Tesla started testing in-car Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity for its fleet working with various internet providers. Tesla has been offering the flagship feature of connectivity. As Tesla’s fleet grows, the cost of internet connectivity and requirement is also increasing.
The reason why Tesla was able to get all the data was because of its connectivity features. It would enable the company to work on the advancements with its Dojo computer. So far the internet has been free of cost. Back in 2018, the automaker had a premium connectivity package with a monthly fee for more internet connectivity. So, users can pay $10 per month or not. More recently, the automaker launched a software update to allow owners to use their phones’ wifi hotspots while driving as an alternative to LTE connectivity. Now Tesla is apparently working on another alternative involving using Wifi hotspots from internet providers. A Twitter user going by Analytic managed to activate the new feature in their vehicle. Tesla appears to be working with several major internet providers in North America, Europe, and Asia to test the feature.
Testing
Tesla hacker “green” confirmed that the feature is the backend of Tesla’s software and the automaker is currently testing it. It’s impossible to get a timeline on when Tesla could bring the feature to customers through a software update. The feature could prove useful to improve the connectivity of Tesla vehicles as data requirements are increasing with more internet-based entertainment features inside the vehicles and as Tesla is extracting more data from them. When releasing an Autopilot update in 2017, Tesla asked owners for authorization to collect videos from the Autopilot cameras. After that, Tesla opened the floodgates of Autopilot data gathering, and the amount of data being collected has only increased since.
While it looks like the upcoming feature, they seem to be in the testing phase now (measure hotspot speed).
Nonetheless it's definitely done in collaboration with those operators as e.g. xfinity requires a 802.1x keys in order to join the hotspot https://t.co/jMM3zBTBLr
— green (@greentheonly) April 21, 2022
As per the vehicle’s firmware, it looks like Tesla vehicles will be able to connect to at least some of the following hotspots. They are Xfinity, AT&T Passport, Comcast, China Unicom, ChinaNet, KPN, Ziggo, Telekom, UPC, Orange, SFR, and Telia. This is an interesting update, especially as Elon Musk’s SpaceX is working on portable Starlink services. Having a Starlink terminal on vehicles would not be ideal. This is why it appears that the automaker is working with other internet service providers. As the autopilot is getting more advanced with every update, having advanced connectivity would also ensure safety and other features. However, many things remain unclear for now.