Free Premium Connectivity for life on Tesla Performance models

It is easy to miss on the order page: in the U.S., every new Model 3 or Model Y Performance is delivered with Premium Connectivity for life. The subscription normally costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year, plus taxes.

What the offer is worth

• At least $99 a year, so close to $500 over five years of ownership.
• The perk follows the owner, not the car: it is not transferable and ends when you sell. A used-car buyer will have to subscribe.
• It only applies to cars ordered since Tesla added it to the Performance trims. To see what yours includes, open the Tesla app and scroll down to Specs & Warranty: included perks are listed there, free Supercharging included.
• Outside the U.S., Tesla regularly offers Premium Connectivity for a limited time with an order. The order page is what counts, and perks change often.

What stays free on every Tesla

Navigation, traffic-aware routing and traffic along your route, phone notifications, the Tesla app and software updates need no subscription.

What also works over Wi-Fi or a hotspot

Most entertainment features only need an internet connection, whatever its source: music and video streaming, the web browser, Grok, Caraoke, and Zoom, Discord or Teams on AMD-equipped cars. On your home Wi-Fi, or on your phone’s hotspot, they work without a subscription.

Streaming services keep their own subscriptions: Premium Connectivity only provides the connection.

What only Premium Connectivity unlocks

Some features rely on the car’s own connection and cannot be had any other way, not even over a hotspot:

• the map: live traffic, satellite view, 3D buildings, weather forecast and weather radar;
• driving cues: traffic light and speed camera icons on the map, and average speed zone support;
• Sentry Mode: live camera access, plus Dashcam and Sentry clips in the Tesla app.

The full breakdown

And for iCar

iCar runs in the car’s browser. With Premium Connectivity it works everywhere, on the road as in the parking lot, with no hotspot. Without it, it opens as soon as the car has Wi-Fi or your phone’s hotspot. For a U.S. Model 3 or Model Y Performance, the question is settled: your home screen is there on every drive.

And iCar adds what Tesla’s map does not:

• Speed cameras announced, not just shown. Tesla’s map places an icon; iCar announces the camera in a banner, with a countdown of the distance, an alert sound and your speed next to the limit. Free, for everyone.
• Community reports: speed traps, crashes and hazards shared between iCar drivers, also open to all.
• A Sentry that warns you. Premium Connectivity shows you the cameras; iCar tells you when to look. With an iCar subscription, Sentry arms itself every time you park, a notification arrives when someone approaches, every event is logged with the address, and the car can respond with a flash of the headlights or the horn.

What to take away

• In the U.S., new Model 3 and Model Y Performance cars get Premium Connectivity for life, as long as you keep the car.
• The browser and streaming also work over Wi-Fi; the richer map and remote Sentry access need the subscription.
• iCar uses the car’s connection, and completes Tesla’s map with speed camera announcements, community reports and a Sentry that alerts you.

To try it, open geticar.com/app in your Tesla’s browser: nothing to install, and your home screen is set up from the iCar app on your phone.