Tesla quietly stopped selling its full self-driving feature as an option in new cars because it was causing 'too much confusion' (TSLA)

• Tesla stopped selling its full self-driving feature as an add-on option for new buyers on Thursday. 
• Tesla previously offered a "Full Self-Driving Capability" that cost $4,000 in addition to the $5,000 required for Enhanced Autopilot. The total cost for the technology was $9,000 at the time of purchase, or $10,000 if you decided to upgrade after buying the vehicle.
• Elon Musk said via Twitter on Thursday that the automaker is no longer offering the feature because it "was causing too much confusion."

Tesla quietly killed off its full self-driving feature as an add-on option on its website for new buyers on Thursday. 

Tesla previously offered a "Full Self-Driving Capability" that cost $4,000 in addition to the $5,000 required for Enhanced Autopilot. The total cost for the technology was $9,000 at the time of purchase, or $10,000 if you decided to upgrade after buying the vehicle.

While Tesla had previously sold the full self-driving function, the feature itself hadn't actually been rolled out yet. Rather, the company had a disclosure on its website that said that customers were paying for the hardware and that a future software update would be needed to achieve full autonomy. 

Elon Musk said via Twitter on Thursday that the automaker is no longer offering the feature because it "was causing too much confusion." However, he said that customers could still order the feature for another week as an "off-menu" item. It's not clear when the company will begin to sell the feature via its design studio web page again. 

Gene Munster, a managing partner at the venture capital firm Loup Ventures, told Business Insider in May that selling a fully autonomous feature could cause confusion for consumers — and possibly become a problem for Tesla. 

"It's as if it's almost ready to go, and that, I think, builds a little bit of false confidence in the current product," Munster said at the time. 

On Thursday, Tesla also began taking orders for a lower-cost, mid-range Model 3. The vehicle begins pricing at $45,000 before incentives and has a range of about 260 miles per charge. Tesla is also selling long-range and performance models that both have a range of 310 miles per charge. The base price of these vehicles ranges from about $54,000 to $64,000 before incentives. 

Tesla rolled out a new, simplified web page to take orders for the new Model 3 as part of the new product launch. 

SEE ALSO: Every puzzling thing that has happened since Elon Musk tweeted that he had 'funding secured' to take Tesla private

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