What happens in cases of poor/no connectivity?

If you have the Tech Package, the GPS maps are stored locally and your nav will still work. The Google Map view on the 17" screen will not, however. You will not have access to anything that relies on internet connectivity such as the Slacker and Tunein services, but AM/FM/XM will still function, as will any devices that you connect locally such as a phone or USB stick with music.. Obviously no web browsing or voice commands that also rely on connectivity.

With no connectivity at all:

The turn-by-turn navigation (voice prompt and map next to the speedo) still works as normal, but the Google maps on the main display stop updating.
Entering a destination for navigation if you have no connectivity at the start of your journey is through a simple street-address entry form, rather than Google searching.
Voice controls don't work.
Internet music doesn't work. FM radio, music from USB stick plugged into the car, or music over bluetooth from a phone all still work.
No web browser.
Can't use any features of the mobile app (even if the mobile itself is on another network and has coverage), in particular don't rely on being able to start the car without the key.

If you have flaky rather than no coverage at all, there is an additional problem:

Entering a destination for navigation still uses Google search rather than the direct entry, and because it can't communicate with Google, you can't enter a destination at all. You can however still pick destinations from saved 'favorites', 'recents', or 'known charging locations', even if you originally entered those destinations as a Google search (the favorite remembers the answer, not the query).

To answer a question towards the end of your post:

AB4EJ said:

Can I connect my iPhone to the car so that I can play music and podcasts?

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Yes, if your phone & carrier allow you to create a WiFi hotspot, then you can connect your car to that for internet access.

jswanner said:

To answer a question towards the end of your post:



Yes, if your phone & carrier allow you to create a WiFi hotspot, then you can connect your car to that for internet access.

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I don't think the OP was referring to using the iPhone for internet access, but rather to listen to music and podcasts on the phone. The answer is yes, the iPhone connects by bluetooth so you can always listen to what's on your phone regardless of internet connectivity.

And the answer about the tech package would only apply to used Teslas. There is no such thing as tech package anymore--all cars now come with navigation with locally stored maps.

jswanner said:

To answer a question towards the end of your post:



Yes, if your phone & carrier allow you to create a WiFi hotspot, then you can connect your car to that for internet access.

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If it's just music or podcasts, bluetooth is all you need.

XM satellite radio capability is part of the Ultra High Fidelity Sound package.

MorrisonHiker said:

XM satellite radio capability is part of the Ultra High Fidelity Sound package.

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... (though only available if you ALSO get the pano roof). Get either just the pano roof + standard radio, or body color roof + UHFS, and no XM for you.

MorrisonHiker said:

XM satellite radio capability is part of the Ultra High Fidelity Sound package.

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It's funny how Tesla keeps juggling the package contents. Used to be you had to buy the Tech Package to get Nav, and now all cars come with it. Conversely, all cars used to come with XM but now you have to get the pano roof???

mknox said:

It's funny how Tesla keeps juggling the package contents. Used to be you had to buy the Tech Package to get Nav, and now all cars come with it. Conversely, all cars used to come with XM but now you have to get the pano roof???

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I don't think XM was ever standard. At least not in the United States.

mknox said:

all cars used to come with XM but now you have to get the pano roof???

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No, you have to get premium audio.

GregTexas said:

No, you have to get premium audio.

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Actually, you have to get both. You cannot get XM with UHFS without pano on new cars.

Forgive me if this has been mentioned (I didn't see it) but if the car has spotty or no coverage then you won't be able to connect in via the app with your phone either. And...tesla can't communicate with the car if need be. I live in an area that has NO coverage at my house. I have found however that my bag works and I can type in an address manually and everything works including my map on my big screen. Though sometimes the line is there and the screen in blank until I get into better coverage.

I mi don't have XM on my car but on the loaners it hasn't worked at my house with no connectivity to the car.

TexasEV said:

....
And the answer about the tech package would only apply to used Teslas. There is no such thing as tech package anymore--all cars now come with navigation with locally stored maps.

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For the locally stored maps, how broad of a coverage does this provide? In other words, with no wifi connection, is there still a danger that you could drive outside of the locally stored map coverage area?

TexasEV said:

I don't think XM was ever standard. At least not in the United States.

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Pretty sure it was in Canada. I did get the premium sound package back in early 2013, but I'm almost sure it was standard either way. I flipped the service over from my previous car, but let it expire since Slacker and Tunein more than made up for XM.

RDuke said:

For the locally stored maps, how broad of a coverage does this provide? In other words, with no wifi connection, is there still a danger that you could drive outside of the locally stored map coverage area?

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The offline mapping database covers the whole of North America (or Europe in the case of European cars). Best guess, you might run into trouble if you drove through Mexico into Guatemala.

The locally stored maps are used for route calculations even when the car has internet connectivity; they're a complete satnav system on their own.