Tesla has made changes to its Premium Connectivity offerings in Europe, Australia, and North America. The company will no longer include ad-free music streaming through the “Streaming” app, now called LiveOne. Similarly, in Europe, Tesla used to offer a free Spotify Premium account in the vehicle, but now this account will be limited as well. We initially covered this rumor last week, thanks to an insider’s tip.
These changes will be made as of December 1st, 2024, and users who previously used Tesla’s Premium Connectivity to avail themselves of either Slacker (Now LiveOne) or Spotify Premium will now be relegated to the free versions of those services.
North America – Streaming/LiveOne/Slacker
In North America, Tesla offered a free Premium subscription to LiveOne (previously known as Slacker) Radio through the “Streaming” app with the orange icon. This subscription wasn’t cheap—$10 USD a month. It offered unlimited song skipping and improved audio quality.
This feature has now been removed, and users will be prompted to sign into LiveOne when they open the Streaming/LiveOne app in their Teslas. Users can either continue to use a free version of LiveOne or sign up for LiveOne Premium to continue using it.
LiveOne Premium will cost $3 USD a month (a discounted price) for Tesla-specific use going forward.
Europe – Spotify Premium
In Europe and Australia, Tesla offered a free Premium subscription to Spotify instead, as part of its Premium Connectivity package. This subscription was actually fairly expensive in comparison to the North American equivalent - $10 USD a month and offered unlimited song skipping and improved audio quality as well.
Just like in North America, this has been removed. Users will have to sign into a Spotify account to continue using Spotify, or they can now use the basic tier of Spotify, which includes ads, limited skips, and some other limitations. A Premium account will be required to use the Premium functionality.
Not a Tesla App
Lifetime Premium Connectivity
However, these changes do not affect everyone. Tesla used to offer lifetime Premium Connectivity for free with every Tesla purchase before Premium Connectivity was introduced in July 2018. Tesla also offers a lifetime subscription to Cybertruck Foundation owners. These owners will still receive the benefits of either LiveOne or Spotify Premium in their respective regions. These Lifetime plans are guaranteed until the vehicle changes hands – at which point Tesla will also wash its hands of the ongoing cost of paying for that vehicle’s Premium Connectivity.
This set of changes is somewhat disappointing, as it has been a core part of Tesla’s Premium Connectivity for many years. The good news is that users will be able to continue using the same service but with some limited functionality and ads. We’re not sure if Tesla will be bringing a new set of features to make up for this gap or if they’ll be reducing the price of Premium Connectivity to match the reduction in service, but in all likelihood, Tesla just wanted to reduce costs.
There are plenty of competing apps that people use, especially with Tesla recently introducing YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music in recent updates. Amazon Prime subscribers can enjoy Amazon Music for free since it’s included with their membership.
Following the latest meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which decides safety regulations for vehicles, it seems that Tesla will be facing further delays and regulatory hurdles in Europe. The Telegraph in the UK reported on this story yesterday following the conclusion of UNECE discussions.
Tesla has been waiting for regulatory approval in Europe, which would pave the way for wider FSD deployment across the EU and other countries that adhere to UNECE regulations.
Regulatory Shut Down
The latest round of delays stems from efforts by the UK, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands to push for additional testing and trials of autonomous systems. Progress toward approving vehicle autonomy in Europe has faced repeated setbacks, and this latest hurdle casts further doubt on the prospects for European customers awaiting FSD.
Regulatory changes that initially seemed on track to ease restrictions were stalled in September 2024 when the UK’s Department for Transport raised concerns, stating:
“While [a driver assistance system] may help reduce collisions, it may also introduce new safety risks.”
This perspective sounds like it comes from someone who has never actually used an advanced driver assist system—whether from Tesla or its competitors.
The UNECE, which oversees vehicle regulations in Europe, is set to meet again in June and November. However, based on the agenda from the most recent session, autonomy does not appear to be on the docket for the June meeting.
What This Means for FSD in Europe
Simply put, FSD isn’t coming to Europe anytime soon. While Tesla has some potential workarounds, none are ideal.
One option would be for Tesla to pursue regulatory exemptions on a nation-by-nation basis—requesting approval for each and every FSD feature separately. That means filing exemptions for lane changes, left and right turns, highway exits, and countless other functions. The bureaucratic process would be exhausting, requiring approval from each country individually.
Alternatively, Tesla could release a heavily restricted version of FSD that complies with current UNECE regulations. However, this would likely make the system impractical, as drivers would have to manually confirm every single action—down to something as simple as adjusting speed—using a physical button press.
For now, Europe’s regulatory framework remains a major roadblock to autonomy. Unless there’s a significant shift in policy, it’s unlikely that FSD will launch in Europe in 2025 as planned.
Tesla recently started rolling out an update that enabled the cabin radar in recent Model Ys and added support for first-row cabin sensing. This functionality not only lets Tesla replace the seat occupancy sensors in the front seats but also gives them a better idea of the size of the passengers — critical information when an accident occurs.
However, Tesla has now revealed that it won’t just be recent versions of Model Y that will receive these updates. Other recent vehicles also have a dormant in-cabin radar that will be activated in a future update.
Child Presence Detection
This front-row occupant sensing is only half of the update. Tesla also plans to add support to the rear seats that will let it detect occupants left in the vehicle. In a post on X, Tesla stated that at least 37 children die per year from heatstroke, just in the United States, according to the NHTSA. Tesla’s cabin radar will help reduce the number of deaths by detecting children left in the vehicle and alerting the owner or turning on the HVAC system.
The new radar has several safety-focused features, and they’re all designed to help protect someone left behind in a vehicle. First up - the radar will detect and classify passenger sizes to determine which airbags to deploy dynamically, helping to reduce injuries from shorter individuals sitting up front.
Additionally, the radar can differentiate an adult from a child or baby - and automatically and dynamically make the necessary safety adjustments on the fly. Tesla will also be able to detect heart rate and breathing through the radar - and has a series of safety steps it can take from here.
If a child or baby is detected being left behind in the vehicle, the Tesla app will immediately notify you and turn on the HVAC system to ensure their safety. In the case of an emergency, the vehicle will automatically call emergency services and report its location.
As a reminder, while Tesla vehicles outside of the United States support eCall, vehicles within the US cannot call 911 unless a phone is connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth. We hope that Tesla looks to add similar capabilities in North America to improve safety capabilities.
Supported Models
Although the cabin radar has only been activated in Model Ys produced in the last couple of years, Tesla said in their post on X that the radar is also available in recent Model 3s and the Cybertruck.
We did a little digging and confirmed that the part numbers for the cabin radar are the same for the 2024+ Model Y, 2024+ (new) Model 3, and the Cybertruck. So, these vehicles should also receive the latest cabin radar features.
Although the 2023 Model Y features a different part number, 2022 and 2023 Model Ys have also been receiving the front-row cabin sensing feature in Tesla’s 2025.2.6 update, but it is less clear whether they’ll receive the rear seats update later this year. The Model S and Model X also include a cabin radar, but the part number also differs from the cabin radar for the 2024 Model 3 and Model Y.
While the new Model Y isn’t available to check against on Tesla’s Electronic Parts Catalog, it looks like Tesla has been shipping the new 4D cabin radar in at least the 2024+ versions of their Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck.
We expect rear-seat sensing to arrive on vehicles with the latest cabin radar later this year, while it’s unclear whether the other vehicles with the older cabin radar will receive it.
Tesla mentioned that rear-seat support will arrive in Q3 2025 for the refreshed Model Y. Based on the different interior sizes and spaces, sensor calibration and testing for other models may come slightly later.
