UPDATE: You can now purchase heated rear seats as an upgrade. Read more here.
When you purchase a Standard Range Plus (SR+) version of the Tesla Model 3, certain features found in the Long Range (LR) and Performance version of the premium interiors are actually in the vehicle, but software locked. This includes things like the footwell lights, some speakers for the stereo, and the heated rear seats.
Some SR+ owners were lucky enough to have heated rear seats active when they purchased the car, but the feature was soon removed via a software update. Now it appears SR+ owners will soon be able to purchase an over-the-air (OTA) upgrade directly from Tesla to activate the heated rear seats. This option has been asked thousands of times before, but Andrew Carney was able to get Tesla CEO Elon Musk to respond to the request via Twitter.
Sure
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2019
Hopefully this is the beginning of Tesla opening up the option for SR+ owners to purchase OTA upgrades for features that are already available in the car. They represent an untapped source of income for the company that only requires Tesla to flip a switch to turn on.
No details have been provided on how much the upgrade will cost, or when it will be available.
Will you be purchasing the upgrade to activate your heated rear seats?
