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Tesla to offer ‘Premium Connectivity’ internet package starting July 1
Tesla will be introducing new cellular connectivity packages for the Model S, Model X, and Model 3 starting July 1. According to the California-based electric car maker, Tesla owners who order their vehicles from July 1 moving forward will have the option to select between a “Premium Connectivity” package and a “Standard Connectivity” package. The new internet packages would be rolled out to all of Tesla’s markets, including Europe, Australia, and Asia.
The Premium Connectivity package includes satellite maps with live traffic visualizations and satellite-view maps. In-car streaming music and media, as well as over-the-air updates via cellular data, are also included in the package, together with other applications and services that are set to be introduced in the future. Full pricing and details are expected to be announced soon, but Tesla expects the internet package to cost roughly $100 per year, or $8.34 per month.
Customers who order a Model S, Model X, or Model 3 with the Premium Interior Package on or after July 1, 2018, will be receiving a year’s worth of Premium Connectivity for free. After the 1-year period is over, owners would be able to select the connectivity package option they prefer. Cars ordered before July 1, including Tesla’s entire fleet today, will not be impacted by the introduction of the new connectivity package options.
Tesla’s Standard Connectivity package includes basic maps and navigation, as well as music and media features through a smartphone’s Bluetooth connection. Over-the-air updates are downloaded through WiFi, though Tesla states that firmware updates related to vehicle safety would be received through cellular at no extra cost. Customers can upgrade to the Premium Connectivity package at any time through the electric cars’ center console.
The main difference between Tesla’s two internet packages lies in live traffic visualization, firmware updates, and in-car streaming. While all vehicles regardless of internet package would feature Tesla’s new and improved Navigation, electric cars with the Standard Connectivity package would not see live traffic visualizations, which are represented by green, orange, and red lines on the vehicle’s maps. The internet browser for the Model S and Model X and music streaming using the car’s cellular data itself would also be unavailable.
Tesla’s improved Navigation, pictured here, would still be accessible to Tesla vehicles with Standard Connectivity packages. [Credit: Black Tesla via YouTube]
Particularly admirable, however, is the fact that all current Teslas on the road today will have the Premium Connectivity package for free for the lifetime of the vehicles. This is a pleasant surprise considering the company’s expectations outlined on its Q4 2013 Shareholder Letter, where Tesla noted that Model S customers would get free data connectivity for four years before the company starts charging for cellular data use.
“To further enhance the driver experience, new Model S customers will now receive free data connectivity and internet radio for four years. As an added benefit to our existing Model S customers, the free four year period starts on January 1, 2014. To be fair to all, in rare cases, a customer may be charged for extreme data use.”
Overall, Tesla’s introduction of its new connectivity packages could be seen as one of the strategies that the company could adopt to achieve its target of hitting profitability by Q3 or Q4 2018. As the size of Tesla’s fleet grows, after all, it becomes more and more costly for the company to provide complimentary cellular internet access to all its vehicles on the road. At around $100 a year or roughly $8.34 per month, Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package is very reasonable, costing less than the price of LTE services for the Apple Watch Series 3, which commands an additional $10 to a mobile phone subscription on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
