Yesterday, Tesla launched its 2022 Holiday Update. The biggest addition of the Holiday Update is support for Steam games on Model S and Model X vehicles from 2022 onwards. These EVs feature a powerful Ryzen SoC with RDNA2-class graphics and 16GB of RAM, perfect for gaming on the large 17″ center display or 8″ displays for the rear passengers.
But what about storage with Tesla’s ever-expanding gaming portfolio? Well, Tesla wants you to buy new, very overpriced products. 1TB solid state drive (SSD). The storage device hit Tesla stores this week and promised to store everything from “Tesla arcade games” to “drive recorder footage.” It all sounds good, but Tesla is asking a staggering $350 for this 1TB SSD of his.
To get an overview of their prices, I went to Amazon and found some portable 1 TB SSDs that are fairly inexpensive. Many of them are well below $100.
- Crucial X6 1TB Portable USB 3.2 SSD – $69.99 (opens in new tab)
- Crucial X8 1TB Portable USB 3.2 SSD – $79.99 (opens in new tab)
- Samsung T7 Shield 1TB Portable USB 3.2 SSD – $89.99 (opens in new tab)
- SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable USB 3.2 SSD – $99.99 (opens in new tab)
So why should you buy a Tesla-branded 1TB SSD when it costs five times as much as a popular name-brand portable SSD? Yes, it claims to be designed to “withstand the extreme temperatures inside the vehicle” and to withstand “vehicle shocks and vibrations.”
Tesla has not provided figures beyond these claims. but, Micron Automotive Grade SSD It has an extended operating temperature range of -40°C to 85°C to 105°C. Western Digital Automotive Grade SSD (opens in new tab) Durability is enhanced with shock resistance of 1,500g at 0.5ms and vibration resistance of 30g force from 7 Hz to 2,000 Hz. Neither company seems to have a portable, automotive-grade SSD of his in their portfolio. Either way, Tesla’s SSDs are likely to be able to withstand some extreme conditions that your average SSD can’t.
However, a typical portable SSD can withstand the vibrations and shocks from a typical moving vehicle. As for temperature, the $89 Samsung T7 Shield (opens in new tab) The operating temperature range is 0 C to 60 C, the non-operating temperature range is -40 C to 85 C, and the operating humidity range is 5% to 95%.
So unless the temperature inside your car hits freezing while you’re driving, Tesla SSDs offer little to no visible endurance advantage over run-of-the-mill SSDs in non-emergency situations.
Tesla also doesn’t provide numbers or specs that can be used to compare it to existing products on the market. Instead, the product page simply states that the SSD offers similar read/write speeds. Most of the portable 1 TB SSDs we found under $100 have read/write speeds ranging from 800 MBps to 1,050 MBps.
Most Tesla EVs come standard with a 128 GB USB thumb drive for sentry mode storage from the factory. If you want to take advantage of the expanded gaming capabilities of the Model S and Model X, there are plenty of great portable SSDs with more storage and lower costs than the new Tesla SSDs. Optional unless you like throwing money away.
But if your heart is for something brand new Tesla-branded 1TB SSDthe drive will be available in February 2023 for $350.
