Musk delivers on promise to cut Premium Connectivity pricing in Australia

Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk has kept his promise to cut the pricing for Premium Connectivity subscriptions in Australia, dropping it 41% to $10 a month.

As The Driven reported on Monday, Australian Tesla owners expressed gripes over the Tesla’s Premium Connectivity offering that gives owners of Tesla electric cars who bought after July 2018 access to a number of connectivity features.

These include live traffic visualisation, satellite maps, video and music streaming as well as “caraoke” and access to an internet browser using the vehicle’s in-built touchscreen display.

One of the complaints was the cost of the subscription, that was at the time priced at $A16.99 a month, a fairly straight conversion from the US pricing of $US9.99 a month.

But some Tesla owners weren’t happy about it. Manager of the Australian Tesla Owners Facebook group Toby (who requested we only use his first name) brought the problem to Musk’s attention on Twitter, saying, “@elonmusk the pricing for Australian Connectivity Packages is too much mate.”

“Should be $10 a month, or pay up front $100 for the year, maybe $500 for a one off payment per car. $204 a year is a bit rich for what is offered, a lot of comments of people already saying no.”

To which Elon Musk replied, “You’re right, will fix.”

And fix it he has. As of Friday morning, the pricing for Premium Connectivity in the article is now $A9.99, as shared by fellow Tesla owner known as “Tesla Tom”.

The response from Tesla owners has been elated.

“Can’t imagine this happening in many other car companies. All coz of a tweet by @AusTeslaOwners. This pushes the dial to 11 in Customer Satisfaction,” said one Tesla owner.

“Elon fixed this in 5 days!! yikes!” said another.

There is however another complaint regarding the Premium Connectivity subscription outstanding. As Toby of Australian Tesla Owners shared with The Driven, he submitted a formal complaint to Tesla regarding the removal of what he claims was free access to the package for buyers of Tesla Model 3s with premium interior.

Instead, he now has 12 months free access and the option to pay the monthly subscription after that runs out.

While several Tesla owners have also complained on social media that there was no mention of 12 months access only at the time of purchase, Tesla responded to Toby’s complaint that the website’s FAQ section clearly defined the options, and offered a full refund, in a letter shared with The Driven.

“As referenced on our connectivity FAQ page; all Model S and Model X, as well as Model 3 with Premium Interior ordered on or after July 1 2018, receive the Premium Connectivity features described above at no cost for one year after delivery,” wrote a customer support team member for Tesla in response to the complaint.

“After this period ends, Premium Connectivity will be available for purchase through the car’s touchscreen for approximately US$100 per year (local pricing will be announced soon). Standard Connectivity will be available for all cars at no cost as long as the car is active.”

The electric car company will however fulfil its promise of a Homelink garage door retrofit which had been discontinued in May 2019, before the Model 3 arrived in Australia.

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