For a while, Tesla teased the rollout of the company’s subscription service for full autopilot autonomous driving functionality. However, now in a Twitter response to Full March Catalog Elon Musk has given a definitive timeline for the launch of the service.

Q2 for sure

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2021

According to Musk, Tesla will definitely launch the service in the second quarter of this year. However, Musk doesn’t think the subscription service will be a good deal in the long run. At least he doesn’t believe it in relation to the outright purchase of FSD.

Note that buying FSD will always be a better deal in the long run than the subscription

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2021

During Tesla’s first quarter 2020 earnings call, Musk said that “buying FSD is an investment in the future. And we are convinced that this is an investment that will pay off for the consumer ”.

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Tesla CFO Zackery Kirkhorn also seems to agree. In the same profit call, Kirkhorn said that “financially, converting the initial purchase of the FSD option into an in-vehicle loan or lease will be the cheapest plan to own on a monthly”.

Still, it’s nice to have a definitive launch date for the service. Especially considering how Tesla has already delayed the launch of the service. Elon Musk had in the past “we will be offering the full self-drive service as a subscription service, but it will probably be towards the end of this year” in reference to the end of 2020.

So far, Tesla or Musk haven’t shared any clues about how the FSD subscription service works. However, there are a few obvious options. One is a monthly payment, as the company already does with its premium connectivity plan. Or two Tesla could also offer a service where customers subscribe for a predetermined mile on autopilot.

Aside from not knowing how the subscription service will work and how much it will cost, it is also not clear if customers will be able to lock in the price of the subscription. As Tesla improves FSD software and releases more features, it would make sense for the company to raise its prices.

The launch of the subscription service could also be a sign when Tesla plans to roll out the new full autonomous driving capability. Currently, Tesla’s early access program customers have access to a fundamentally better version of autopilot software.

In addition to the FSD features which can be purchased for $ 8,000 by anyone, the software that has been deployed for members of the Early Access Program has the ability to manage intersections, traffic lights, traffic circles. points and can also perform unprotected left turns.

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And given, as Musk said, the quantum leap in FSD that is the new software, it would make sense for Tesla to roll out the new FSD software to the general public with the release of the FSD subscription.

So what do you think? Are you excited about the FSD subscription service? Will any of you have the option? Do you also think Tesla will make the beta of FSD available to the general public with the subscription service? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. It covers everything about Tesla, from cars and Elon Musk, to the energy sector and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for Tesla Daily News.