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Some of the extra infotainment stuff (read: media content) is subscription only. Some functional extras like full self-driving or faster acceleration are one-o

by jude- 5y ago

Some of the extra infotainment stuff (read: media content) is subscription only. Some functional extras like full self-driving or faster acceleration are one-off purchases. The rest of the software -- all the things you'd expect the car to do -- comes with the vehicle and gets regular OTA updates.

distribot 5y ago
If it's really just contained to media content, that's like saying Sirus XM means your car operates on a subscription model.
- fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
  As a Tesla owner, I’ve slowly come to realize that most complaints about Teslas online don’t reflect the reality of driving one. I was skeptical of all the things people are complaining about here, but I decided to take advantage of the seven day return policy and drive a Mode 3 for a week: I discovered that nearly every control I care about is controlled by one of two sticks or two little thumb wheels and I almost never have to interact with the screen while driving. Similarly, as others note here, the subscription is for the cell connectivity and media packages, not for the “car’s firmware”. Finally, as a software developer, I really appreciate that Tesla has made updating my car’s firmware trivial and they actually ship firmware updates to older cars: there’s much less difference between a 2018 Tesla and a 2021 Tesla than between similarly spaced cars from other manufacturers.
notJim 5y ago
I think with Tesla the only subscription is "premium connectivity", which is basically a cell data plan. The car works fine without it. Even the nav will still use traffic data for routing, it just won't visualize it for you.
xxpor 5y ago
In addition to the comments about premium connectivity, I don't see how the acceleration unlock is anything but a positive. Car companies have been charging for options for forever, except before you had to make the choice at purchase time. Now the upgrade can happen whenever.

by jude- 5y ago

distribot 5y ago

If it's really just contained to media content, that's like saying Sirus XM means your car operates on a subscription model.

fiddlerwoaroof 5y ago
As a Tesla owner, I’ve slowly come to realize that most complaints about Teslas online don’t reflect the reality of driving one. I was skeptical of all the things people are complaining about here, but I decided to take advantage of the seven day return policy and drive a Mode 3 for a week: I discovered that nearly every control I care about is controlled by one of two sticks or two little thumb wheels and I almost never have to interact with the screen while driving. Similarly, as others note here, the subscription is for the cell connectivity and media packages, not for the “car’s firmware”. Finally, as a software developer, I really appreciate that Tesla has made updating my car’s firmware trivial and they actually ship firmware updates to older cars: there’s much less difference between a 2018 Tesla and a 2021 Tesla than between similarly spaced cars from other manufacturers.

notJim 5y ago

I think with Tesla the only subscription is "premium connectivity", which is basically a cell data plan. The car works fine without it. Even the nav will still use traffic data for routing, it just won't visualize it for you.

xxpor 5y ago

In addition to the comments about premium connectivity, I don't see how the acceleration unlock is anything but a positive. Car companies have been charging for options for forever, except before you had to make the choice at purchase time. Now the upgrade can happen whenever.