Tesla's 'Radio Upgrade' Adds FM & Sirius XM Back, But Costs $500
Tesla will soon offer a 'Radio Upgrade' to its customers, albeit for $500. Tesla already offers an Infotainment Upgrade that, not only added features but removed others, including AM and FM radio. The new Radio Upgrade allows customers to reclaim some of those features back, and will be available on the majority of Model S and Model X vehicles.
The first Tesla hit the road in 2008 and like its successors, was an electric car. Tesla offers charging stations around the country and the Tesla app offers a way for drivers to monitor and control charging right from their smartphone, including receiving a notification when charging is complete. The Model S was introduced in 2012, with the Model X following in 2015. Tesla first offered the Infotainment Upgrade this past March with a price tag of $2,500. New features included a faster and smoother touchscreen experience, Tesla Arcade games,, and video-streaming. It also supports 5G, but Tesla drivers lost access to AM, FM and Sirius XM radio with this upgrade.
As spotted by Electrek, on its Infotainment Upgrade support page, Tesla confirmed that it will start scheduling Radio Upgrade appointments later this year. The upgrade offers a return of FM and Sirius XM radio, with no option to add AM back. The Radio Upgrade also includes the addition of compatible antennas and a radio tuner. A specific release date for the upgrade hasn’t been announced yet, though Tesla did say it would be available later in Q4 2020. Improvements coming with the upgrade include simplifying browsing with a complete station list, in addition to enhancing audio quality thanks to hardware updates. It will also allow for the radio to receive over-the-air updates.
The customer will be shelling out a total of $3,000 if they chose to add the Radio Upgrade to the Infotainment Upgrade. Tesla notes that not all customers use the FM radio, and by removing those features from the Infotainment Upgrade, it enabled Tesla drivers to upgrade the entertainment system at a lower price. While customers may have appreciated that opportunity, losing out on broadcast radio probably was a disappointment -- even if Internet radio and music streaming was made possible. Bringing back the popular radio features is definitely a good thing, especially when combined with the newer additions.
However, $500 is a pretty hefty price tag, especially in addition to the $2,500 for the initial Infotainment Upgrade. Then again, Tesla cars are not exactly affordable to begin with. Even though Tesla advertises the potential savings compared to gasoline, the various Models are likely to overall be considered expensive by many. With this in mind, existing Tesla owners may feel that the Radio Upgrade cost is not too bad, especially compared to other upgrades, and to get back a feature they want.
Source: Tesla