Tesla survey shows take rate for Full Self-Driving package is surprisingly low

A large survey of Tesla owners gives us probably the best idea of the take rate for the Full Self-Driving package.

It’s an important metric for Tesla and it is surprisingly low. Or… is it?

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) package has been controversial for a few reasons. The main reason is that it doesn’t actually make your vehicle full self-driving.

It comes with the promise that in the future, Tesla will release a software update that will enable full self-driving capability.

In the meantime, the value of the package is limited to some features that Tesla brought in from its previous Enhanced Autopilot package:

1. Navigate on Autopilot
2. Auto Lane Change
3. Autopark
4. Summon

Yet Tesla has increased the price of the FSD package to $10,000 in the US.

The automaker has also indicated that the price of the package would go up as they release more features toward full self-driving capability.

The take rate, the percentage of buyers who order the package, is a good show of confidence in Tesla’s ability to deliver on that promise.

It’s also extremely important for Tesla’s financials, since all the hardware is already included in all vehicles whether or not they order FSD, and therefore, each time one of them buys the package, Tesla gets a much higher margin on the vehicle.

Now a survey of over 17,000 Tesla buyers shows that the Tesla Full Self-Driving take rate worldwide is only at about 11% (via TroyTeslike):

The wide changes are actually easily explicable. The significant increase in 2019 came when Tesla transferred the Enhanced Autopilot features in the Full Self-Driving package.

As for the significant reduction, it happened as Tesla increased the price of the package.

Also, the increase in sales in China and Europe could be factored in since the FSD features are less useful, and the true full self-driving capability is further out in those markets than in the US.

Unsurprisingly, the take rate for Model S and Model X is much higher than for the less expensive Model 3 and Model Y:

The data stops in July 2021 before Tesla introduced a monthly subscription for its Full Self-Driving package.

This is expected to help with the take rate, but the real difference-maker is going to be the wider release of its FSD Beta software.

It has been delayed several times, but CEO Elon Musk recently said that it should happen in about a month.

In the US, it should greatly accelerate Tesla’s FSD package take rate.