By Karan Singh
Tesla has introduced a brand new subscription package for the Model S and Model X in the U.S. and Canada. The new package option combines several Tesla subscriptions into one – something Tesla has never done before.
3-year package
Tesla’s new 3-year package is only available for the Model S and Model X in both variants – Long Range or Plaid. The package costs $5,000, but Canadian pricing has not been confirmed. The package itself includes an FSD subscription for three years, plus free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity for the same period. It’s a good deal if you plan to charge your vehicle exclusively with Superchargers, or rely heavily on them for commuting or work.
Please note that the Canadian website has not yet been updated to reflect the new package, but we expect this to happen in the next few hours or days.
Let’s break this down a bit. 3 years is 36 months, which is what we base our calculations on:
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3 years FSD subscription: $3,564
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3 years of Premium Connectivity (Annual Plan): $297
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Free Supercharging: $1,139
The free Supercharging is worth it at $1,139 if you plan to regularly drive long distances in the U.S. or Canada. The included Supercharging is unlimited – and a single full charge at a high-rate Supercharger – say $0.50/kWh – will probably cost you close to $50.
To break even, you would need to drive between 5,000 and 10,000 miles over those three years, charging exclusively from a Supercharger. The actual number will depend on your model, efficiency, and exact Supercharger prices. This isn’t for everyone, but if you regularly use Superchargers for long drives, commuting, or regional travel, this could be a great deal that will sway some people to get a new Tesla.
Quicksilver Model 3
Along with yesterday’s Cybertruck reservation changes and new subscription package, Tesla has also introduced the Quicksilver color option for the Model 3 in the US.
Tesla’s Quicksilver color has been in high demand since its launch, first in Europe and then in Canada. It has now finally arrived in the US and is available on all versions of the Model 3. In Canada, Quicksilver has been available since launch – as the Model 3 is imported from Giga Shanghai.
Now, Model 3s produced in the U.S. will have Quicksilver as an option. The original silver option for the Model 3 was discontinued back in 2018, so this is a refreshing change for those looking for this new, darker silver variant.
By Karan Singh
The Cybertruck Foundation Series configuration is now finally available to all reservation holders in Canada and Mexico. In addition, a reservation is no longer required for the Foundation Series in the US. You can simply go to Tesla’s website and order a reservation.
This is a big moment for the Cybertruck, which is increasingly seen on U.S. roads. Deliveries of the Foundation Series in Canada and Mexico are scheduled to begin in October.
Cybertruck in Canada
With steer-by-wire approved, the Cybertruck is finally available in Canada. The AWD Foundation Series is available for $137,990 CAD, and the Cyberbeast Foundation Series is available for $165,990 CAD, roughly equivalent to the Foundation Series’ prices in the US.
These order invites are currently only available to reservation holders and are being sent out now. A few things to note here – after taxes, the AWD Cybertruck costs $165,000 CAD in Ontario. The Cyberbeast costs over $200,000 CAD. That includes the luxury tax that Tesla charges for some reason.
The Cybertruck should be exempt from luxury tax because its gross vehicle weight is above the luxury tax limit of 3,856 kg. The AWD Cybertruck has a gross vehicle weight of 4,159 kg. At this point, we’re not sure if this is just an error on Tesla’s part or if the law has changed without the webpage being updated to reflect a change in the exemptions to the minimum permissible weight. If exempt, the total price drops by about $8,500 for the AWD to $155,990 after tax and by about $11,300 for the Cybertruck to about $187,500 CAD.
If the Cybertruck were indeed exempt, it would bring the price down significantly—in fact, a non-Foundation Series AWD Cybertruck would cost less in Canada than the Model S Long Range or Model X Long Range.
Update: Cybertruck program manager Siddhant Awasthi has confirmed that Tesla is investigating the issue of Canada’s luxury tax and that it should be repealed.
Cybertruck in Mexico
The Cybertruck is now available in Mexico for reservation holders, just like in Canada. Pricing has not been confirmed, but it should be in line with the American and Canadian Cybertrucks.
