Tesla has begun testing in-car wifi hotspot connectivity with several major internet providers in order to provide a backup internet connection for its fleet.
According to the auto-tech website, connectivity is a key feature of Tesla’s offering in the auto industry. It enables several fun and useful features for customers and has also been used by Tesla to collect fleet data and improve features, most notably Autopilot.
Tesla began requiring a new paid “premium connectivity” package for a monthly fee in 2018 in order to access some of the more data-heavy connectivity features. Tesla owners have had to decide whether or not to pay $10 per month for the premium connectivity service.
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, the report said.
“Tesla appears to be working with several major internet providers in North America, Europe, and Asia to test the feature,” it added.
Tesla hacker “green” confirmed that the feature is in Tesla’s software’s backend and that the automaker is currently testing it.
The feature may be useful in improving Tesla vehicle connectivity as data requirements increase with more internet-based entertainment features inside the vehicles and as Tesla extracts more data from them.