Tesla probing Wi-fi connection to AT&T and Comcast Xfinity hotspots for its cars

Tesla owners have had access to premium cellular service in their electric car for US$10 a month since 2018, but recently Tesla started expanding the free Internet connectivity options presented to them. After introducing the ability to use the phone as a wireless hotspot in their Tesla while driving, and installing Starlink McFlatface dishes at Supercharger locations throughout the US, now Tesla plans to offer Internet access in its electric vehicles another way.

Unearthed by a Tesla hacker as an option currently present in their own car, the upcoming feature will offer Wi-fi hotspot connectivity to various popular services. So far, the list includes AT&T, Comcast's Xfinity, Orange, as well as the other popular and widespread Internet providers. According to another Tesla hacking community star, Green, the service is still "in the testing phase," as the logs show that Tesla has been probing the hotspots' speed and availability.

"Nonetheless, it's definitely done in collaboration with those operators as e.g. xfinity requires a 802.1x keys in order to join the hotspot," they add. It remains to be seen if and how is Tesla making the Wi-fi hotspot feature official, as it may launch it as a free service which is, however, restricted only to customers of the aforementioned Internet service providers. AT&T's Wi-Fi Basic, for instance, "allows AT&T Internet and AT&T wireless customers with qualifying data plans to access thousands of free AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation," and ditto for Comcast's Xfinity users. 

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