on January 18th, a day later than expected. That said, the company hasn't increased the price of its FSD Beta subscription, which still starts at $99 a month. (It's an odd situation, as Tesla insists the FSD Beta package is a better value than the subscription.)

This isn't the first time Tesla has increased the price of its FSD software, which, by the way, is not fully self-driving. Currently, no cars drive entirely by themselves are for sale in the United States. It's worth stating that this increase is only for the U.S. market, and Musk also confirmed the $199 per month subscription for access to the FSD beta would be getting a boost too, at a later date.

Tesla first started testing its full self-driving software in 2020, which was expected to cost only $8,000. Then, the company opened beta access to owners in September of last year for drivers with a good "safety score" that can be trusted. However, many Tesla owners have cheated the software, gained access to the full self-driving beta, and are enjoying all it has to offer.

Tesla Full Self-Driving display
Tesla

We all expected an increase in the price, and this likely won't be the last price hike before the software arrives as an option for all Tesla owners. CEO Elon Musk has previously said the price would increase as the company introduces new features and improves the software. However, considering FSD doesn't actually allow cars to fully drive themselves, many owners and analysts have criticized Tesla over the software and its high price tag.

In closing, Elon Musk also announced that a new Full Self-Driving version 10.9 update should arrive sometime in mid-January with exciting new features, followed by an even more significant FSD 11 update next month. So, the higher price tag could make sense once we see what the company has in store, but we'll have to wait and see.

via Electrek