connectivity plan coming soon?

[Kraken]

news reports are saying tesla and att have announced a new deal. specifically mentioned was how tesla would cover the basics while customers could add access to browser, music, navigation, etc.....

 

[Trnsl8r]

news reports are saying tesla and att have announced a new deal. specifically mentioned was how tesla would cover the basics while customers could add access to browser, music, navigation, etc.....

Don't jinx it!! :scared: Mods: delete this thread!

 

[MassX1317]

Don't jinx it!! :scared: Mods: delete this thread!

Is the tech package still worth it with no connectivity to maps for navigation? I would be pretty ticked if I paid for a tech package and ATT also wanted another $10/month.

Little things go a long way for customer service. People already are starting to realize that the annual service is looking really expensive for the service received and maybe even unnecessary. Maybe that $600 visit could include connectivity for the following year.

 

[Bugeater]

I'm worried that they chose AT&T again. Their coverage sucks! And how about 4G?

 

[sp4rk]

I'm worried that they chose AT&T again. Their coverage sucks! And how about 4G?

AT-T coverage sucks? Understatement of the year! And no customer service. I wouldn't take AT-T anything if they paid me.

 

[markb1]

Is the tech package still worth it with no connectivity to maps for navigation? I would be pretty ticked if I paid for a tech package and ATT also wanted another $10/month.

Little things go a long way for customer service. People already are starting to realize that the annual service is looking really expensive for the service received and maybe even unnecessary. Maybe that $600 visit could include connectivity for the following year.

I think $10 a month is optimistic, even though I think anything more is excessive for AT&T 3G.

 

[passion4audio]

I agree with sp4rk. I had AT&T once and promised myself never again. It might be a better option if Tesla hooked up with Verizon.

 

[NoMoGas]

I've decided to get a Verizon Hot Spot permanently installed and hook the car to it via wifi. To take such a beautiful car and latch it to AT&T violates the laws of decency. :tongue:

 

[DriverOne]

Depends on your locale. There are places where AT&T coverage is best.

The radio in the car is likely tied to the frequencies AT&T uses. We'd need a hardware change to switch providers.

 

[dratifk]

I have unlimited Verizon Data on my grandfathered account both for me and my wife's iPhone 5. But they want extra for tethering unless I jailbreak or find app that has tethering as a hidden feature. Have to wait and see how this plays out.

 

[trigga71]

I switched to ATT when the iPhone launched, yeah i got suckered into the $500 phone. I haven't had any problems with ATT, now that I'm grandfathered into unlimited I don't want to switch unless its a big drop in price, and I would only go to T-Mobile because of GSM, talk and web at the same time is a must for me. BTW I'm on Android now. just root and run custom ROM with tethering enabled and no problem, it has saved me many times when internet was down or traveling.

 

[MassX1317]

Depends on your locale. There are places where AT&T coverage is best.

The radio in the car is likely tied to the frequencies AT&T uses. We'd need a hardware change to switch providers.

So what is the benefit of the tech package if you don't have connectivity? Navigation is generally a $2,500 plus option on most cars. I was assuming that was mainly the reason people would opt for the tech package.

Say the plan is a fixed $15/mo over the next five years, that $3,500 navigation system is now $4,400 or $73/mo for a cash buyer. I think I would save the $4,400, use my unlimited ATT data only cell phone for the gps and use the savings to cut my cell phone bill in half.

Tesla should do everything they can to show everyone all the hidden savings, opposed to hidden costs. Continue to build the company on great customer service (the main advantage in this market) and profits will follow. Don't charge your loyal customer base (who already spent $70-130k on your car) $120-150 a year for a minuscule expense. Maybe keep it free and limit the web browsing and use the tesla approved app based approach.

It takes one lost dummy without a map to run out of battery before reaching a supercharger to get bad publicity on the cover of USA Today.

Sorry for my rant, I just want Tesla to be successful.

 

[Crispix]

I have unlimited Verizon Data on my grandfathered account both for me and my wife's iPhone 5. But they want extra for tethering unless I jailbreak or find app that has tethering as a hidden feature. Have to wait and see how this plays out.

FYI, Jailbreak is possible on the current version of iOS7, but this window will close very soon when Apple puts out the next iOS update. I advise against upgrading your phone software so you will still have the option of jailbreaking should you need it. Enabling tethering is super easy after a jailbreak.

