Tesla’s Model 3 Performance and Model Y Performance come with a perk that’s easy to miss on the order page: free Premium Connectivity for life. Every U.S. order for either model includes it, and the subscription normally costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year plus taxes.
There’s one catch, though. The subscription isn’t transferable, so it ends when you sell the car.
How Much Free Premium Connectivity Saves You
Tesla’s Premium Connectivity subscription runs $9.99 per month or $99 per year in the U.S. Getting it for free with your order saves you at least $99 for every year you keep the vehicle. That’s enough to cover a free month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) every year, and keeping a Performance trim for five years puts nearly $500 back in your pocket.
Keep in mind that Tesla only added free Premium Connectivity to the Performance trims a while ago, so if you took delivery before then, your car won’t have the perk. To check what your vehicle came with, open the Tesla app, scroll down to the bottom, and tap Specs & Warranty. It lists everything included with your car, such as free Premium Connectivity and free Supercharging.
What Premium Connectivity Includes
Plenty of the basics are free on every Tesla, including navigation, phone notifications, software updates, and route traffic updates. Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package covers the extras that require a cellular connection on the road.
On the entertainment side, that means music and video streaming, the recently redesigned Caraoke app, the web browser, and Grok. Zoom, Discord, and Teams are also covered on AMD-equipped cars. Some streaming apps still need their own subscriptions, so Premium Connectivity only provides the data connection.
For maps, it adds live traffic visuals, satellite view, weather radar, 3D buildings, and traffic light and speed camera icons. It also unlocks Sentry Mode live camera access, plus Dashcam and Sentry Mode clips in the Tesla app.
Most of the entertainment features also work over Wi-Fi or a phone hotspot. Live traffic and satellite view don’t, so those need a Premium Connectivity subscription even if you’re tethered to your phone. Here’s a full breakdown of what you get with Premium Connectivity that’s not included otherwise:
Feature | Included | WiFi / Hotspot | Premium Connectivity |
|---|---|---|---|
Navigation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Phone Notifications | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Ability to Use Tesla App | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Routing Considers Traffic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Traffic Along Route | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Zoom / Discord / Teams | ✓ | ✓ | |
Grok | ✓ | ✓ | |
✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||
Internet Browser | ✓ | ✓ | |
Show Live Traffic | ✓ | ||
Satellite-View Maps | ✓ | ||
✓ | |||
Weather Forecast | ✓ | ||
Weather Radar | ✓ | ||
✓ | ✓ | ||
✓ | |||
Dashcam / Sentry Mode Videos in App | ✓ | ||
✓ | |||
Average Speed Zone Support | ✓ |
Free Connectivity Isn’t New for Tesla
Tesla often offers free Premium Connectivity as a limited-time purchase perk on other models and trims, in the U.S. and in international markets. What sets the Model 3 and Model Y Performance apart is that it’s permanently included, and has been for a while.
Tesla offered a free year of both Premium Connectivity and FSD with the first waves of Model Y L Launch Series orders in the U.S. The Model S and Model X used to include both free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity for the lifetime of the first owner before they were discontinued earlier this year.
If you’re weighing a Performance trim against a standard one, the free Premium Connectivity subscription is a small offset to the price gap. Tesla has changed which perks come with each model several times, so check the order page before you buy.
