High-Five to the 2.52.22 Update

[justg0]

Being new to the Tesla family, I have been browsing through the forums looking to learn as much as I can about my car (2013 S85, CPO) which I picked up the last week of December. While I understand the frustration that gets clearly expressed here, I think that some folks are forgetting what it's like in the non-Tesla ownership world.

Right up front, I am amazed that Tesla makes improvements to their product and then distributes those changes to all owners as opposed to traditional automakers who want those features to get you into a new car. It's an amazing way to protect the resale value of your investment.

Have you ever tried to get BMW or Mercedes to fix what you see as a problem with their cars? I had a BMW 750 which had a speedometer which was annoying the crap out of me. It was about 4-5% fast. BMW's answer was "It's within our error range" and they refused to fix it. I haven't had a service issue at this point, but from what I have read, with very few exceptions, Tesla seems to bend over backwards to make things right.

Do they always get it right? Not likely, but these cars are such a leap forward compared to the rest of the world, it seems inevitable that there are going to be issues. I give Tesla a ton of credit for taking these risks. I spent over 30 years in software design and development and I am amazed at the courageous journey that this company is on. The ride may be rough at times but I think it's worth it.

You either believe that they are trying to do what's best for their customers in the long run or not. I have watched lot of Elon Musk interviews and I think they are going to do what's best for their customers.

I am new to Tesla as well and just bought a 75D and I couldn't be happier. It is the best car I have had and don't think I am going back to any other brand anytime soon.

 

[Pruitt]

This update should never have had to happen in the first place.
I'm not gonna give Tesla kudos for fixing what they hosed up. All this release did was fix bugs that should never have been distributed, plus reversed a very stupid decision.

I WILL give them some credit for making it right reasonably quickly, however.

I hope they get their software coding groups straightened out reasonably quickly, too. I'm very worried that this sort of crap will happen again in the future.

 

[kavyboy]

I just finished a 300+ mile round trip today. This is a good version! AP1 was at least as stable as ever. The +5 limit is back. I did get put in the penalty box for hitting 91 mph while passing, but it wasn't a big deal - just took a needed pit stop a few miles down the road to reset.
For some reason, the trip out took a lot more energy than the trip back. Any number of variables could account for that.
Three other Teslas were charging with us at the 8 stalls in Waco. That's the busiest SC location I've had, here in TX. I was pleased to see that everyone chose stalls numbered 1 through 4 instead of doubling up.

 

[Canuck]

Do they always get it right? Not likely, but these cars are such a leap forward compared to the rest of the world, it seems inevitable that there are going to be issues. I give Tesla a ton of credit for taking these risks. I spent over 30 years in software design and development and I am amazed at the courageous journey that this company is on. The ride may be rough at times but I think it's worth it.

Welcome aboard. I like your attitude and while years ago that the was the prevailing attitude here, we are now well past the early adopters (glass half full people) who were generally more patient and forgiving, and we are well into the general population who generally criticize and complain and are glass half empty people.

We've definitely crossed into the Twilight Zone... That's like rewarding a D student with a "most improved award" for getting a B while ignoring all of the A students.

i'd love to know who the "A" students are in this analogy. compared to Tesla, every other carmaker is riding the short bus from my perspective.

Me too but even beyond knowing who the "A" students are in the analogy, why can't both the improved "B" student and the "A" students get praise? It's not like these things are mutually exclusive or praise is a limited commodity -- thinking like that is Twilight Zone stuff to me.

 

[RogerHScott]

It's not like ... praise is a limited commodity

No, but when everybody is special no one is special.

 

[X Fan]

Agree with op that fixing those three items was needed.

Now if they would only fix xm....

Btw: may only be an x issue but update set my suspension to 'low' and fixed vs the standard and speed adjusted low settings that I had previously. Had to adjust and back to ny preferred settings.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Also can confirm that +10 km/h over is working again on non- divided roads. Thanks Tesla for putting that back.

Not sure if my imagination but AP tracks straight as an arrow now, very little "lane wandering" compared to previous version.

Although I did give the girl a much needed sponge bath before driving. All us gear heads know a clean car drives/rides better!