 

[tiger1867]

I haven't read this whole thread but an option for Tesla to consider is some sort of deal. People who currently have vehicles can either keep their current data at no charge for X years and new owners just pay for the new data during the cost of purchase (with Tesla subsidizing the cost).


Jail breaking via iPhone is a popular option.

I've had ATT since 2003 and I haven't had any problems except in LA, very rural parts between STL and Nashville or JFK in NYC (even then, it wasn't horrible). I guess I am one of the luck ones but I will admit that Verizon does have the best national coverage. T-Mobile seems awesome if you are in a city that gets reception. ATT does have a strong LTE network that sometime works better than my wife's droid device.

Like a previous poster, I'm grandfathered into unlimited data and don't see myself changing to soon.

 

[ModelS8794]

So what is the benefit of the tech package if you don't have connectivity? Navigation is generally a $2,500 plus option on most cars. I was assuming that was mainly the reason people would opt for the tech package.

Say the plan is a fixed $15/mo over the next five years, that $3,500 navigation system is now $4,400 or $73/mo for a cash buyer. I think I would save the $4,400, use my unlimited ATT data only cell phone for the gps and use the savings to cut my cell phone bill in half.

Tesla should do everything they can to show everyone all the hidden savings, opposed to hidden costs. Continue to build the company on great customer service (the main advantage in this market) and profits will follow. Don't charge your loyal customer base (who already spent $70-130k on your car) $120-150 a year for a minuscule expense. Maybe keep it free and limit the web browsing and use the tesla approved app based approach.

It takes one lost dummy without a map to run out of battery before reaching a supercharger to get bad publicity on the cover of USA Today.

Sorry for my rant, I just want Tesla to be successful.

Connectivity charges were never a hidden cost. And the tech package provides a nav system - and a bunch of other options as well - that have nothing to do with connectivity. Google maps (which is on your center stack with or without a Tech Package purchase) requires connectivity, but the in-car Nav system will work fine either way.

If you don't like the data plan cost, you can tether to your own data provider.

I expect the data charge will be the same as a monthly data plan on iPad - around $15 if they see ~1GB having been used per car per month to date, or $30 if they see ~3GB is necessary. I'd presume Slacker is the main data user, but I don't have any kind of feel for how much data might be consumed streaming music.

 

[PeterK]

Connectivity charges were never a hidden cost. And the tech package provides a nav system - and a bunch of other options as well - that have nothing to do with connectivity. Google maps (which is on your center stack with or without a Tech Package purchase) requires connectivity, but the in-car Nav system will work fine either way.

If you don't like the data plan cost, you can tether to your own data provider.

I expect the data charge will be the same as a monthly data plan on iPad - around $15 if they see ~1GB having been used per car per month to date, or $30 if they see ~3GB is necessary. I'd presume Slacker is the main data user, but I don't have any kind of feel for how much data might be consumed streaming music.

+1. Tech Package included auto-present handles and power trunk liftgate among other items. And Tesla's been saying there would be a connectivity charge at some point, but some have gone over a year without paying for connectivity and some but not all Slacker Premium features.

I have a shared data plan from ATT (and in Boston and NYC find I do better on my personal ATT phone than my work Verizon one, plus can do voice and data simultaneously which is very useful). I would like to have the option to add the Model S as another device on my plan if that works out cheaper than the default. And IIRC streaming doesn't use that much data but I could be wrong.

 

[kevincwelch]

Is the tech package still worth it with no connectivity to maps for navigation? I would be pretty ticked if I paid for a tech package and ATT also wanted another $10/month

$10/mo?

If it costs $6500 to install 21 inch tires with rims and $650 for the yacht floor, connectivity is easily $45/m.

 

[Plug Me In]

I had understood that Slacker and 3g were free for 3 months when I got my car and they're still free 10 months later, so we're on gravy train right now. That being said, I'd be disappointed in more than $10-15 / month for 3G.

 

[russman]

I think it should be free for everyone that has cars in process or already in service. Once the plan is announced, anything moving forward follows the new structure. I hate monthly fees.

 

[capt601]

I'm thinking free for those with A batteries!! :smile: