If you purchased your new Tesla anytime after July 1, 2018 you are eligible for a free trial of the Tesla Premium Connectivity Subscription based on the model you purchase. All Standard Range vehicles get a 30-day free trial. All Premium Interior models get a 1-year free trial. After the trial period ends, you can purchase the subscription on your Tesla account for $9.99/month.
Above we include Tesla’s list of features that you get with the Tesla Premium Connectivity Subscription. Have any of your previous cars been able to play Netflix, Youtube, Caraoke, built in music streaming, internet browser, etc.? These features are completely game changing! But are these features worth the price? Let’s take a look through all the features and decide.
Navigation
This feature comes standard on all Tesla vehicles! WOOHOO! The maps in all Teslas are powered by Google Maps so you know you are getting the best by default! This standard navigation includes traffic-based routing, Trip Planner and Supercharger availability as well. So you can be rest assured that when you type in a destination, the distance and duration shown is accurate based on traffic.
Live Traffic Visualization
As you just read, standard navigation comes standard with all Teslas. The Traffic Visualization feature is an add-on with the Premium Connectivity subscription. Essentially this feature gives you the ability to see where, how far, and how bad the traffic is on your current route, or really anywhere you look on the map (displayed in the image above). It truly is convenient to visually see how bad the traffic is.
With Standard Connectivity, imagine you are stuck in traffic but don’t know how bad it is. Do you really want to pull out your phone and check Google Maps while driving? Probably not, so we think this is a really great addon!
Satellite-View Maps
This feature gives you the ability to change the maps to a satellite-view. This is largely a personal preference. We’ve seen people use both. We personally use the standard maps as displayed in the first image. There is no change in functionality in terms of maps. The maps are simply displayed differently.
If you personally like this feature then it might be a reason to go for the Tesla Premium Connectivity subscription. We personally don’t think this is a dealbreaker but a nice addon.
Video Streaming
Video streaming in the Tesla is a GAME CHANGER! Who ever thought you’d be able to watch Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube directly on your vehicle screen?! Well Teslas have the capability with the Premium Connectivity subscription. Check out the short video demo above and see what you think!
Of course you cannot access Tesla Theater while driving (maybe Elon will enable this when full self driving is functional and widely accepted in 10-15 years? Who knows…)
The perfect time to use this is while on travel. When charging up at a Supercharger station, open up Youtube and watch a few videos, or pull up Netflix and get in a quick episode of The Office! Basically, while waiting on someone or while charging, there is no reason to be bored with this feature. So think about how much travelling and waiting you’ll be doing in your Tesla. This is one of those features, you can’t plan when to use it, but when you are in that situation, it is an amazing feature to have.
Caraoke
Caraoke is a really fun feature to use when you are travelling with a group of friend or family. This feature you can use while driving! Obviously your passenger can control the feature and decide which songs you want to Caraoke to! Check out the video above for a quick preview of how it works!
We used Caraoke on our recent trip to CES 2020 in Las Vegas and had a lot of fun playing random music!
If you travel often with friends, family, and/or young kids, Caraoke is really fun and you might find it fun.
Music Streaming
The default music streaming service is powered by Slacker Radio! With your Tesla purchase you get an account by default (you don’t get any credentials, it’s specifically for your Tesla). You can purchase premium Slacker radio and enter in your credentials if you prefer.
The music streaming feature is really great! If you ever get tired of the music you are listening to via your phone, just switch over to Slacker radio Today’s Hits and listen to an ongoing collection of the latest music! You can also request for a specific song via the Search section or voice commands. Doing this will play the requested song once, and then after that will play songs similar to the one requested (it could be a different singer, band, etc.), eventually it will get back to the song requested as well. This is the one limitation of the Slacker Radio account you get with your Tesla. If you like a song you heard on Slacker, hit the like button and now it’ll be part of the Favorites radio station!
Another option which more people are possibly already subscribed to is Spotify! Just enter in your credentials and you can have the same music experience you have on your phone, in your Tesla as well!
Overall, the music streaming feature is a useful addon anytime you are driving. Especially if you have Spotify, this is basically a must have.
Internet Browser
Of course there is a browser in the car… As we mention around the site and as Elon Musk frequently says, a Tesla is essentially like a laptop/computer on wheels. Hence the built-in internet browser, which by the way is functional while driving – for your passengers of course.
To be honest, this is a nice to have but not needed. If you or your passengers don’t have your phone on you or just don’t want to use it. You can open up the browser and look up anything you want.
We have seen stories of people being able to take meetings through the internet browser. During these times of COVID-19, maybe you can just head into your Tesla and make that your office. Haha again, nice to have if needed!
The internet browser in a car is obviously cool, but we don’t use it too often. It’s a nice to have but for most people it’s probably not a deal breaker for this subscription. DM us @teslacrunch and let us know if you’ve found more uses for the internet browser!
So.. Is the Tesla Premium Connectivity Subscription Worth It?
If you haven’t owned a Tesla yet and were curious about the Premium Connectivity Subscription, hopefully the above sneak peak helped you get a better understanding of what is included. If you already have a Tesla, you should have been able to experience all the features mentioned here.
All in all, we think this subscription is absolutely worth it mainly for Live Traffic Visualizations, Video Streaming, and Music Streaming. These three features for us are key during long drives and our frequent travel. In our opinion, all the other features are nice to have but not deal breakers.
$9.99/month is an additional subscription (don’t we have enough of these already haha) but we would say, if you can pick 3 features here that you see yourself regularly using, just go for it! In the end, it is truly a personal preference, what features you find useful, and whether or not you want to pay an extra $9.99/month. But if you were curious about our opinion at TeslaCrunch, hopefully this helped!