Tesla Premium Connectivity vs. Rivian Connect+: Are EV Subscriptions Worth It? (2024)

In the age of subscription services, it’s not enough to simply buy a product. Companies now want to lock their customers into continuous billing cycles with add-ons that some may think should come standard with their purchase.

Electric car makers like Rivian and Tesla have their own subscription services focused on software and infotainment. But they're not required, so it can be hard to know if it's worth signing up for yet another monthly or yearly fee. Or whether one car maker's premium service is good enough to buy their car over another. With Tesla Premium and Rivian Connect+, you're essentially paying for the cellular data that the vehicle uses—not individual apps—but we'll break down each one and whether they're worth the cost.

What Is Tesla Premium Connectivity?

(Credit: PCMag / Tesla)

Tesla Premium Connectivity provides access to the built-in cellular connection on its EVs. For $9.99 per month or $99 per year, you get:

• Live Traffic Visualization

• Sentry Mode (View Live Camera)

• Satellite-View Maps

• Caraoke (karaoke service)

• Native streaming (Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, YouTube Music, etc.)

• Internet Browser

To subscribe to Premium Connectivity from a Tesla, select Controls from the in-vehicle settings screen, and then tap Upgrades. You can also subscribe from the mobile app by selecting Upgrades > Software Upgrades. Note that if you bought your car before July 1, 2018, you get access to Premium Connectivity automatically for the lifetime of the car. If you buy a Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series model, you also get lifetime access to Premium Connectivity.

If you choose not to subscribe, you'll still have access to Standard Connectivity, which is included with the purchase of a Tesla vehicle for eight years. It includes the same core mapping and navigation as those with Premium Connectivity, including traffic-based routing (even though you won't see the traffic on-screen). You also get the Trip Planner and Supercharger stall availability.

On the entertainment side, Standard Connectivity offers FM radio, Sirius XM capability in North America (for configured vehicles and paying subscribers), Bluetooth, and playback from a USB connection. Video streaming, music streaming, and the internet browser can all still be accessed over a Wi-Fi connection, allowing you to use a mobile hotspot, your phone's data connection, or an external Wi-Fi source.

What Is Rivian Connect+?

(Credit: Rivian)

Like Tesla, Rivian offers its own premium cellular data service, called Rivian Connect+. For $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year, you get access to the following features:

• Satellite Images for maps

• Alexa Connected commands (beyond basic vehicle commands)

• Data to access music streaming apps like Apple Music, Audible, Spotify, Tidal, and TuneIn

• In-vehicle hotspot

• Google Cast and YouTube (coming soon)

• Gear Guard Live Cam (coming later in 2024)

As of Aug. 13, all new Rivian buyers get a 60-day free trial of Connect+. After that, you can subscribe through its web account page, the Rivian app, or the in-vehicle infotainment center.

If you don't subscribe to Connect+, you’ll still have access to regular over-the-air software updates, live navigation, remote vehicle commands, "phone as a key" features, Alexa Basic (for vehicle commands), and tethering so you can connect the vehicle to an external Wi-Fi network or hotspot.

Similar to Tesla, the music-streaming apps can be used when connected to Wi-Fi or tethered to a hotspot. Rivian calls out being able to use its phone app as a key, but Tesla offers this functionality for free as well.

Should You Choose One Premium Service Over Another?

Should you choose a Tesla over a Rivian because of its subscription service offering? The short answer is no. Tesla and Rivian offer slightly different features as part of their data connection subscriptions, but they overlap quite a bit. The main difference between the two is that Rivian lets you use the car’s connection as a Wi-Fi hotspot for your other electronics, while Tesla does not. That can be a meaningful feature, especially while out road-tripping with kids in the back seat, but it's not necessarily worth choosing a Rivian over a Tesla.

Maybe one of the more underrated features of these services is the ability to use the vehicle's cameras as a dashcam. Tesla's Sentry mode lets you see a live view of all the car’s cameras in real-time through the mobile app. It can put your mind at ease if you're feeling uneasy about where you last parked the car. Rivian will be adding a similar feature later in 2024.

There can be tremendous utility with either of these subscriptions, but neither are worth choosing one brand over the other. It is worth noting that Tesla has historically been quicker to implement features and bring new services to its cars than Rivian. That may be an incentive for folks excited by the pace of innovation, or—given Tesla's history of software recalls—a knock for the more cautious driver.