Tesla Motors Inc. raised the price of its semi-autonomous Autopilot option by $500, the latest move by the Silicon Valley auto maker to adjust prices and options on its electric vehicles.

The move comes the same week that the company made a more capable battery pack available for its Model S sedan and Model X SUV. The new 100 kilowatt-hour batteries will enable the sedan to achieve as much as 315 miles on a charge and significantly increase acceleration times, the company said Tuesday. It also takes the price of the car to $134,500.

Earlier in August, Tesla started offering a new $593-per month lease on its base Model S sedan.

Advanced driver-assistance programs are growing in popularity as auto makers become more aggressive in marketing them or installing them on models at the point of production. Analysts consider features like automatic braking or adaptive cruise control to be among the most profitable components of a new vehicle sale when an auto maker offers those features as options.

Tesla's Autopilot feature will now cost $3,000, a spokeswoman said, representing a 20% increase. Other auto makers charge a variety of prices for active-safety packages, while some are beginning to include them as standard in certain vehicle ranges.

Honda Motor Co.'s system is considered less capable then Tesla's, but is about half the price. Volvo Car Corp. recently began selling its new S90 sedan with a standard "Pilot Assist" feature.

Tesla will soon launch an "8.0" version of its Autopilot, Chief Executive Elon Musk said during a recent conference call. The upgrade will offer "material" enhancements to its performance; Autopilot includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping aids, automatic braking and other features allowing the car to drive itself on the highway under certain circumstances.

Autopilot came under scrutiny in late June when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it launched an investigation into the system after a traffic fatality was connected to it. Mobileye NV, an important supplier of the Autopilot system, said it would stop supplying components to Tesla for the software due to disagreements over how it was deployed.

Mr. Musk has said Mobileye's decision does not affect Tesla's plans with Autopilot upgrades.

Write to John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 26, 2016 12:55 ET (16:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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