I understand that technology moves forward and our iThings are outdated in 2-3 years. I also understand that the Model S is an iPad on wheels.
People upgrade their phones and pads every 2-3 years, not a big deal given the price point. I don't think you can extend that same parallel to a $100,000 car. While some here have the deep pockets necessary to trade the car every 2-3 years to have the latest and greatest, I'm certainly not in that boat. In this respect I hope that Tesla takes care of its earlier customers. For Tesla to sunset my software after only 2 years would be a big disappointment.
Here's to CR being wrong.
ah, how history repeats itself
was it not only a few months ago that Tesla put out Autopilot and other features, and jealous "Keep up with the joneses" customers got mad cuz - surprise, surprise - the pace of software updates surpasses your car's permission/ability to receive updates?
lets face it, dudes: as it is in iOS, it is in Tesla: software updates are constant & eternal. Your car getting them, is not.
I have high confidence that every Model S delivered will have at least 8 years of software updates. Is it because of some confidence or trust (blind or otherwise) in Tesla? No, it's because there is an 8 year warranty on the battery and drivetrain (for the 85s), and it would be monumentally foolish for Tesla to stop doing software updates prior to that warranty expiring.
i gather it's monumentally foolish to expect software updates equal to your warranty.
no major piece of computer product has EVER received that much update support period. Except maybe windows XP.
and
trust me
you dont wanna go XP
Everyone seems to have forgotten that the "Annual Service" -- for $600/year (or $1,900/4 years if prepaid) -- was supposed to include "necessary hardware upgrades."
While I would not expect my annual service to cover an upgrade for new features I never had in the first place (like parking sensors or auto-pilot),
I would expect it to cover a faster main processor if it were required to be able to update and run the core operating system of the car. Similarly, when 4G/LTE chips become available for the data connection, I would expect that to be upgraded as well, since at some point the speed of the data connection will need to be improved in order to maintain reasonable functionality.
$600 annual check will include HW upgrade and fix if needed? | Forums | Tesla Motors
to answer the bold: there wont be a faster processor for you. becuz there wont be an updated "core OS" - for your car. Only for newer cars, ie. not yours.
in the recent talk with Elon, the Nvidia CEO basically revealed that Elon is already demanding a faster Tegra, as the current one is not enough.
That tells you alot about the adequacy both the current software & hardware in the car, versus the vision of Elon for the OS in the coming years.
I recognize that tech products are going to have a lifecycle; I wouldn't expect my iPhone 3 to run iOS 8. However, the product lifecycle on a car should be much longer than on a phone, and at the very least it should be upgradeable to be able to extend that lifecycle. If, now or even two or three years from now, my car stops being eligible for software updates because the hardware cannot handle them (and Tesla doesn't have a reasonable pathway to upgrade the processor), I'll be very unhappy about it. Having said that, I'd be really surprised if we hit that point anytime soon.
oh no question about it: your car's lifecycle will still be valid. Just not the software version.
after all, the "product" you're buying is a car - not its OS.
just imagine it's like using windows XP in 2012. Technically, the antique-ass mother****er still works. Technically.
