Shouldn’t Cybertruck have 5G?

[kpanda17]

There are a couple of things at play here:
- Cost. Providers are charging more for 5G

- Signal/Peformance. 5G frequencies are shorter wavelengths than 4G (or even 3G) - meaning they are easily blocked resulting in slower speeds. A moving vehicle with hills, buildings, and other obstructions between them and the nearest tower equate to poor performance. Also, the shorter wavelength goes a shorter distance before fading compared to a 4G signal - the result are slower speeds when farther from a tower (even with a clear line of site). Anyone that has an in-car adapter with 5G (usually plugs into the ODBII port) has experienced this (myself as well). I get consistently better/faster/higher quality connections on the road on 4G vs. 5G -especially when away from the city.

- Hardware. There are normally hardware boards that act as the modem for wireless service. These can be swapped/upgraded in most cases. I had to do so when AT&T shutdown one of its older networks that Ford used and had to take the car in to have the modem swapped.

So, even though it may not have 5G today - that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, there is a better than not chance it can be easily upgraded when Tesla supports it and service price is right.

is there any new vehicles with 5G?

Sponsored

 

[DumpsterFire]

Why doesn’t it? Won’t it suck when next year Tesla models get it and our most cutting edge tech truck, that I bought 2024 doesn’t have it?

This is such an absurd argument Yes cutting edge NOW without 5G. So you wait until 2025. Now you have 5G (yay!) but what won’t the truck have that they’ll have in 2026? 2027? 2028?…. There will always be something.

All cars are like this. Not just Tesla. My 2008 FJ didn’t have Bluetooth but the later version did. OMG! Who knew??

The Rolling Stones said it well.

“You can’t always get what you want.”

 

[tbuck]

is there any new vehicles with 5G?

T-Mobile announced a deal with BMX in 2022 for the 2023 iX and i4 (I believe those were the two electrics involved) to be the first with 5G. Audi is adding 5G to some of their cars later this year and GM is talking about it (but we will see if that happens).

So, Tesla is not behind the times and this is really a sales differential item to make those cars appear more advanced.

Tesla had the same issue I did with my Fusion Energi when AT&T shut down the 3G network. Existing Teslas had to upgrade the modem - it was $200 and the service bulletin is still out there.

3G Cellular Network Retirement | Tesla Support

 

[Woodrick]

- Signal/Peformance. 5G frequencies are shorter wavelengths than 4G (or even 3G) - meaning they are easily blocked resulting in slower speeds. A moving vehicle with hills, buildings, and other obstructions between them and the nearest tower equate to poor performance. Also, the shorter wavelength goes a shorter distance before fading compared to a 4G signal - the result are slower speeds when farther from a tower (even with a clear line of site). Anyone that has an in-car adapter with 5G (usually plugs into the ODBII port) has experienced this (myself as well). I get consistently better/faster/higher quality connections on the road on 4G vs. 5G -especially when away from the city.

Incorrect, 5G doesn't mean shorter wavelengths/higher frequencies.
While there are new higher frequences that 5G can use, there are carriers providing 5G on the lowest of available frequencies.

In reality, I suspect that it will be rare for a vehicle to even connect to the 20+ GHz mmWave bands, their range is too short. And the hood of a vehicle would probably attenuate the signal too much. They are mainly designed for in-building use in highly congested areas like NYC or stadiums.

 

[tbuck]

Incorrect, 5G doesn't mean shorter wavelengths/higher frequencies.
While there are new higher frequences that 5G can use, there are carriers providing 5G on the lowest of available frequencies.

In reality, I suspect that it will be rare for a vehicle to even connect to the 20+ GHz mmWave bands, their range is too short. And the hood of a vehicle would probably attenuate the signal too much. They are mainly designed for in-building use in highly congested areas like NYC or stadiums.

You are correct that the generalized stated does not cover everything - but it was a generalization.
The old Sprint frequencies now owned by T-Mobile are a great example and why their coverage is better than many others when combined with the original T-Mobile spectrum.

Of course, it appears Tesla is using the AT&T network who is using three bands right now, mainly the older 850 MHz (low band) which does have longer wavelengths, travels farther, but results in lower speeds. They do also have a mid-band at 3.7 GHz and purchased some high band spectrum around Ghz (the mm-wave) which will both provide better speeds, but the 3.7 GHz would have the shortest range (unobstructed).

