Tesla Kills FSD Ownership in Europe

Tesla has fundamentally altered its software revenue model in Europe, moving away from lifetime ownership toward a recurring revenue stream. The automaker has officially stopped offering Full Self-Driving (FSD) as a permanent, one-time purchase across the continent ArenaEV. Previously, buyers could secure lifetime access for €7,500 in Europe or £6,800 in the UK; that option has been replaced by a monthly subscription fee of €99 or £99 ArenaEV.

In a further simplification of its software stack, Tesla also eliminated the mid-tier Enhanced Autopilot package, which previously retailed for €3,800 ArenaEV. This shift forces a binary choice for new buyers: stick with the free basic Autopilot or commit to the FSD subscription. While the move offers flexibility for owners who trade in vehicles frequently—it takes roughly six years of payments to equal the old upfront cost—the regulatory landscape remains a patchwork ArenaEV. Currently, FSD is only legally approved for use in the Netherlands and Lithuania, leaving many European subscribers paying for features they cannot yet legally utilize on public roads ArenaEV.

SpaceX Starship V3 and the Trillion-Dollar IPO

Elon Musk’s weekend was punctuated by the roar of 33 Raptor engines as SpaceX launched its most advanced Starship V3 rocket from Texas on Friday BBC. The 124-meter-tall mega-rocket, the largest ever built, successfully reached its destination in the Indian Ocean roughly one hour after liftoff NPR. Despite one engine malfunctioning and the booster failing to complete its boost-back burn, the mission achieved its primary goal of a controlled splashdown BBC. During the flight, Starship deployed a payload of 20 mock Starlink satellites and utilized two specialized satellites to scan its heat shield during re-entry BBC.

The launch serves as a high-stakes advertisement for SpaceX’s upcoming initial public offering, which is rumored to be the largest in Wall Street history BBC. Analysts suggest the company could be valued at $1.25 trillion, a figure that would likely propel Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire based on his equity stake BBC. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted that the V3 test flight puts the Artemis program "one step closer to the Moon" NPR.

Autonomy Reality Check: Waymo Retreats to Streets

While Tesla pushes FSD subscriptions, its primary autonomous rival, Waymo, is hitting a weather-induced speed bump. Waymo has suspended its robotaxi services on all U.S. freeways to update software after vehicles struggled with construction zones and flooded roadways LA Times. The pause affects operations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami LA Times. The company also faced a significant setback in Atlanta, where a vehicle became stuck in floodwater for over an hour, leading to a temporary suspension of all operations in that city Electrive.

These incidents have reignited the debate over sensor suites. Waymo’s LIDAR-heavy system, which creates 3D maps, reportedly struggles when laser beams scatter off water surfaces Forbes. Approximately 3,800 Waymo vehicles were recently recalled to address a software defect that prevented them from correctly identifying standing water LA Times. This technical friction highlights the massive gap between "supervised" systems like Tesla's FSD and the "unsupervised" reality Waymo is attempting to scale in volatile weather conditions Forbes.

Market Watch

TSLA closed Friday at $426.01, gaining 1.95% on the day as it flirts with a technical "early entry" buy point Investor's Business Daily. Markets are currently closed for the weekend. The broader market showed extreme resilience; the S&P 500 rose 0.37% on Friday to end at 7,473.47, marking its eighth consecutive winning week—the longest such streak since 2023 Business Insider. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also hit a fresh record high on Friday, closing at 50,579.70 Business Insider.