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Lifetime Premium Connectivity pre-July 2018

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Right after my used 2018 M3 LR RWD was delivered on 1/2/21, I registered the car in the Tesla app. Almost immediately, I was informed I had a 1-month free trial of premium connectivity. However, the car had been described by the dealer as having "lifetime premium connectivity.

Checking the Tesla support pages, I found reference to lifetime connectivity for M3s with premium interiors, originally sold prior to 6/30/2018. Solid, I thought. Mine was originally sold in April 2018.

But, not so fast. A Tesla support rep told me that this did not apply to resales after a certain date. And, I was told the lifetime guarantee applied to the owner, not the car. So, I gave up and subscribed to the monthly plan. Not big deal, I figured, Just 10 bucks a month.

Then, I learned Tesla had granted lifetime connectivity to a couple of other owners in similar circumstance. So, I went back to support and, after much discussion and about four calls, Tesla support admitted my car qualified. Today my car is described on my account as having "Premium Connectivity Free Unlimited."

I thought this would be of interest to some others. To summarize the qualifications, the car must have been sold prior to 6/30/2018, have a premium interior, and the ownership must have been transferred through a private sale.
 
Nice job Jim! Glad you qualified and Tesla stepped up! I have “Free Lifetime Unlimited” and it’s great. Came with original purchase and it’s great.

Ski

They have a funny interpretation of "lifetime." In your case, it applies to your lifetime with the car, not the lifetime of the car. Since your purchase was after 6/30/2018, it will not transfer to the next owner.
 
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They have a funny interpretation of "lifetime." In your case, it applies to your lifetime with the car, not the lifetime of the car. Since your purchase was after 6/30/2018, it will not transfer to the next owner.


Tesla has a funny interpretation of a lot of things. "lifetime", "full self-driving", "later this year"…
 
They have a funny interpretation of "lifetime." In your case, it applies to your lifetime with the car, not the lifetime of the car. Since your purchase was after 6/30/2018, it will not transfer to the next owner.

I don't think that is accurate. The car should keep it as long as it's sold private party. If it gets sold back to Tesla and Tesla then sells it to someone else through CPO it would lose it.

To summarize the qualifications, the car must have been sold prior to 6/30/2018, have a premium interior, and the ownership must have been transferred through a private sale.

As far as I know, this "sold prior to 6/30/2018" is from Tesla to the first customer. It sounds like Jim purchased it from a traditional dealership (not Tesla) and so the premium connectivity should have remained which is why Jim seems to have been able to get it added back to the car.

Same applies to FSD. Cars don't lose FSD if you sell it to someone else, but if you sell it back to Tesla, they have the right to add/remove whatever packages they want when they go to sell it.
 
I don't think that is accurate. The car should keep it as long as it's sold private party. If it gets sold back to Tesla and Tesla then sells it to someone else through CPO it would lose it.



As far as I know, this "sold prior to 6/30/2018" is from Tesla to the first customer. It sounds like Jim purchased it from a traditional dealership (not Tesla) and so the premium connectivity should have remained which is why Jim seems to have been able to get it added back to the car.

Same applies to FSD. Cars don't lose FSD if you sell it to someone else, but if you sell it back to Tesla, they have the right to add/remove whatever packages they want when they go to sell it.

Yes, I purchased the car via Carvana. The previous owner bought the car in April 2018. When cars are sold through Tesla, premium connectivity is stripped. It is also stripped from cars sold via private sales after January 2020, EXCEPT for the small number of vehicles with premium interiors sold in the first half of 2018.

Interestingly, there was no issue about EAP, which this car also has.
 
I don't think that is accurate. The car should keep it as long as it's sold private party. If it gets sold back to Tesla and Tesla then sells it to someone else through CPO it would lose it.


As far as I know, this "sold prior to 6/30/2018" is from Tesla to the first customer. It sounds like Jim purchased it from a traditional dealership (not Tesla) and so the premium connectivity should have remained which is why Jim seems to have been able to get it added back to the car.

Same applies to FSD. Cars don't lose FSD if you sell it to someone else, but if you sell it back to Tesla, they have the right to add/remove whatever packages they want when they go to sell it.


All correct.


Also, no need to check for "premium interior" as all cars sold before June 30 2018 had it.... the SR and SR+ that don't have it didn't exist as sold products till 2019.
 
