3 ms·

I don't know in the US, but here in Italy a small 3G/4G modem (capable of creating a Wi-Fi hotspot) costed me[1] less than 50 Euro, complete with the SIM in it,

by jaclaz 9y ago

I don't know in the US, but here in Italy a small 3G/4G modem (capable of creating a Wi-Fi hotspot) costed me[1] less than 50 Euro, complete with the SIM in it, and then the data plan is if I recall correctly something like 8 Euro month for 3 or 4 GB of traffic, and 12-15 for 8-10 GB, but it is not a "subscription" you just "recharge" with a given amount of money and it gets the monthly fee from that (if used). The underground garage may be a problem, but if the car is parked outside, it should work fine. [1] at least lat year, I had the telephone/DSL cable cut and to provide remporarily the connectivity of the office quickly put together a Wi-Fi based on that, that we call in jargon "soapbar", the one I got was a Huawei E5330: https://www.eprice.it/router-wifi-HUAWEI/d-5730696 https://www.eprice.it/router-wifi-HUAWEI/d-5730696

dx034 9y ago
But why would you have to buy a 4G router just so that your car can download an update? Sounds needlessly complicated to me. I honestly don't understand why they can't factor in download prices into the price of the car. Having contracts with networks to allow large downloads during certain time windows would probably be close to free (no additional capacity needed in the middle of the night) and would provide a much better experience for the user.
- jaclaz 9y ago
  >But why would you have to buy a 4G router just so that your car can download an update? Sounds needlessly complicated to me. I perfectly agree with you on the fact that it represents an example of poor (actually extremely poor) management of the customer assistance and that Tesla should have provided quickly (and hopefully politely, avoiding the small economics lesson that sounded - at least to me - a little bit patronizing) a solution to the issue. But I was approaching the issue at a slightly different angle, the OP on the forum has two cars, of a value of nearly or around 200,000 US$. Their income must be proportional to that, the 3G/4G router, might be worth 60-70 US$ if DIY, and possibly 100-150 US$ if having someone configuring it, i.e. a minimal fraction of their income, if I had those two cars and felt the need to have the road maps updated in a timely fashion, I would have first solved the issue. The fact that for a tag price of 80,000-100,000 US$ per each car I would expect not one but two (one under the driver and one under the passenger seat, in case the first one doesn't work) such little modems as a complimentary courtesy by Tesla would be secundary to solving the problem at hand and have those maps updated.

by jaclaz 9y ago

dx034 9y ago

But why would you have to buy a 4G router just so that your car can download an update? Sounds needlessly complicated to me. I honestly don't understand why they can't factor in download prices into the price of the car. Having contracts with networks to allow large downloads during certain time windows would probably be close to free (no additional capacity needed in the middle of the night) and would provide a much better experience for the user.

jaclaz 9y ago
>But why would you have to buy a 4G router just so that your car can download an update? Sounds needlessly complicated to me. I perfectly agree with you on the fact that it represents an example of poor (actually extremely poor) management of the customer assistance and that Tesla should have provided quickly (and hopefully politely, avoiding the small economics lesson that sounded - at least to me - a little bit patronizing) a solution to the issue. But I was approaching the issue at a slightly different angle, the OP on the forum has two cars, of a value of nearly or around 200,000 US$. Their income must be proportional to that, the 3G/4G router, might be worth 60-70 US$ if DIY, and possibly 100-150 US$ if having someone configuring it, i.e. a minimal fraction of their income, if I had those two cars and felt the need to have the road maps updated in a timely fashion, I would have first solved the issue. The fact that for a tag price of 80,000-100,000 US$ per each car I would expect not one but two (one under the driver and one under the passenger seat, in case the first one doesn't work) such little modems as a complimentary courtesy by Tesla would be secundary to solving the problem at hand and have those maps updated.