Free LTE Connectivity to end this month

[Rivdog]

Hey, at least Rivian still says that Driver+ will always be included. Ford is now charging $800 per year for it, and I personally think it’s a fair bit worse than Driver+ (others may have a different opinion, of course). Lots of other companies are charging for connected services as well, so I think this is the new normal.

We can always stream over BT for free instead of using Spotify. Personally, I have no problem paying a reasonable subscription fee of $100 per year or so, but I thoroughly enjoy having the native Spotify app and the remote start/climate controls in the app - especially after being in rentals over the last few weeks (including ones that have AA/Carplay).

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[Chewy734]

If they continue improving the infotainment system by adding more useful features and entertainment apps, I’d be fine paying $99/year.

 

[lilbuj]

I’d get a new 1-ton diesel. No need to rely on another subscription.

Do you pay for connected vehicle on the Vette or GMC 3500? That's $25 a month through On-star.

 

[DoubleTake]

I’d get a new 1-ton diesel. No need to rely on another subscription.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I’d get a new 1-ton diesel. No need to rely on another subscription.

That would only be punishing myself. If I had to drive a ginormous diesel that was slow as hell I would consider that a punishment. Unless I was on a road trip or towing something big.

 

[NY_Rob]

i get it. everyone has something that's a deal breaker for them. i will not be happy about paying $100 for LTE connectivity for navigation. i can do OTAs at home over wifi so i dont need it for that or really anything else, but if i have to pay in order to be able to use navigation, that wont be cool.

Most likely basic nav will be free, but if you want real-time traffic (which admittedly sucks in the Rivian) that would require the LTE subscription. Same for music, free FM radio and BT from your phone, but no built-in streaming services. For many, there's not a lot of compelling reasons to pay for Rivian LTE service unlike Tesla where you can stream netflix, etc.. and also use their built-in web browser.

 

[Fmc]

For what it’s worth, I still use rabbit ears and use rain barrels to save on water, I hang dry most of my clothes as opposed to using a dryer. For a year I refused to pay $100 for Tesla connectivity, mainly bc Elon is rich and does not need my extra $100. Then I had the service in my R1S and broke down and added the service back to the model 3 (I told my girlfriend it was her birthday present) So yes $100/year sucks but the convenience outweighs the price so once a month I eat leftovers as opposed to getting a Spicy 5 piece from Popeyes.

 

[jambaman84]

I was just thinking about this and how it would work. My gut is thinking that when they announce the subscription plan, they'll announce or roll out streaming services and games shortly after. I think it will be more expensive than Tesla's pricing .. which will suck.. But I think it'll be anywhere from 200-400 dollars a year.
It should include: Streaming, hotspot, live traffic navigation, games, and hopefully reduced pricing for RAN.
Really hoping for 100 dollars a year for all this. I would gladly pay for all these features. But I think Rivian will charge more

 

[ndmiller]

My issue would be that I cannot use my connected phone as a data source. And no I wouldn't pay for substandard infotainment. I'd get the CarPlay screen and stream from my phone.

At this point it's all moot and internet blather until something is announced.

 

[SurfnBike]

I am fine with Rivian charging to cover their data costs but what is aggravating is that if that I don't want this recurring subscription service fee then I am stuck without any road tunes. I don't carry my cell phone around with me like other Borg. I get the feeling that Rivian intentionally left out the ability to plug a USB stick into the truck to play music so that it would force people to opt-in to the monthly service fee. This kind of thing rubs me the wrong way and I therefore completely sympathize with the prospective owner Ladiver as this will turn off a lot of folks.

Rivian needs to understand that many people, myself included, are saturated and over the million recurring subscription service fees that are out there (death by a thousand cuts).

We don't pay for the recurring fee in our Model Y for data access and still have access to Spotify, so I am hoping that is the case with Rivian.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Some people just love to speculate and manufacture paranoia. You have too much free time. We will all know what’s what once official announcements are made.

 

[dleepnw]

I was just thinking about this and how it would work. My gut is thinking that when they announce the subscription plan, they'll announce or roll out streaming services and games shortly after. I think it will be more expensive than Tesla's pricing .. which will suck.. But I think it'll be anywhere from 200-400 dollars a year.
It should include: Streaming, hotspot, live traffic navigation, games, and hopefully reduced pricing for RAN.
Really hoping for 100 dollars a year for all this. I would gladly pay for all these features. But I think Rivian will charge more

Rivian has said they are moving to an a la carte model not bundled. so what it includes will be up to each customer.

 

[SteveInBend]

Shouldn't there be a question mark ("?") added to the end of the thread title?

 

[jambaman84]

Rivian has said they are moving to an a la carte model not bundled. so what it includes will be up to each customer.

Oh gotcha! I thought they got away from the a la carte thing. I'm glad if that is the case. Only add what you want.. that would be great.

 

[dleepnw]

Some people just love to speculate and manufacture paranoia. You have too much free time. We will all know what’s what once official announcements are made.

hmmm... well, looks like you have just as much free time to comment on speculation and paranoia so...

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