Tesla sets $8,000 price tag for Autopilot, indicates ride-hailing intentions

Innovative US car-maker Tesla Motors has set a price of $8,000 for drivers who want to add self-driving technology to their vehicles.

Elon Musk's company will offer those who take up the activation of the technology on purchase the option of offsetting the price through a lift-sharing network similar to that of Uber and Lyft.

If the customer decides to purchase the software separately from the vehicle itself, the price will rise to $10,000.

The race to develop the first fully autonomous self-driving car has intensified as a number of major technology and auto companies are teaming up to get over the line.

The likes of BMW, Ford and General Motors will be on alert to the price announcement by Tesla, so as to gauge what their own autonomous driving software will be worth.

Tesla also set itself up for competition with the likes of successful ride-hailing firms like Uber, but confirmed that its network will exclusively use Tesla vehicles.

"Using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing or ride hailing for friends and family is fine, but doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network, details of which will be released next year," the company confirmed in a statement.