Elon "About to end range anxiety"

[Bgarret]

Again, I disagree. I have a great deal of anxiety about paying 150,000.00 for a car that becomes impractical when contemplating a 400 mile road trip...but I still did it. The issue for TM is how many people DONT because of the same issue. I'm not even touching on the range issues one my feel in their ad-hoc driving once they reach their destination. It is exactly this kind of range anxiety that will be leading the broader market into making the decision to not purchase an MS because they do 2 trips a year and don't feel comfortable because of the range issues. Also, the tweet noted over the air updates as the problem solver here.

And, do you really think the average consumer is OK with having to trip plan with algorithms and predictive outcomes for that exact moment when they need to charge? There are a few people on this forum that really geek out on that concept, but I join the average consumer in the thought that mapping your trip out like an airline pilot would be the catalyst for anxiety AND heartburn.

Having read 90% of this thread this feels a little like an echo chamber - one I'm hoping Elon was outside when he announced an end to "range anxiety". As someone who doesn't own a Model S, but has driven 5 and rented one for TMC, the discussions of NAV optimization, routing assistance and power modulation/optimization are all giving in to range anxiety and giving me anxiety. Having no range anxiety is running the P85D in insane mode and burning electrons egregiously without care of location or proximity to home or the nearest supercharger or 9v battery. Range anxiety is going in a caravan on the PCH with New moderator Paul Carter in his 60 with my rental P85, having a little too much fun on the accelerator and having Paul nurse the 60 into Atascadero drafting on semis to make it to the charger.

Eliminatng range anxiety is not proving you can go from point A to point B with an EV....Tesla, for the first time, has proven that. Eliminating range anxiety is allowing people to go from point A to point B with little or no compromise. If you told Porsche, Lincoln Continental Convertible or Hellcat owners that they could own their cars and operate them as long as they planned their trips in detail in advance and adhered to the route and speed recommendations based on the temperature and the wind - they would either throw up, begin to weep or tell you to pack sand. If Elon has a presser to announce Waze for Model S then I will do the same.

It's time to start getting limber for 500,000 + EVs on the road in a few years. We maxed out 10 stalls in Atascadero with about 8,000 Model S's on the road in California. What happens when there are 100,000, many of them with potentially less range than an X or an S?

its time for destination charging on a grand scale, facilitated by an OTA software that will guide you (worldwide) to the nearest supercharger or one of 10,000 + destination charging locations. Anything less will likely be viewed as a patch or a bone to early adopters.

And as far as from an investment standpoint, there has been a bunch of discussion about drops in stock price based on a string of negative stories related to production, demand, China, Jerome....you name it. Wall Street is agnostic on whether news is good or bad - they can make money trading both. Wall Street hates uncertainty....and Tesla has been serving that up in Spades. The best gifts Elon could give shareholders on Thursday would be a vision for a historic expansion in the scope of charging available in an easily understandable way (all Wal-Marts, McDonalds and Starbucks) and firm dates for announcements on home storage, Model X and Gigafactory.

A) If the announcement is Tesla Waze - the stock gets beat up and Tesla is still struggling to move beyond early adopters.

B) if it is Waze to 10,000 new points of light - the stock does well and I can tell my friends that when I get my X, I most often charge it in my garage, but when I need to top off, I just pop into (Wal-Mart, Starbucks.....etc).

if Elon spins another string of reveals a la 2013 in addition to B)....it's go time.

My 2 cents.

 

[NigelM]

Well, the only thing I'm reasonably certain about is that an OTA update is not going to add any significant amount of range. There just isn't much room for improvement there. As others have mentioned, even adding 20 miles (not possible, IMO) isn't going to eliminate range anxiety.

It was specifically said "About to end range anxiety ... via OTA software update. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think any partnership with McDonalds or WalMart or similar is going to happen via an OTA software update. Seems impossible, also, unless the board of directors of those companies are AI and can be influenced via OTA updates... lol

At this point the only logical thing I can think of would be significant improvements to the navigation setup, as has already been mentioned by Musk at other times in the past.

While the statement of being able to "end range anxiety" might seem a bit over the top for such an update, I still think this is probably it. My money is on v6.2 next week with nav improvements.

1. You're correct, no significant change to range (if any).
2. You're correct about it being software; I'm puzzled as to why people here keep suggesting hardware changes or build-outs. Everyone does understand the difference between software and hardware, right?
3. It won't be FW v6.2, there's too many itsy bitty sub versions of v6.1 already so I suspect we'll see v6.2 pretty soon as a tidy up and a few improvements to v6.1. The new software Elon's launching will be FW v6.5 or maybe jump to v7.0

 

[JVM]

I hope it's to allow SuperCharger "hopping" from navigation with the added benefit of ChargePoint, NRG and other commercially available charging solutions. I'd like it to route me via each available SC based on current charge remaining, totally automatic and the ability to add waypoints and stop overs along the way.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

A new theory: v6.5 will activate the hidden Valium reservoir in the car that'll end (range) anxiety for good.

 

[johnnyS]

I think it will be free aero wheel covers that snap on like pizza pans and provide 5% additional range. They will be delivered over the air like a Frisbee when you pull into a service center.

 

[Paul Carter]

... Range anxiety is going in a caravan on the PCH with New moderator Paul Carter in his 60 with my rental P85, having a little too much fun on the accelerator and having Paul nurse the 60 into Atascadero drafting on semis to make it to the charger....

I certainly did have range anxiety that day! And 20 minutes of sweating from it and the heat (no air con and windows up). I think I went from 3 miles short to arriving with 3 miles over that 20 minute snail drive. I learned a lot of good hypermiling that day (as well as there is no such thing as a leisurely drive on a scenic tour highway in a caravan of Teslas). LOL. I left Gilroy with 30 miles to spare. Here's hoping this all goes away on Thursday.