And you are spot-on that the stainless of the CT will not be great for signal coverage - no matter the band.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

5G? It should have Starlink!

I have Starlink and it isn’t that fast or great. It is a good backup.

 

[Woodrick]

You are correct that the generalized stated does not cover everything - but it was a generalization.
The old Sprint frequencies now owned by T-Mobile are a great example and why their coverage is better than many others when combined with the original T-Mobile spectrum.

Of course, it appears Tesla is using the AT&T network who is using three bands right now, mainly the older 850 MHz (low band) which does have longer wavelengths, travels farther, but results in lower speeds. They do also have a mid-band at 3.7 GHz and purchased some high band spectrum around Ghz (the mm-wave) which will both provide better speeds, but the 3.7 GHz would have the shortest range (unobstructed).

And you are spot-on that the stainless of the CT will not be great for signal coverage - no matter the band.

AT&T on 3 bands is a slight misnomer.

 

[EMoeller]

Why couldn't one simply use the 5G service now provided through their phones? Sharing cell or wifi (also known as Hot Spot sharing with Apple) has been around for a long time and works flawlessly.

When Tesla first came out they needed to connect their vehicles (and still do!) but technology has changed such that any modern cell phone can share its services.

 

[Woodrick]

Why couldn't one simply use the 5G service now provided through their phones? Sharing cell or wifi (also known as Hot Spot sharing with Apple) has been around for a long time and works flawlessly.

When Tesla first came out they needed to connect their vehicles (and still do!) but technology has changed such that any modern cell phone can share its services.

You can and many without lifetime connectivity do.
Foundation Series comes with Lifetime connectivity.

 

[EMoeller]

You can and many without lifetime connectivity do.
Foundation Series comes with Lifetime connectivity.

Ah, thanks for clarifying. CB will be my first electric/Tesla vehicle, so I'm still catching up with the lingo.

So Lifetime Connectivity is the service that Tesla provides its vehicles to maintain constant connectivity and that is presently 4G only. But one could use their cell phones to share high speed connectivity (like maybe Netflix, etc) if/when needed.

 

[kpanda17]

Ah, thanks for clarifying. CB will be my first electric/Tesla vehicle, so I'm still catching up with the lingo.

So Lifetime Connectivity is the service that Tesla provides its vehicles to maintain constant connectivity and that is presently 4G only. But one could use their cell phones to share high speed connectivity (like maybe Netflix, etc) if/when needed.

dont think so, the vehicle cannot be a hot spot for your phone
but you can use your phone as a hot spot for the vehicle, but cannot keep sentry mode alerting to you if you are not near the vehicle

 

[FutureTruck]

This is wrong IMO. It makes a great sole mode of transportation, because the lacking features are more specific use cases (midgate for camping, range for towing, etc). Expensive perhaps but if you don't need 6-7 seats, no reason it isn't as good or better daily driver than a M3, MY, MS, or MX. In fact, I'm worried the wife will take over my CT and I'll end up with "her car" the M3P because they mitigated the "truck feel" so much she won't be intimidated to drive it.

As it sits right now it is not a sole mode of transportation vehicle.
A large percentage are having wire harness issues and can not be driven, not a lot but my guess is 5% or more.
The range lets face it is only good for someone who does short trims, 180 miles or so round trip, anything beyond that requires charging which is very slow
It is a fun car to drive with the steering, but no FSD/AP makes it a hassle if you are not on a fun drive

The CT will be a great vehicle in a couple of years once they fix the significant issues of reliability, range, and improvements.

 

[kpanda17]

As it sits right now it is not a sole mode of transportation vehicle.
A large percentage are having wire harness issues and can not be driven, not a lot but my guess is 5% or more.
The range lets face it is only good for someone who does short trims, 180 miles or so round trip, anything beyond that requires charging which is very slow
It is a fun car to drive with the steering, but no FSD/AP makes it a hassle if you are not on a fun drive

The CT will be a great vehicle in a couple of years once they fix the significant issues of reliability, range, and improvements.

drop a link here to all of the wiring harness issues

 

[FutureTruck]

Do not know of a link with an aggregation of them, but take a look around and you will see 4-5 on this board alone.

Sponsored