Member Articles

If you read traditional auto press, you’ll frequently see stories along the lines of “big automakers are going to start making EVs in a couple years and when they do, Tesla is doomed.” Traditional automakers have the resources, factories, and engineers to design electric cars and they are very...

i just watched the first episode of Netflix series Dirty Money. It was about VW and how corrupt the german automaker really is and at what lengths they will go to deceive the public. It’s a must watch for anyone who is wondering why some of us are never going to purchase another ICE vehicle.

Hey guys! I am not 100% on the rules of this site yet, so I wanted to know if ya'll would be willing to help me. I work for a non-profit helping students all over America gain access to technology for their education. The founder of this non-profit is giving away his Tesla Model S to incentivize...

It all started at a Tesla service center in Vancouver BC in the summer of 2016 when I was talking to an employee about the wheels. I asked why there was a difference between the 19-inch wheels and the 21-inch wheels in terms of efficiency. The rep told me it had to do with the contact patch, as...

Just having installed the latest software update my usb-mouse isn´t functional anymore. I´ve tried various models - no chance!

Hey I been on vacation for the last couple of weeks. I just got my P60 from a mentor and love my car. The car worked perfectly before I left to NorCal and when I got back the MCU was dead. I am not sure what kills a MCU but the car didn’t move, it was fine before I left, I take it the shop and...

Tesla’s safety leadership, this time in panoramic sunroof design, has again been proven. The Model S panoramic roof has always been made of Lamisafe, a windshield-grade laminated glass, while other makers have equipped their panoramic roofs with tempered glass—a cheaper but hazardous...

Tesla has changed the game in the luxury car market. Audi, BMW, & Mercedes are losing market-share to Tesla. With more than 400,000 people reserving a Model 3, Tesla hopes to do the same to Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and others in the mid-sized sedan market. With large screens, over-the-air updates...

I’m super excited by this recent paper: “3D Visual Perception for Self-Driving Cars using a Multi-Camera System: Calibration, Mapping, Localization, and Obstacle Detection”. The authors used a four-camera system — similar to the eight-camera system in Harware 2 Teslas — to determine the...

Does anyone have or know of a possible way to avoid scraping bottom or hitting bottom of front end underneath due to sensors not being able to detect some of tire cement barriers when parking, due to sensors only seeing biggest Obstacles in front of you such as another car .that are seen on...

Here is my take on the installation of the dual channel dash camera system in Model S: BlackVue DR750S-2CH installation in 2017 Tesla Model S I managed to install the rear camera without removing the large piece of trim from the tailgate, so if that was a show stopper for some, hope you will...

At $9,000 US, one of the pricier options for Model 3 is range. The Standard Range (SR) vehicle comes with 220 miles of EPA-rated range and a Long Range (LR) car has 310 miles. Is the long-range upgrade worth $9,000 for 90 more miles? Today, we’ll explore this question. You need to understand...

As an AP1 Model X owner, I didn’t expect Autopilot to evolve much over the last 12 months. Tesla software engineers had their hands full writing code for AP2 vehicles, so I figured Autopilot updates for AP1 vehicles would simply enter a dormant phase. That certainly did not turn out to be the...

EV benefits are hard to see. I do not mean to say that EVs don’t have benefits, or even that their benefits are slight. My point is simply that most EV benefits are not at all obvious to most internal combustion engine (ICE) drivers – a serious issue that is easy for us EV drivers to forget...

My wife Karen and I have opposing viewpoints on winter driving. She likes to drive an expendable vehicle in case something bad happens. I like to drive a capable vehicle to minimize the odds that something bad will happen. Her choice: a 2004 AWD Sienna with all season tires. My choice: a P90D...

[vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENnUstQy-5I&feature=youtu.be” video_title=”1″]TMC Member Eric Bergerson has contributed a thoughtful series of articles this week about the impact of autonomous, electric vehicles on society. Don’t miss those great write-ups – “Will We Own Cars in...

Hello, my name is Eric Bergerson and I’m an industrial designer with an additional background in physics. I work as a consultant in the autonomous vehicle industry and I’m very interested in what’s going to happen when Uber, Lyft and their competitors in America and abroad start using cost...

Hello, my name is Eric Bergerson and I’m an industrial designer with an additional background in physics. I work as a consultant in the autonomous vehicle industry and I’m very interested in what’s going to happen when Uber, Lyft and their competitors in America and abroad start using cost...

My name is Eric Bergerson and I’m an industrial designer with an additional background in physics. I work as a consultant in the autonomous vehicle industry and I’m very interested in what’s going to happen when Uber, Lyft and the dozens of competitors to those companies are about to have in...

There is a lot of discussion about fake news these days. While some may feel we now live in a “post fact” world, I don’t. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to read NPR‘s Steve Inskeep’s take on the subject, A Finder’s Guide To Facts. Steve offers a lot of common sense things to look for...

Driving a Tesla is a bit different from driving a gas car, or even most electric cars. On a daily basis, there is no concern about “range anxiety.” Owners expect their car to have a full “tank” every morning, and have enough range to do whatever they want. After a while they never look at the...