Can This Number Push Tesla Stock Higher?
Nearly 1.5 million Tesla (TSLA) customers have paid for Full Self-Driving (FSD), the company’s driver-assistance software. You might expect the Cybercab or the new Semi truck to matter more for the stock. FSD already reaches the cars Tesla sells. Yet the stock has lost ground: a $10,000 holding bought a year ago is worth about $8,400 today. How many new Tesla buyers now start with this software?
Many Tesla Cars Now Arrive With FSD Switched On
About 55% of Tesla’s North American deliveries in Q2 2026 had an FSD subscription enabled at delivery. Management linked the software to demand on the Q2 2026 earnings call. Management said sales data suggests FSD is one of the main reasons customers come to look at the car.
Subscriptions are a large part of the paying base. About 45% of Tesla’s nearly 1.5 million paid FSD customers subscribe. Tesla has removed the outright purchase option in most markets. So management expects most of the growth in FSD revenue to come from subscriptions.
Tesla’s car demand looked strong in the same quarter. The company reported record Q2 deliveries and said it ended the quarter with its largest order backlog since 2023. Those buyers arrive while Tesla’s operating margin has been shrinking.
Can FSD Turn Around Tesla’s Shrinking Operating Margin?
Not on the figures Tesla has shared so far. Operating margin is the share of sales left after running costs. Tesla’s operating margin fell from 13.5% three years ago to 4.6% over the latest twelve months.
Spending is rising at the same time. Management expects capital spending, the money for plants and equipment, of more than $25 billion in 2026. Free cash flow, the cash left after that investment, was negative in Q2 2026. Management said most of the reason was capital spending more than doubling from the prior quarter.
Even so, the stock trades at 313 times its yearly earnings, against 22 times for the S&P 500. That suggests investors are paying for growth that has not yet reached profit.
On sales, management called FSD a significant demand driver. Separately, revenue has picked up. Tesla’s revenue grew 11.8% over the latest twelve months, after shrinking 2.7% in the twelve months before.
The profit side is less clear. Without a revenue figure for FSD, its share of Tesla’s profit cannot be sized. A clear sign of how far FSD can spread will come from Europe.
Europe’s FSD Vote Now Looks Unlikely Before December
A European Union vote on allowing supervised FSD across the bloc had been expected in October. It has been pushed back, and the next apparent chance for a decision is not before December. Slovenia became the sixth European country to approve FSD, Tesla said in September 2026. The Czech Republic gave provisional approval soon after.