3G Pricing - Speculation

[andrewket]

I think the general consensus of this thread is the following:


1) $30/month for 3G AT&T is too steep and many of us have connectivity issues. Slacker skips, etc.
2) given all the advanced technology in this superbly designed vehicle, if 3G is our only option, this is a step backwards and very disappointing to all of us.
3) however, $30/month would be acceptable if it were 4G LTE instead
4) many of us, including myself, would choose to use our own wifi hotspots instead, on our own plans, and permanently tether the car through our mobile hotspots either wirelessly or wired using the USB and keep the hotspot in the car. This is the most preferred option.


GeorgeB, and/or any other Tesla employee that is reading this, your customers have spoken. please listen to us on this one.

Slight mod to #3 - LTE is only really useful if the browser is useful. Flash/HTML5, etc. Without it, I'm not sure the speed increase matters all that much. 3G at $10/mo is probably better.

 

[jomo25]

If Tesla is really paying $30 per month per car for the service, then really, they need a new Sourcing/Procurement department. Honestly, any schmo off the street can get 3GB of 4G bandwidth for that price. Tesla, making an exclusive deal with them, couldn't do any better?

 

[AMPd]

A lot of people getting upset with tesla over... Nothing really, there has been no official announcement.
My guess is they will allow wifi connectivity before introducing the data fee, that way they give the consumer an option of not paying for service without losing the ability to update the software.

 

[Electric1]

Shiver GTimbers! I'm shocked that this is causing such a commotion. I'm sure that the original point of this thread (a possible $30 charge for 3G) is not the real issue for most here. I bet it is the combination of that along with the recently announced costs for maintenance and extended warranty that is making everyone feel like they're getting squeezed for every dime that Tesla can get. That is certainly a more valid complaint than making a big deal over some insignificant charge for 3G. I for one think that Tesla really needs to explain exactly what they are doing during that yearly check that justifies the expense, especially after all the hype regarding how little maintenance would need to be done. It may very well be legitimate but we won't know unless the process is explained. All that being said, I love the car and have had little to no issues with the 3G, slacker, nav or anything else.

Think that this says it all! It does seem like nickle and dimeing (I've had some other of these issues in Reason for Editingnly 10 days, but that's for another thread).

That having been said, many of us did pay for an unlocked hard drive and we haven't even gotten a date for when that will happen (or why it has not). It also does seem a bit counter-intuitave to be locked to a single source provider, at a high price, when many of us have redundant service form a provider that serves our specific geography, and a a price that has simply got to be a huge markup over TM's volume pricing.

 

[loganss]

I guess I'm part of the few that doesn't have a problem paying $30/mo for connectivity. I don't understand the big deal with LTE either. Several years back I had Verizon cell plan w data that was $70+/mo then I moved to TMobile with a Nexus One which supports up to 3G at $34/mo. My Tmo plan is for 100 talk + unlimited everything else. The only time I go over 300MB/mo is when tethering my whole house off the phone and i think it's a bonus to be able to do that and wouldn't dream of over burdening the network like that on a monthly basis. I barely made phone calls so I primarily just used data. On a daily basis I used navigation, streamed music, and used bluetooth. That's exactly what i was gonna use my car for data wise so I think $30/mo is reasonable.

Someone mentioned that the phone app connection/updates and slacker/google maps/etc are separate. I don't recall ever reading or signing anything that stated that. Can someone point to some official document or website that stated this? Otherwise that sounds like someone just really wishing their assumption is fact.

 

[brianman]

Simple solution: ALLOW TETHERING!!!!! We all have cell phones already. We all have data plans already. This is wasteful in my mind. No need for duplication.

I'm pretty sure my phone plan does not allow tethering. Of course, for a fee like $30 a month I could probably add limited tethering. But how is that really "solving" it?

- - - Updated - - -

Let Tesla load the maps into memory or even on a USB stick so the car can access them like a traditional DVD system. This way we could at least get car direction up which the current system can't do. I'm not concerned about the maps being updated daily. I never changed DVD's more often the every 5 years with other cars. I live in a stable area, the landscape doesn't change that fast any longer. There has got to be a simple and fair solution other than taking on fee after fee.

A fair point on this one. I think it would be a smart move for Tesla to introduce a 17" app that offers the Navigon mapping information for those with the Tech package. No internet connectivity required.

 

[kendallpb]

Slight mod to #3 - LTE is only really useful if the browser is useful. Flash/HTML5, etc. Without it, I'm not sure the speed increase matters all that much. 3G at $10/mo is probably better.

I don't need Flash in the car any more than I need it on my iPhone or iPad. (shrug) I'm not sure why I'd need video, either, I realize some people may live in the stone age and not have a smart phone or tablet. ;-) At least I presume video is what people mean by "HTML5" (that being just one thing it handles differently from previous versions of HTML).

But then, I also disagree with yobigd20's claim to speak for all of us, and of course, YMMV!

 

[Johan]

I'm pretty sure my phone plan does not allow tethering. Of course, for a fee like $30 a month I could probably add limited tethering. But how is that really "solving" it?

Just curious: how does your mobile provider know whether you're thethering your phone or using data on the actual phone? Over here we just have plans with either a given included ammount of data, or unlimited. With unlimited data what they do is when you reach for example 2 Gb transferred in one month they cap your speed at 128Kbps for the remainder of the month...

 

[kendallpb]

and a a proce that has simply got to be a huge markup over TM's volume pricing.

Wild speculation, IMHO, and sorry--you're not the only one thinking/saying this, just the one I happen to be replying to. . . .

