Elon Musk: Tesla raises cost of 'self-driving' cars

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Tesla is raising the price of its "self-driving" option on its electric vehicles worldwide starting with a $1,000 (拢820) hike.

Founder Elon Musk tweeted that the price "will continue to rise" as its technology improves.

But the entrepreneur said the technology it's adding will be worth more than $100,000.

Mr Musk has been in a battle with officials in California over the restarting of Tesla's US car assembly.

Tesla's "full self-driving" (FSD) option is an extension to its Autopilot package, although it isn't fully autonomous. FSD features include automatic lane changes, parallel parking and a summon feature, which automatically parks and retrieves the car. They also include automatic traffic light and stop sign control.

The self-driving add-on will cost $8,000 when the price rise kicks in on 1 July.

"The FSD price will continue to rise as the software gets closer to full self-driving capability with regulatory approval," Mr Musk said in a series of tweets on Monday. "[At] that point, the value of FSD is probably somewhere in excess of $100,000."

Tesla was investigated by regulators in the US after a driver was killed while using Autopilot in 2018. However, the investigation discovered the driver was playing a video game on his smartphone at the time of the crash.

Mr Musk is well-known for his frequent tweets, many of which have landed him in trouble.

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One tweet earlier this month wiped $14bn off Tesla's market value after Mr Musk wrote its share price was too high.

His latest tweets have also caused a little controversy online, with some questioning the $100,000 or more value he claims the self-driving software will be worth.

One reply said the value Mr Musk claims the self-driving package to be worth was "insane". "Elon, real talk, i love you and the mission, but FSD will never be worth that much," the tweet added.

The best-selling Tesla Model 3 currently sells for $33,690 in the US if a driver opts for the basic package. With Autopilot's full self-driving capability this would currently cost $40,690.