Tesla has rolled out a paid Acceleration Boost upgrade for Model 3 owners. The all-electric company stands to make 100 percent profit from the upgrade. The over-the-air Model 3 enhancement may provide a hint at the direction Tesla will take after its sales ramp for the S, 3, X, Y fleet.
Model 3 owners recently received notifications for Tesla’s Acceleration Boost upgrade, which will improve the vehicles' 0-60 mph times by about .5 seconds. Dual Motor AWD owners, for one, are notified that their cars’ 0-60 mph time will be reduced from 4.4 seconds to 3.9 seconds after the paid upgrade. Confirmations from owners of Standard Range Plus, Long Range RWD, and Mid-Range RWD variants who opted in for the Acceleration Boost are yet to be reported.
Based on tweets from Model 3 owners, many in the Tesla community are sharing the upgrade costs around US$2,000. The upgrade could cost more, depending on the tax within the state. For instance, the Acceleration Boost upgrade costs US$2,120 in California and US$2,160 in New York.
Acceleration boost is available in my account! I am Dual Motor non-P. Anyone with a different trim have this option?@tesla @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/pTweM47Kku
— DirtyTesla 🎄⛄ (@DirtyTesla) December 19, 2019
Tesla’s Acceleration Boost upgrade may reveal the all-electric car maker’s future as a tech company. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanely increased its bull case for Tesla to US$500. However, its bear case remained at US$10 and maintained a price target of US$250 for TSLA shares.
Morgan Stanely’s price target seems to be based on the idea that Tesla will be more like a traditional automaker after Gigafactory 4 instead of a developing tech company. However, the next-gen automaker’s recent offerings seem to prove otherwise.
Just this month, news of Tesla improving its other services have sprouted. First, the all-electric car maker released its Premium Connectivity Package, which could be useful for the slew of new video services rumored to roll out to Tesla Theater soon. Now, there is the OTA Acceleration Boost upgrade, which is proof enough in itself that the company’s software offerings are just reaching fruition.
Acceleration Boost is live in my car!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳 I’ve driven these cars EXTENSIVELY! It is MUCH faster!!
— teslamarksthespot (@teslapin) December 19, 2019
THANK YOU @Sofiaan for informing me!!!
Video is up on YouTube as well, search: teslamarksthespot pic.twitter.com/Q8YRwOBz0W
Some TSLAQ and even soft bulls wonder what Tesla can offer after its done ramping sales for the S, 3, X, Y fleet. This recent upgrade may reveal Tesla’s future as a Software-as-a-Service provider for its ever-growing fleet.
The automaker's OTA paid features could follow a model similar to Microsoft, and its office suite. Microsoft Office was purchased outright in its early days. The tech giant started adopting a subscription-based model when Office became more advanced.
A model similar to Microsoft Office opens a lot of possibilities for Tesla and its upcoming features. Take Full Self-Driving for example. Currently, FSD costs US$7,000 outright. When Tesla masters inner-city driving and a feature-complete version of FSD, then the electric car maker could start charging for its FSD features separately, like Navigate on Autopilot for long trips.
Featured Image Credit: Megan Gale Adams/Twitter
About the Author
Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.
