Mercedes has launched the option to pay a monthly subscription to get 60-80 hp more on electric models

Mercedes had long announced its plans to launch subscriptions that would unlock additional power in some electric models. Now the German brand has launched such a subscription in the USA, for some models in the EQ range, which offer between 60 and 80 HP more, at prices that are not low, even exorbitant, many of us would say, for something that is present anyway in your car, technically.

Thus, Mercedes EQE and EQE SUV can each receive 60 additional hp, which will reduce their acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h (0-60 mph) by about 0.9-1.0 seconds. For the extra 60 hp, however, it will be necessary to pay 60 dollars MONTHLY! If you check to pay the annual subscription in advance, you pay "only" 600 USD.

For Mercedes EQS and EQS SUV, the extra power offered is 80 hp, but the price per horsepower is even higher, as the subscription costs 90 dollars per month! The difference in acceleration is even smaller, however, of 0.8-0.9 seconds! So, Mercedes proposes its customers to pay 90 USD/month, to be 0.9 seconds faster to the first hundred! It is probably one of the most absurd subscription payments that could exist in the world! And here, if you want to pay the subscription for a year in advance, you can pay 900 USD.

And, to understand correctly, the whole thing is ordered online, on a Mercedes website, activated remotely, without the need to go to any service. Activating the subscription will only allow the car and the electric motor to generate more power at the software level, an electric motor that customers have already bought anyway, only they didn't know it could have 60-80 hp more. And it's not a small difference, so either the new regime neglects some limits previously considered safe by the engineers, or simply the engines have been intentionally limited in power when sold, in order to collect subscriptions now. Mercedes also says that range won't be affected, but it won't be affected just officially, in measurements that aren't done with full pedal pressure anyway. Physically speaking, using the higher power of the electric motors will discharge the battery faster in those moments and will inevitably reduce the autonomy, as this surplus power is used. But, the most curious thing is that we have reached such a stage, where some car manufacturers have no problem charging their customers stingy amounts to activate something that they, in essence, already paid for when purchasing the car.