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Here's the pertinent section from the support page:

Screen Shot 2021-02-17 at 7.01.38 PM.png
 
Yes, I purchased the car via Carvana. The previous owner bought the car in April 2018. When cars are sold through Tesla, premium connectivity is stripped. It is also stripped from cars sold via private sales after January 2020, EXCEPT for the small number of vehicles with premium interiors sold in the first half of 2018.

Interestingly, there was no issue about EAP, which this car also has.
Same, I had the exact same configuration when I bought my Model 3 through Carvana -- EAP and Unlimited Premium Connectivity and they both stuck with the car. And love them both!
 
It is also stripped from cars sold via private sales after January 2020, EXCEPT for the small number of vehicles with premium interiors sold in the first half of 2018.

Maybe I'm misreading, but I don't think that is accurate based on the image you posted later. I'm fairly certain that the text in your screenshot that says "Used cars ordered on or after January 9, 2020 are eligible for Premium Connectivity subscription" refers to cars order through Telsa's CPO program.
 
Maybe I'm misreading, but I don't think that is accurate based on the image you posted later. I'm fairly certain that the text in your screenshot that says "Used cars ordered on or after January 9, 2020 are eligible for Premium Connectivity subscription" refers to cars order through Telsa's CPO program.

Even Tesla support does not fully understand that page about premium connectivity, but I've now talked to a lot of people in support and my understanding is as I've stated it.

The people I'm trying to reach with this thread are those who have cars purchased before 6/30/18 and who bought them used via private sales. For this subset of people, they are entitled to permanent, free premium connectivity, though they might have to contact Tesla, as I did, to make the case.
 
It’s a bit different for Canadian buyers.

I ordered my SR+ in May 2019 and took delivery in June 2019. I have premium connectivity for life.

Yes, but is the connectivity attached to you or the car? At least in the U.S., many cars are maintaining connectivity for the original owner, but Tesla strips this when the car is resold. You might to check to see if you can tell your eventual buyer that the car comes with premium connectivity.
 
In general a subscription is tied to a person and not the hardware. Still Tesla is ambiguous about this. Tesla says "Who is eligible" like it is the person and then "...lifetime of the car..." like it goes with the car. Can be interpreted either way.
 
In general a subscription is tied to a person and not the hardware. Still Tesla is ambiguous about this. Tesla says "Who is eligible" like it is the person and then "...lifetime of the car..." like it goes with the car. Can be interpreted either way.


It really can't.

If you buy FSD, it stays with the car- you don't get to keep it and move it to another car if you switch Teslas.

If you have lifetime premium connectivity it stays with the car- you don't get to keep it and move it to another car if you switch Teslas.


And in both cases if you sell or trade the car to Tesla they can remove it once they own it again.


The only place it's at all ambiguous is lifetime supercharging.

The older S/X cars came with legit lifetime that stays with the car just like the above.

The newer S/X and all 3s that come with it, it's "lifetime" of your ownership of that car and goes away entirely if you transfer ownership at all.
 
Yes, but is the connectivity attached to you or the car? At least in the U.S., many cars are maintaining connectivity for the original owner, but Tesla strips this when the car is resold. You might to check to see if you can tell your eventual buyer that the car comes with premium connectivity.
Tesla was clear with me. I have premium connectivity for as long as I own the car. I’m OK with that.
 
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...If you buy FSD, it stays with the car- you don't get to keep it and move it to another car if you switch Teslas.....
FSD is not a *subscription service but is a purchased option that is considered "part" of the car. Subscriptions services are completely different types of products.

[could be wrong but] Also I believe since the S was first introduced that Tesla stated that they would start charging for Premium Connectivity in XX amount of time (2 years???) and just never did. So you could say anyone who got it was gifted and should feel privileged.

Again, I'm not saying Tesla SHOULD remove the subscription service and would be happy for the OP if it was continued. I'm saying they should be clearer about the way they word it.

Analogy (approximate/imperfect):

  • FSD is more like a Performance or Premium Package option that are parts of the car
  • Premium Connectivity is more like OnStar that can be cut off at any time

*Tesla is going to offer FSD as a subscription in addition to a purchased/owned option.

OT somewhat: Just to add the "moving FSD" is another issue that I also would like to see Tesla allow. But they have decided to treat it more like an optional car part (Analogy: more like a Performance or Premium Package) than a traditional software license.
 
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