Tesla offers 0-60 mph boost to Model 3 AWD owners via in-app purchase

Tesla Model 3 All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) owners now have the option to purchase a special over-the-air (OTA) update that improves the car’s 0-60 mph number from 4.4 s to 3.9 seconds — since this ‘acceleration boost’ is available for $2,000 — owners have a divided opinion if they want to buy this update or not.

The option started popping up inside Tesla Mobile App and Tesla Account for the Model 3 AWD owners yesterday, it was first reported on the Tesla subreddit by u/Wilsenlow when he posted the following screenshot of his Tesla account offering the in-app purchase of the performance booster.

For some owners, the option is too expensive and they are happy with the already excellent 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds figure — for others, it’s an exciting option that gives them a sense of pride and the ability to take their Tesla Model 3 to the track and give some internal combustion cars a surprise.

The following message appears along with the ‘Acceleration Boost’ option inside the Tesla account or a connected Tesla Mobile App:

Improve your 0-60 mph acceleration from 4.4 seconds to 3.9 seconds with an over-the-air update.

Note: You must have 2019.40.2 installed for the upgrade to complete.

After purchasing this performance-boosting update, you need to park your vehicle and connect it to WiFi if you want the update to be quicker, Tesla shows the following message after purchasing the option:

Thank you Your car will receive the update when parked — connect to Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot to update sooner. View your invoice from your Tesla Account. Once installed, you can confirm the upgrade status from the Software tab in your car controls. Visit tesla.com/support to learn more.

Many owners on the social media are reporting that this $2,000 acceleration booster is ‘worth it’ and Tesla is actually sandbagging the 3.9 s figure as one owner from the Tesla Motors Club forum found out that his Tesla Model 3 actually did 0-60 mph in just 3.73 seconds, he posted the following performance report after installing this update.

Our occasional co-author Paul Atkins (aka Electric Vehicle Guy) also reported from the UK that he can see the acceleration boost option in his Tesla Mobile App and it is available for £1,500 for the British Model 3 AWD owners. But for most of the Model 3 owners commenting on his Twitter thread seem to think that this option is too expensive for them.

Tesla has made this performance upgrade is available in Europe as well for €1800, one Model 3 owner has confirmed this by tagging us in his tweet, see below.

Tesla (TSLA) opens a new revenue stream

Tesla has now entered the next phase of their strategy where they can obtain recurring profits by offering specific software upgrades and actually charging the customers for the new functionality. Tesla has successfully opened up a new revenue stream from existing customers — pure genius.

Tesla is basically an automotive company with a Silicon Valley mindset, this is where Tesla has the edge over other American or German competitors, now Tesla can use their cars which offer ‘Sofware as a Service (SaaS)’, traditional automakers currently lack the infrastructure and software to bring such a revenue model to reality anytime soon.

As of this writing TSLA stock has risen to an all time high of $402.87, a good day in Tesla history indeed, arguments of Tesla Model 3 being profitable or not are now buried deep into oblivion.

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