SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk says that if you are looking at buying one of his company's cars, you should get your order in quick before the price goes up on one of their most highly touted features.
Speaking on Twitter, as he likes to often, Musk said that Tesla's fully self-driving option will go up by $1,000 on July 1, to $8,000. Musk also mentioned the ease by which someone can order a Tesla by saying it can be done "online in less than two minutes at tesla.com."
While Tesla calls the technology "fully self-driving", it should be noted that the feature doesn't yet allow for a car to drive itself. It comes with lane recognition technology to keep a car in a specific lane, park a car in a parking lot and can steer a car for a short time under the supervision of a driver.
But, Tesla says the feature includes all the technology and cameras necessary for full self-driving capability once such cars are given the OK for use on U.S. highways.
Tesla cars have been involved in a series of high-profile accidents centered on the technology, and whether calling it "self-driving" has led drivers to believe that their cars are capable of driving without any human interaction.
Musk also suggested that it's better for Tesla buyers to get in on the self-driving technology now rather than later, as its price will continue to rise as full self-driving capabilities get closer to federal approval. Musk said when that happens, the value of the feature "is probably somewhere in excess of $100,000."
