Is $10 premium connectivity sustainable?

[Gurule92]

I find the real-time traffic knowledge indispensable and love the way it intelligently routes us around late-breaking accidents/trouble spots on the fly. It worls so well, I stopped questioning it when, for example, it wants to route us off the Interstate onto surface streets. I can't tell you the number of times it has automatically routed us right around a gridlock situation that just developed due to accidents, vehicle fires or disasters like flooding or landslides. A huge saver of time and frustration.

I think normal nav still considers traffic.

Premium only shows visualizations even when not navigating.

I still get the wonky directions sometimes. Which I do trust as well

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[Gurule92]

Wholesale wireless data costs have been dropping for over 30 years on a per bit basis and that's not going to reverse. Tesla has a bulk wholesale contract and it works because cars in general consume very little data relative to most cellular users and that data is not as time sensitive in terms of latency and timing. Voice calls made in your Tesla go through your own cellular carrier, even when using hands-free in the car. Voice carried over cellular is extremely time-sensitive compared to the way Tesla caches much of the data needed so they can download it when the network has small surpluses of capacity.

Tesla probably has a goal of roughly breaking even on Premium Connectivity or, alternatively, covering their wireless data costs on cars that don't subscribe to Premium Connectivity with the small profit they make on those who do.

We have two Model 3's with free Premium Connectivity for life and one Performance Model 3 with paid Premium Connectivity. Even though all three cars are capable of streaming HD Netflix movies, etc., in general, it's not something that is used for hours on end, so it ends up costing Tesla very little. The other uses, like high-res satellite maps, real-time traffic updates, etc. also consume relatively little due to efficient programming. For example, the most used satellite maps are cached in memory so most people rarely download a lot of new maps. And when new maps are downloaded, it's a lower priority request from the cell towers because the maps are intelligently cached in advance. This results in using cellular bandwith that is surplus and Tesla can contract for that data at a much lower rate because it is not time sensitive in the way a voice call is. Streaming music is not too bandwidth intensive as it's compressed audio format and is also cached to a degree so it doesn't congest the network at peak moments..

The way Tesla buys wireless data it's pretty cheap so I wouldn't worry about increases in the cost of Premium Data beyond normal cost of living-type adjustments. It amounts to less than $0.30 per day and the amount of music and real-time traffic data provided is worth a lot more than that if you drive even a few days per week.

I agree that as things stand now, the cars don't use that much data.

If we look at trends though, the data use is going up. Things like video streaming are new, live video feeds from sentry mode is new. If that trend continues, I think it's possible to go up. Maybe they only raise it for new vehicles though. Like how the old cars are grandfathered into free premium.

 

[NJturtlePower]

I think normal nav still considers traffic.

Premium only shows visualizations even when not navigating.

Technically even Standard Connectivity is limited, not standard... 8yrs from original service date.

Satellite Maps, Streaming Music and Live View for Sentry are the big ones for me and makes the $100 a year a no-brainer.

https://www.tesla.com/support/connectivity

 

[Gurule92]

Satellite Maps, Streaming Music and Live View for Sentry are the big ones for me and makes the $100 a year a no-brainer.

https://www.tesla.com/support/connectivity

I keep my screen in dark mode so satellite maps look weird lol.

Sentry streaming is cool tho, I do miss that but music streaming and everything else (besides live traffic vis) can be done on hotspot

 

[JeffnReno]

Our Model 3 has FSD beta and my grandson, that is currently driving it, loves it but with the removal of radar and sonic sensors I just couldn't justify spending even the $6k for enhanced AP much less $15k on a feature that isn't as capable as what I used to drive. If they ever get the "vision only" sorted out where it works as good or better than what the 3 had, I may subscribe for a month to try it and then decide if I feel it has value.

 

[HaulingAss]

Technically even Standard Connectivity is limited, not standard... 8yrs from original service date.

We have two Model 3's with lifetime connectivity - it doesn't expire in 8 years. At only $100/year it's not a big deal and I would subscribe if they didn't have it for free.

Satellite Maps, Streaming Music and Live View for Sentry are the big ones for me and makes the $100 a year a no-brainer.

Live View for Sentry is cool, most non-Tesla people have no idea this even exists. I bet some Tesla owners don't even know!

If you have a dog, Tesla upgraded Live View of Sentry to include the interior camera which can add some peace of mind on a busy day to see not only that the cabin is being maintained at a comfortable and safe temperature, but also it's nice to be able to check-in and see your dog sleeping peacefully or checking out the happenings outside the car.

I don't think any other manufacturer has features like this and you don't have to pay an arm/leg to use them.

 

[HaulingAss]

Our Model 3 has FSD beta and my grandson, that is currently driving it, loves it but with the removal of radar and sonic sensors I just couldn't justify spending even the $6k for enhanced AP much less $15k on a feature that isn't as capable as what I used to drive. If they ever get the "vision only" sorted out where it works as good or better than what the 3 had, I may subscribe for a month to try it and then decide if I feel it has value.

In my opinion, FSD already works better than it did before Tesla Vision. And I don't even have the new Version 11 yet.

I can't remember the last time I had phantom braking that was actually startling. FSD is still not the kind of thing that adds huge value beyond Enhanced AP (because a driver still needs to be present). Purchase only makes sense if you plan on keeping the car and want to lock-in the current $15K price of FSD by paying for it upfront. Once a driver is no longer needed, it's going to set you back a lot more than that! Because you will be the owner of an autonomous vehicle for an unobtainable price.

If you don't think FSD will become fully autonomous before you sell the car, then don't buy it. It's a gamble that Tesla will solve full autonomy before you are done with the car. It may or may not pay off depending upon your timeline and the timeline of the development of FSD.

 

[HaulingAss]

I keep my screen in dark mode so satellite maps look weird lol.

I don't know any Tesla owners that do that.

Dark mode is great at night, but why would you use it in full daylight?

 

[HaulingAss]

I think normal nav still considers traffic.

Premium only shows visualizations even when not navigating.

I still get the wonky directions sometimes. Which I do trust as well

It's amazing how much connectivity and functionality a Tesla owner can get without paying a dime to Tesla beyond the initial purchase price of the car.

 

[Gurule92]

I don't know any Tesla owners that do that.

Dark mode is great at night, but why would you use it in full daylight?

Still looks great lol

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