Tesla Premium connectivity: luxury or necessity?

Over-the-air updates, watching Netflix while the vehicle is charging or accessing the camera feed of the parked car while on the move - Tesla is known and loved for such technical gadgets. However, many of them only work with Tesla Premium connectivity, a paid subscription.

Currently, the extra costs €9.99 per month. The question arises: do you play the game and pay an extra €10 every month or can you do without the features?

In this article, we want to weigh up the pros and cons, present alternatives and also present general information on premium connectivity.

Tesla Premium connectivity costs

As already mentioned, the Tesla Internet costs for Premium connectivity in Germany are €9.99 per month. This is an ongoing subscription that can be started and canceled at any time.

All vehicles ordered before June 30, 2018, come with free premium connectivity for life. All Teslas ordered later still get a free trial period of 30 days (Model 3/Y) or even a whole year (Model S/X).

Premium connectivity Tesla: What do you get?

Whoever books the Premium subscription essentially gets a mobile phone connection that is valid in many European countries.

This can then be used to surf the internet, stream music and movies (e.g. via Netflix, Disney+, etc.) and watch the video feed of the Watcher mode without any restrictions.

In addition, potentially useful real-time traffic data is displayed in the navigation. It is also possible to display Google Maps as a satellite image.

Another advantage: you get Spotify for free with Tesla Premium connectivity. However, you can only use the account in Tesla. Other accounts, such as Netflix, must still be taken out and paid for yourself.

What functions are available with Basic Connection?

If you do not book the Premium subscription at the end of the free trial period, you will be downgraded to so-called "basic connectivity". According to Tesla, this is available free of charge for your Tesla for eight years from purchase. What happens after that is still unclear.

Even with basic connectivity, your Tesla is connected to the mobile network to provide basic functions such as over-the-air updates, traffic data-based navigation and current Supercharger data.

So you don't need the Premium subscription to stay up to date with the latest software and have a decent navigation computer.

Activate Tesla Premium connectivity

If you would like to subscribe to Premium Connectivity, you can do so easily via the Tesla app or the vehicle screen. To do this, you must have a payment method (e.g. credit card) on file.

If you want to cancel Tesla Premium connectivity, you can also do this via the Tesla app. Cancellation always takes effect at the end of the respective billing period, i.e. the current 30-day period. Until then, the benefits of the subscription are retained. You can view your Tesla Premium connectivity bill in the Tesla app under Upgrades -> Manage -> Subscription.

As you can see, a lot of things at Tesla are done via the app. If you haven't gotten used to it yet, we've put together a complete Tesla app guide for you. There you will find all the important information as well as tips and tricks.

Tesla Premium connectivity is not working

If the Premium connectivity features are not working, there may be a variety of reasons for this. At the end of the free trial period, for example, you will have to book the subscription again manually.

If you re-book the subscription, your vehicle must first be parked once and an update carried out before the premium features are active. Also make sure that your Tesla always has the latest software version so that all functions work smoothly.

If you have been subscribed to Premium connectivity for some time and it then fails, make sure that the payment method stored in the app is still current and valid.

Sometimes it can also help just to call up the "Means of payment" page to help the system get back on track. Last but not least, restarting your Tesla can of course also help. We have summarized further information on this in an overview article on the Tesla reboot .

Tesla Premium Connectivity Alternative

There is no real alternative in terms of an additional subscription for Premium connectivity. However, there is the possibility of a "workaround".

Many Premium functions are also available in Basic connectivity if the vehicle is connected to a WLAN network . So if you create a hotspot via your smartphone or a mobile Wi-Fi router, which the vehicle can also connect to while driving, you can use many premium functions such as music and video streaming or the web browser.

The Premium subscription is only mandatory for the real-time images of the guard mode, the live traffic display and the Google Maps satellite images. Of course, a corresponding mobile phone contract with sufficient data volume for such excessive hotspot use is important for the Wi-Fi alternative.

Premium connectivity Tesla: pros and cons

So there is a reasonable alternative for Tesla Premium connectivity using a Wi-Fi hotspot. But how do I know which option is better? What exactly speaks for the Premium subscription and what speaks against it?

Small spoiler: It depends very much on your personal circumstances. But first things first:

Pro Premium connectivity

First and foremost, the price speaks in favor of Premium connectivity. Unlimited data volume, often also valid abroad, for €10 per month is not bad, although it can of course only be used in the car. And if you don't yet have a Spotify account, you've almost recouped the price anyway - provided, of course, that you can do something with music streaming in the car.

The availability of satellite images and the live transmission from the guard mode are also nice gimmicks that can be quite helpful from time to time.

Our pros at a glance:

• favorable price
• unlimited data volume
• auch international nutzbar
• Includes Spotify account
• Music streaming in the car
• Live satellite images available
• Live images from guard mode

Contra premium connectivity

An argument against the Premium subscription is that it is not a complete solution. Especially for popular functions such as video streaming, you need additional accounts that drive up the price. If you already have Netflix and the like, this is not a problem. Otherwise, however, you will have to expect to pay more than €10 per month for the full range of functions.

Another downside, especially if you already have a mobile phone plan with a lot of data volume: The "WLAN hotspot" alternative is too good. You can use all functions except for the satellite images, the live watch mode and the live traffic display.

And the latter is one of those things anyway: even without premium connectivity, live traffic data is used for route planning. The traffic jams and delays are just not explicitly displayed on the screen - probably a bearable disadvantage for many people.

Our cons at a glance:

• Not a complete solution
• additional accounts for Netflix and Co. necessary
• Higher total costs
• WLAN hotspot often sufficient
• Basic traffic data available

Tesla Premium connectivity: Conclusion

If you want to take full advantage of the Tesla's digital offering and enjoy the benefits of a mobile internet connection, you can't go wrong for €10 a month - especially if you don't yet have a Spotify account or a generous mobile phone plan. They are buying a solution that works reliably and can be canceled at any time.

If, on the other hand, you want to make the (small) effort of setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot and already have a sufficient mobile phone plan, you can save €120 a year without having to accept any major loss of functionality. Of course, the same also applies to all those who can't or don't want to do much with the digital services in the Tesla.

The facts are on the table, so everyone should be able to decide for themselves whether Premium connectivity is worthwhile in their particular situation or not. In any case, there is a free trial period available, at the end of which it will probably be a little clearer to everyone whether they can do without Tesla Premium connectivity or not.

Es liegt bei Ihnen: Do you find premium connectivity useful? Share your opinion and experiences with us in the comments!