Tesla FSD Subscriptions Reach 1.74 Million Under Specific Compensation Criteria

Tesla reported that it now has 1.74 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, a figure that represents a 67 percent increase from the same period last year. This total includes vehicles that purchased the software upfront years ago, aligning with the specific criteria defined in the company’s 2025 CEO Performance Award. The metric combines both one-time purchases and monthly payments to reach this cumulative count.

The company ceased selling Full Self-Driving as a one-time purchase on February 14, 2026. Since that date, new customers in the United States have only been able to access the feature through a monthly subscription costing $99. However, owners who paid the upfront cost, which reached up to $15,000, remain in the active subscription count for as long as their vehicle is active. The only exclusion from this metric is free trials, yet Tesla has not disclosed how many of the 1.74 million are actually paying monthly fees.

This counting method is critical because reaching 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions is a key milestone for Elon Musk to earn his compensation package. The award consists of 12 tranches, each requiring both a market cap target and an operational goal to be met. As of June 30, Tesla considered only the 20 million vehicle delivery milestone to be probable, while the 10 million subscription target remains a significant hurdle.

In the third quarter, Tesla added 260,000 net subscriptions, marking its best quarterly performance to date. At this current pace, the company would require approximately eight years to reach the 10 million mark. If it maintains the average growth rate of the last 12 months, which is roughly 700,000 new subscriptions per year, the timeline extends to nearly 12 years. The compensation plan remains in effect until 2035.

The shareholder letter also notes that more than 75 percent of new deliveries in North America included Full Self-Driving subscriptions in the third quarter. This represents a nearly 20 percentage point increase from the previous quarter. Tesla believes the software is driving demand in markets where it is available, though the company did not define whether this attach rate includes introductory offers or how many of those buyers continue paying after the initial period.

The 10 million subscription target is one of several operational metrics in Musk’s pay package, which also includes delivering 20 million vehicles, producing 1 million Optimus robots, and operating 1 million robotaxis. The company’s cumulative delivery figure has now reached 10.2 million, a number that also includes unsupervised robotaxis placed into commercial operation to match the pay package requirements.

Investors and analysts have noted that while counting upfront purchasers is not inherently incorrect, labeling them as subscribers can obscure the true monthly revenue stream. The board of directors wrote the definition, and the company’s leadership has a direct financial interest in meeting these specific targets. Transparency regarding how many customers are actually paying the $99 monthly fee remains a point of focus for stakeholders.