Tesla is leaning more heavily on paid driving software as Chinese manufacturers gain ground in electric vehicles and car sales remain a lower-margin business. Automotive operations still generate 75 percent of Tesla’s revenue, but the company sees recurring software payments as a way to earn more from each vehicle.
The company reports 1.7 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions worldwide, up 67 percent from a year earlier. More than 75 percent of new Teslas sold in North America include the supervised version, which costs $99 a month in the United States. Despite its name, that product still requires a person in the driver’s seat who remains attentive. Tesla has not disclosed the recurring revenue it produces.
Expansion faces regulatory constraints. Tesla has not received approval anywhere for a fully autonomous version of the system. Its supervised software is approved in the Netherlands and several other European countries, but a vote on broader European Union access has been delayed until December. China’s Xpeng is pursuing European clearance for its competing XNGP system after expected rules take effect next year.
A possible merger with SpaceX could give Tesla more access to chips, capital and AI research, but it remains exploratory and would require shareholder and regulatory approval. For now, the practical growth case rests on selling supervised software more widely, not on cars that can operate without human oversight.