Tesla Model 3 loses radio in Australia to cut costs

Key highlights

• The Model 3 RWD is the first Tesla in Australia to lose both FM and DAB radio.
• Radio streaming through TuneIn requires an internet connection and Tesla Premium Connectivity.
• The deletion could affect access to emergency broadcasts in regional areas when mobile coverage is unavailable.

Tesla has deleted FM and DAB digital radio from the new Model 3 RWD, the cheapest Tesla ever sold in Australia. It follows the removal of AM tuners from the brand’s cars more than five years ago, which means this model has no traditional radio reception at all. Radio stations can still be streamed over the internet, but that only works while the car has a mobile signal. In regional Australia, where coverage can disappear for long stretches, the car’s audio options shrink fast.

Read more: 2027 Tesla Model Y Performance orders open with a $4,500 cut

What do you actually lose?

The bigger issue is safety rather than entertainment. Emergency warnings during bushfires and other natural disasters are transmitted over radio frequencies, and a car without a tuner cannot receive them.

Many of those warnings use the AM band, which has a much longer range than FM. Even so, FM is still used for more everyday updates, such as alerts about crashes or breakdowns ahead in tunnels. Without a tuner, a Model 3 RWD driver would miss those broadcasts, and the same goes for emergency information in an area with no phone coverage.

How the streaming workaround works

The front touchscreen keeps an in-built TuneIn app for streaming radio. It relies on an internet connection rather than traditional radio bands, so it is only as good as your signal. There is a catch on cost, too. To let TuneIn run on the car’s own mobile data, owners need to subscribe to Tesla’s Premium Connectivity pack, which costs $13.99 a month after a brief free trial. The alternative is connecting a Wi-Fi hotspot to the car on every drive, which is a hassle for anyone who just wants to hit a button and hear the news.

Why did Tesla do it?

Cost is the obvious reason. A 2023 study found that removing AM radio alone would save a car maker around USD$50 to 70(aboutAUD70 to $100) per vehicle. The saving comes from the shielding needed to protect the receiver from interference produced by the electric motor. Tesla hasn’t been quoted on its reasoning in the information available, so any link between that study and this decision is an inference, not a confirmed explanation. Tesla is not alone in cutting AM, as several manufacturers have dropped it while listening declines. Removing FM and DAB as well, though, is an unprecedented step.

A pricey gap between the car and its listeners

The Tesla Model 3 RWD is $9000 cheaper than the trim grade above it, and it also loses ventilated seats, ambient lighting, alloy wheels and a rear passenger touchscreen. For many buyers, those are easy trade-offs. A radio is harder to wave away. The argument that nobody listens anymore does not hold up well against Australian data. A 2026 survey by the Commercial Radio and Audio lobby group found 82 per cent of surveyed Australians aged 18 and over, who listen to audio in the car at least once a week, tune into the radio. Commercial radio sits at 60 per cent, still ahead of music streaming at 52 per cent. Keep in mind that the survey comes from an industry body with an interest in radio’s future. Among a broader group of Australians aged 10 and over, 29 per cent of weekly in-car listeners use radio streaming, compared with 71 per cent who use traditional broadcast radio.

What buyers should consider?

If most of your driving is in a capital city with reliable coverage, the missing radio may barely register. You will likely stream podcasts and playlists from your phone anyway. If you regularly drive in bushfire-prone or low-coverage areas, it is worth weighing seriously, since the car cannot pick up a warning that arrives by broadcast. This is a $9000 saving with a real trade-off attached. Whether Tesla’s pricing for the Model 3 RWD makes that trade worthwhile will come down to where, and how, you drive.