 

[SteveS0353]

1. You're correct, no significant change to range (if any).
2. You're correct about it being software; I'm puzzled as to why people here keep suggesting hardware changes or build-outs. Everyone does understand the difference between software and hardware, right?
3. It won't be FW v6.2, there's too many itsy bitty sub versions of v6.1 already so I suspect we'll see v6.2 pretty soon as a tidy up and a few improvements to v6.1. The new software Elon's launching will be FW v6.5 or maybe jump to v7.0

I understand very well the difference between hardware and software (designed both). I believe the OTA software will dramatically alter the charging taper such that it will significantly decrease charge time - that's the software bit. I believe the press conference will be to announce a partnership to eventually build out superchargers all over the place. Combined, that will end range anxiety and is worthy of a press conference.

 

[omarsultan]

Elon just confirmed via Twitter that the announcement is not swap related:

"Battery pack swap is active between SF and LA and seems to be working well. Supercharging is the future, though, for non-commercial traffic."
"But that's not what I mean by addressing range anxiety"

 

[HillCountryFun]

Well, the only thing I'm reasonably certain about is that an OTA update is not going to add any significant amount of range. There just isn't much room for improvement there.

Don't think of the change as an improvement of the motor's efficiency, instead think of it as a reduction in the motor's duty cycle if the torque requirements allow it.

Remember, "there is no spoon." :biggrin:

 

[David99]

More range, better efficiency, better energy prediction, even a double size battery ... all of that doesn't change range anxiety. It just shifts it to a later point. The only thing that gives you peace of mind that, no matter where you are, you can get a charge if you need. And I don't mean planning more carefully or smarter. Range anxiety comes from the unexpected happening, the extra detour you have to take, the rain or snow that you didn't expect.

Tesla has been lacking a public charging database within the car. I think that'll be it.

 

[Carter15]

Can anyone make a connection between the elimination of the dual chargers and the range anxiety announcement? Would it be
possible that an OTA could significantly increase the charge rate of the Model S, causing the second on board charger to be redundant. Seems like a coincidence they started only offering the dual charger after market only a few weeks prior to the Thursday announcement.

 

[bxr140]

Range anxiety to EV owners is whether you'll make it there or not.
Range anxiety to everyone else is "how far will it go on a charge?"

This press conference is for everyone else.

 

[skilly]

I think it'll be about the fact that Tesla has accumulated a Big Data dataset of every route mile that every Model S owner has ever driven in every type of weather and traffic. This means that the car's nav energy predictions for a destination are very, very accurate and Tesla will be able to guarantee you'll get to your destination following the route guidance. By definition, that's the end of range anxiety.

They cant even get the battery range in the car to accurately display available usage...I HIGHLY doubt this is the answer. Range anxiety is only half of what you define. In fact, its based on the thought of getting from A to B and then getting back to A, or optioning to C and D before getting back to A....all with the safe thought of a charge that will be available AND wont take a full day to complete.

 

[SteveS0353]

Can anyone make a connection between the elimination of the dual chargers and the range anxiety announcement? Would it be
possible that an OTA could significantly increase the charge rate of the Model S, causing the second on board charger to be redundant. Seems like a coincidence they started only offering the dual charger after market only a few weeks prior to the Thursday announcement.

Already made that connection here

 

[sub]

I've read this entire thread, hard to believe. When listening to everyone talk about the Nav improvements I don't think it has the same affect on those of us without teslas. I don't see improved Nav exciting anyone that isn't a regular on TMC, not one bit. So why would there be a press conference for us faithful, we are already in?

saw the metal air battery mentioned today by Kaillo (sp?), no idea if that was an old article brought back to life. I have no original ideas, just wanted to give the view point of a non tesla owning share holder.

 

[Dan_]

My thought:
1) to enable wireless charging that has already been built into the car.
2) official launch of the battery swap station

 

[SteveS0353]

Already made that connection here

And there are other "crumbs" to follow. Elon's "demand secret weapon"? See my post here too.

 

[Sccrendo]

85S. Got the same update last week. 2.2.179. My 90% range charge is down 5 miles. No change in efficiency. Reckon if there is an improvement it's coming with 6.2

 

[maoing]

I think this is not possible. Note the change will be applied to entire model S fleet, so do vechicles in China for example. I think it's very hard to find partnership across China/US/EU. Only OTA SW update is possible.

Tesla is about to announce a partnership with McDonalds who will install a supercharger at every location

That is my
Wild guess!

- - - Updated - - -

https://twitter.com/elonmusk. I think both supercharging and battery swap can be excluded. Other than that no HW change possibility, only SW update.

Elon Musk@elonmusk · 1h 1 hour ago But that's not what I mean by addressing range anxiety


Elon Musk @elonmusk · 2h 2 hours ago

Battery pack swap is active between SF and LA and seems to be working well. Supercharging is the future, though, for non-commercial traffic.

Has to be supercharging for everyone as standard. Or something else significant.
A navigation update doesn't seem significant enough for a press conference.

 

[sandpiper]

Nothing in the battery would add any additional energy, no. I've tested capacity on several modules and it is as expected.

No reserve batteries or anything hiding in there either. Hehe

Damn. You just burst my happy bubble!

- - - Updated - - -

Elon has denied a few things now. He's not denied that its something to do with Nav. And he's not denied that they've queried a little more range out of the car by playing with the firmware.

The latter does nothing, really, to eliminate anxiety. So, unfortunately I must agree that it's the former. Alas, pointing out the slow chargers on my route to the distant super chargers will not do anything to eliminate my range anxiety. It seems a excessive to hold a press conference over something like that, though.