Tesla bets on autonomy subscriptions beyond car sales
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Tesla is shifting its growth strategy from car sales toward recurring revenue from software and artificial intelligence services. The company lost the global electric-vehicle lead to BYD, and its earlier goal of selling 20 million vehicles a year by 2030 has been reduced to 5 million; it delivered 1.6 million last year. The automotive business still accounts for 75% of the group’s revenue.
Full Self-Driving, despite its name, still requires a person to remain in the driver’s seat and pay attention. Tesla says it has 1.7 million active subscriptions globally, up 67% in a year, and charges $99 a month in the US. Analyst Dan Ives said the service is Tesla’s highest-margin segment, but its expansion depends on regulatory approvals: the fully autonomous version has not received any approval yet, while the supervised version has been approved in the Netherlands and several other European countries.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
The shift puts software and AI subscriptions at the center of Tesla’s attempt to reduce its dependence on vehicle sales, although automotive still accounts for 75% of its revenue. The service’s expansion also remains dependent on regulatory approvals, and the fully autonomous version has not received any yet.
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