Elon Musk Just Killed “Full Self-Driving”

I’ve always found Tesla’s name for its autonomous driving technology to be a bit of a misnomer….

They call it “Full Self-Driving” which is supposed to mean the car is “self-driving” itself.

But I’ve always considered “self-driving” to mean I am driving the car.

Anyway, I bring that up because Tesla just killed “self-driving” in the sense you will soon not be able to drive your car at all, not even if you wanted to.

Why?

Because Tesla just announced they plan to aggressively transition to completely autonomous vehicles, and those vehicles will have no backup plan.  No ability to “take over”.  No ability to drive yourself if you want.

Why?

Because they will not even have a steering wheel or mirrors or pedals.

The car will drive you and that is the end of the discussion.

And they just announced the first step last night during their earnings call that the iconic Model S and Model X lines are being completely shut down.

The two most beautiful and fun to drive cars ever produced will cease to exist in just a couple months:

As we shift to an autonomous future, Model S & X production will wind down next quarter.

If you’d like to own one of them, now’s a good time to place your order.

Tesla wouldn’t be what it is today without Model S & X and their (early) owners – thank you for your support over… pic.twitter.com/4J06T1QjVM

— Tesla (@Tesla) January 29, 2026

Yes, while Elon Musk speaks endlessly about “sustainable abundance” and how you will be able to have whatever you want in the future, we’re already seeing that is not true.

In fact, you are going to have LESS than you have right now.

Because things are going away, not becoming more abundant.

For the past 10+ years, I could buy a Model S or Model X if I wanted, but soon — as we head into Elon’s era of “sustainable abundance” — those two options just disappeared:

Elon Musk: "With sustainable abundance, you can have anything you want!"

……except a Model S or Model X, those are gone. @elonmusk @Tesla https://t.co/gnzxCPgU3H

— Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) January 29, 2026

And here’s the thing…

It’s not just about the Model S and Model X.

I realize most people reading this don’t have one of those and probably have never driven one.

It’s about what this just signaled.

As always, it’s never about the first move, it’s about what the first move leads to.  It’s about the future this first move creates.

Elon telegraphed it on last night’s Tesla Earnings Call and almost no one is seeing the bigger picture.

The bigger picture is you will soon not have the CHOICE to drive your own vehicle.

Tesla soon will not sell ANY vehicles with a steering wheel, mirrors and pedals.  They simply won’t exist.

Much sooner than anyone realizes, Tesla will soon only sell autonomous vehicles.

And you probably won’t even own one, you’ll just call for one in the ride-sharing app.

Think that’s impossible?

It’s not.

Tesla will lead the way on this and soon the other car makers will either change or die.

It’s Steve Jobs all over again.

Do you remember how Steve Jobs and Apple would lead the way by killing off old technologies?

Do you remember when Apple removed the 3.5″ floppy drive from the Mac and only included a CD-ROM drive and everyone lost their minds?

I do.

Sure, Bill Gates and Microsoft continued selling computers with 3.5″ floppy drives….for a while.

But check the machine you’re currently using to read this, whether that’s a computer, an iPad, a phone or a PC.  I’ll bet you anything there’s no 3.5″ floppy drive.

Because that’s how it always works with true innovators.

True innovators kill the past faster than most people are comfortable with.  It seems like a bad decision in the moment and everyone gets upset.

I’m actually quite upset as I write this.

I don’t want a future where we’re not allowed to drive our own cars.

Sure, Tesla Full Self-Driving is amazing….when I want to use it.  Letting the car drive me around is incredible….when I want to opt into it.

But there are many times where I just want to drive myself.  Because its fun.  Because I want to go fast.  Or for any other reason, and soon I won’t be allowed to do that.

And here’s the part that most of you don’t see….because I already know what you’re going to type in the comments section:  “You’re wrong Noah, I will never give up my car and I will never stop driving it wherever I want!  I’m not buying a Tesla so this doesn’t affect me!”

That’s the part most people don’t realize.

Just like Apple killed off the floppy drive for everyone (and then they killed off the CD-ROM a few years later in the same way, by introducing wireless connections and Thunderbolt), manually driven cars will also die off because of this, whether you buy a Tesla or not.

You see, what will soon happen is the stats will soon start to emerge that the autonomously driven cars are far safer than human driven.

And eventually, perhaps 3, 5 or maybe 10 years in the future everything will flip and new legislation will be passed BANNING manual-driven cars on public roads because they are too dangerous to tolerate anymore.

And that will be it.

That inevitable future was kicked off last night at Tesla’s shareholder Earnings Call and most people missed it.

And while I loved Steve Jobs, Apple, Elon Musk and Tesla, I hate this future.

I want the option to turn on autonomous driving when I want it, but I want to keep the option to drive whenever I feel like that as well.

But that is soon an option that will not be available — to any of us.

And it’s very sad.

How would you evaluate it?