Good old radio in new-age Tesla? Shell out $500 please

Tesla cars the world over are considered to be gadgets as much as they are electric vehicles. You name it and chances are that Tesla EVs would have it - from games for entertainment to cameras for security and perhaps even video conferencing in the future. But does it have a good old-fashioned radio? It can if you shell out an additional $500!

Electrek reports that it has been contacted by a reader who has confirmed that the infotainment retrofit inside some of Tesla cars will offer an optional radio upgrade from Q4 2020. And Tesla has reportedly confirmed that the radio upgrade itself will cost $500, plus applicable taxes and that the cost will stand at $3,000 together with the infotainment retrofit.

Now that's quite a steep price, especially the cost of the radio - a common sight in cars and households for years together.

Tesla has apparently said that the radio upgrade is being offered as an option because the conventional way of listening to music stations is not something everyone would choose. Besides, the infotainment screen inside Tesla models offer connection to radio channels through connection to the net. Then there are a host of high-end features like Tesla Theater which allow for video streaming via Youtube, Hulu and Netflix.

And while only a handful may still opt to tune in to the radio stations in the conventional manner, a $500 tag is likely to keep even them at bay.

The infotainment retrofit itself would let previous-generation Model S and Model X EVs make use of newer and upcoming features being rolled out by Tesla, like Tesla Theater, Tesla Arcade, TeslaCam and Sentry Mode. The California-based company if promising an enhanced performance and a more engaging experience, something that could truly take off when fully-automated cars and technology become road legal.

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