We don't know whether they got volume pricing, whether they got good volume pricing, or anything about their supposed markup. I think all the cell phone companies in the USA are equally sucky (please, no one tell me how great your cell provider is) and I'm wary of making a lot of assumptions about this kinda stuff, seeing how cruddy they all price plans, lock people and companies in, treat their customers, etc. I'm way too jaded about them (but not at all about Tesla, unlike some).

 

[markwj]

Just curious: how does your mobile provider know whether you're thethering your phone or using data on the actual phone?

Often just the user agent in browser sessions, but also things like SMB broadcasts, etc.

 

[brianman]

Just curious: how does your mobile provider know whether you're tethering your phone or using data on the actual phone?

My recollection is that the tethering functionality in the OS interacts with the cell phone carrier. It's been a while since I looked into it though in part because I have strong recollections of Tesla saying my car would be a hotspot (so I wouldn't need to worry about it).

 

[William3]

The data service should be free to the customer. It could easily be covered by the $599 profit per vehicle that Tesla makes off the yearly checkups.

 

[riceuguy]

The title of this thread is quite misleading. There's nothing remotely official (even 1% official, whatever that means) about it. For all we know, some developer pulled a placeholder number out of their proverbial a** and put it in their code and moved on.

Sorry folks...was pretty badly jetlagged and was cross-posting from TM forums...didn't mean to mislead! And while this is indeed speculation, it's the first pricing we've "seen" from Tesla at all, even if just a placeholder. The other item that was hidden in the HTML was the battery replacement plans, and those costs were exactly as promised, so while I'd love to believe that this pricing is wrong, or a placeholder, I just don't think that's likely. The reality is that it would be all but impossible to use more than a gig or two of data with the car's current features, and 3G is two generations old (behind HSPA+ and LTE), so my feeling is that $30 is very much overpriced. Like most folks here, I'm happy to just tether, EXCEPT: 1) it's a question whether that means the app will be useless much of the time, and 2) my wife will be seriously not amused if she has an extra step (enabling her phone's wif-fi hotspot) to go through to get maps, Slacker, etc. So yes, I'll probably subscribe, but I'll be annoyed. Perhaps as more apps are added, the browser improves, etc. I'll feel less annoyed. We shall see.

 

[jkirkebo]

FWIW, we'd be extremely fortunate in Canada to get unlimited 3G for as little as $30 / month :frown:

Same goes for Norway. I'd be jumping with joy if that happens here. I'm expecting $50/month though. And "unlimited" means 6GB/month here, but that should really be enough anyway since we can't stream video

 

[markwj]

I think what we're seeing here reflects the general problem with per-device cellular connectivity. Paying for a plan for each phone in the family, each tablet, each car, your luggage tags, your pet's collar, etc, is already ridiculous and getting worse. The term 'unlimited' is one of the causes of this, as the providers are unwilling to offer N x unlimited (whether by tethering, multiple SIMs, etc).

What we're seeing where I live is more 'family device' plans, where you pay for xGB of data plan, plus y SIMs. For example, 5GB/month with 5 SIMs. I can then put those SIMs in whatever I like, and share the 5GB of data.

I doubt they will do it, but really hope Tesla will just allow end-users to choose and install their own selected SIM (or, just choose Tesla's offered plan). This is not a small M2M style data plan here (where an embedded sim with dedicated plan makes sense), but a large amount of data for extensive functionality.

 

[yobigd20]

Just curious: how does your mobile provider know whether you're thethering your phone or using data on the actual phone?

If it's jailbroken, they don't. But I don't see why it matters much, especially if you have Verzion. Tethering is free with Verizon. When I had AT&T, tethering was not free and was a $15 or $25/month cost. Another reason why I don't like AT&T and switched to Verizon.

 

[andrewket]

If it's jailbroken, they don't. But I don't see why it matters much, especially if you have Verzion. Tethering is free with Verizon. When I had AT&T, tethering was not free and was a $15 or $25/month cost. Another reason why I don't like AT&T and switched to Verizon.

Tethering is not free on all Verizon plans. If you're on a pay-for-use/family share plan (2GB, 4GB, etc.) then it's included. Why not? It just drives up usage. If you're grandfathered with an unlimited plan, you have to pay extra for tethering. I'm currently paying for both unlimited LTE data and tethering, with a corp discount. I'm never letting it go. My monthly usage has been as high as 18 GB/month when I've been traveling and tethering my laptop.

 

[vfx]

The data service should be free to the customer. It could easily be covered by the $599 profit per vehicle that Tesla makes off the yearly checkups.

Hardly full profit. They don't do checkups wirelessly.

- - - Updated - - -

20000 cars now, but each year is another 20000 cars (or more). Prolly closer to 200 million dollars at 8 years out, but I get the point too.

ooops!

Yes 2M - and that assumes Tesla is fixed at exactly 20,000 cars per year for the next 8 years. Stockholders here would certainly dissagree with that stagnation when Tesla enters EU and Asia.

 

[Hut]

Same goes for Norway. I'd be jumping with joy if that happens here. I'm expecting $50/month though. And "unlimited" means 6GB/month here, but that should really be enough anyway since we can't stream video

Why do we think the Canadian & European connectivity pricing will be the same as US?

Don't they charge us more on everything else already?

 

[gtimbers]

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I went for my long drive and I do feel a lot better. But guess what, during my nice long drive in the canyons, in an area that I haven't been before, the stupid Screen went black except for the pointer. No 3G, no maps, no way to know where I was going. This is pure crap. I am not bothered by paying for 3G. I am horrified at having to pay a monthly charge OF ANY AMOUNT for something I for which I have already paid! I bought GPS and Nav and I expect it to work all of the time. I shouldn't have to carry a hand held GPS to correct for the operational gaps in this system - monthly charge or not.