Mexicans can also be happy that there is no luxury vehicle tax in Mexico, so don’t panic about having to pay extra. So you can expect to pay MXN 1,888,380 before taxes for the AWD and $2,266,056.00 before taxes for the Cyberbeast.
When will orders for AWD be accepted?
While Tesla has previously mentioned that the Foundation Series will end sometime this year, given the continued high demand for the Foundation Series, we expect it to end relatively late in the year.
While it was initially confirmed that it would end along with Q3 2024 (September), it was later updated to “by the end of 2024.” We’re not 100% sure Tesla will stick to that exact date, as the Cybertruck’s launch has been delayed in Canada and Mexico. You can bet Tesla will adjust the timing based on demand in the two new markets.
Either way, we can expect demand to pick up significantly once the Foundation Series ends, as the Foundation premium is $20,000 USD ($27,500 CAD or $377,570 MXN) – a pretty high amount in both countries.
By Karan Singh
In early 2023, Tesla launched its FSD Hardware 4.0 – now known as AI4 – an improved version of Hardware 3 with various benefits. This hardware launch initially got off to a rocky start, as FSD and Autopilot were not available for newly delivered vehicles.
Today, however, AI4 is the next step on the road to full autonomy. While Tesla has not yet abandoned or deprecated HW3 – and has no plans to do so – it is still important to find out what hardware your vehicle has. This is especially true for those who have paid for or subscribed to FSD – as it looks like AI4 will receive major FSD updates ahead of Hardware 3 in the future, which will require optimization.
So let’s look at what improvements AI4 offers, the fact that there is no upgrade path from Hardware 3, and finally a few simple ways to differentiate FSD Hardware 3 from Hardware 4/AI4.
HW4 / AI4 improvements
AI4 brought several improvements, including new cameras, new electrics and wiring harnesses, and most importantly, improved computing power.
The new cameras offer improved resolution for better detail. The rear camera on the AI4 has a resolution of 1448 x 938 versus 1280 x 960 on the Hardware 3. However, there are much bigger differences in the front cameras. HW4/AI4 has a resolution of 2896 x 1876, while HW3 has a resolution of 1280 x 960. That’s a huge improvement in quality – plus the telltale red tint makes for better low-light performance. The video below compares the differences between HW3 and HW4.
Musk previously said that HW4 is about 3-5x faster than Hardware 3, although all of the processing power is not yet being utilized. We will likely see the full power of HW4 come to fruition with the divergence of HW4 later this year.
How to tell if you have HW3 or HW4/AI4
There are a few easy ways to tell if you have hardware 3 or AI4. Unfortunately, Tesla doesn’t provide any information in the app or in the vehicle that simply tells you which FSD hardware you have, so here are a few ways to tell them apart.
Delivery date
The first depends on your model and delivery date. If you bought Model S or X, you probably have AI4 if you bought after March 2023. If you have a Model Y, it’s after the end of May 2023 for US-made vehicles. The updated 2024 Model 3 has HW4, but if you have a 2017-2023 Model 3, you have Hardware 3.
Red camera lenses
If you are unsure of the delivery date of your vehicle or want to confirm it, please see the vehicle yourself. HW4/AI4 has cameras with red lenses – the easiest way to tell is on the front cameras – where there are two red lenses and one black (fake) lens. AI4 has removed the 3rd Front camera, as the cameras now have a higher resolution.
The repeater cameras also differ slightly: they have the same shade of red, but have a smaller and narrower indicator.
No retrofit to HW4
Elon Musk and Tesla have confirmed that Tesla will not offer a retrofit for older vehicles, unlike AP 2.5 or AP 2. This is not a surprising move, especially given that there is an entirely new wiring harness and a new cooling harness for the compute unit in AI4.
This in turn means that it is not possible to upgrade HW3 vehicles to AI4 due to AI4’s different form factor. Retrofitting would be a complex and expensive task that would likely require building a custom solution to fit into HW3 vehicles. This also brings other complications, such as overloading Tesla’s service. Instead, Tesla will continue to do it on a software basis – tweaking and updating the FSD models to work well on hardware 3.