 

[theslimshadyist]

So it appears that Tesla has expanded beyond the initial 1000 AP2 testers? I see several of you who aren't the "Cali 1000".

 

[Andyw2100]

So it appears that Tesla has expanded beyond the initial 1000 AP2 testers? I see several of you who aren't the "Cali 1000".

I think almost everyone posting their feelings about this update are talking about their AP1 cars.

 

[Chaz]

I'm not a software engineer, but I am not ignorant when it comes to IT issues. Every time I sit in my Tesla, I am amazed at how all the systems in this car function together. I can only imagine how many lines of code have to exist to give us the best driving experience we've ever had (well, for many of us, anyway).

I am also amazed that every time an update goes out, it has to be deconflicted with many of the other systems running in the car and that there is so little patience these days for Tesla software engineers to get it 100% right the first try. They are writing code to accommodate/predict countless scenarios and multiple versions of hardware, both Tesla and non-Tesla, including the new version of your smart phone. I'm still amazed.

At my work, we manage over 300 desktops, 50 laptops, and numerous peripherals running at least seven different baseline variants (not including the 12 different servers) and we are constantly fighting to keep everything running smoothly. All this just to keep a windows box operator functioning. There is, undoubtedly, a lot going on behind the scenes with these Tesla updates that we do not get to see. So when I see shortcomings in my Tesla interface, I take it with a grain of salt, document it, inform Tesla of the issue, and hope they fix it in the next patch.

This company is still in it's infancy and we have chosen to buy into this almost entirely new concept of vehicle ownership by giving Tesla our hard-earned cash. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Is there room for improvement? Heck, yeah. Will it get there? Maybe one day.

I know, to many, I am preaching to the choir. For those who want it perfect the first time around, you might want to wait before buying.

I praise the OP for posting something positive. Just my two cents. Now, go drive a Tesla and be happy.

 

[NerdUno]

I'm reminded of a comment from one of our software whiz kids many years ago: "I feel like I'm laying track in front of a steaming locomotive." Translation: It's hard to build reliable code while folks are actually relying on your software. What makes it even more problematic is that it appears that some Tesla releases get pushed out to meet arbitrary, self-imposed deadlines whether they work reliably or not. When you develop code with performance deadlines akin to a Master Chef reality show, sh*t happens.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

At my work, we manage over 300 desktops, 50 laptops, and numerous peripherals running at least seven different baseline variants (not including the 12 different servers) and we are constantly fighting to keep everything running smoothly. All this just to keep a windows box operator functioning. There is, undoubtedly, a lot going on behind the scenes with these Tesla updates that we do not get to see. So when I see shortcomings in my Tesla interface, I take it with a grain of salt, document it, inform Tesla of the issue, and hope they fix it in the next patch.

not to dismiss the Tesla folks hard work but through experience with both I know that Linux based systems, (which is what Tesla runs thankfully), tend to be more robust and less prone to surprise bugs. Of course not perfect but yeah when you work with Windows in a large IT environment; nobody knows why or how or what is going to happen with next releases.

 

[zswilliams]

I just finished a 300+ mile round trip today. This is a good version! AP1 was at least as stable as ever. The +5 limit is back. I did get put in the penalty box for hitting 91 mph while passing, but it wasn't a big deal - just took a needed pit stop a few miles down the road to reset.
For some reason, the trip out took a lot more energy than the trip back. Any number of variables could account for that.
Three other Teslas were charging with us at the 8 stalls in Waco. That's the busiest SC location I've had, here in TX. I was pleased to see that everyone chose stalls numbered 1 through 4 instead of doubling up.

So, if you ever get put in the penalty box and don't mind a driving reboot, rebooting clears the penalty. I tested this with the most recent version PRIOR to the one just released in the last few days.

 

[kavyboy]

So, if you ever get put in the penalty box and don't mind a driving reboot, rebooting clears the penalty. I tested this with the most recent version PRIOR to the one just released in the last few days.

Clever, thanks!
I doubt I'll ever hit that limit again, but it's good to know.

 

[PaulusdB]

I'm reminded of a comment from one of our software whiz kids many years ago: "I feel like I'm laying track in front of a steaming locomotive." Translation: It's hard to build reliable code while folks are actually relying on your software. What makes it even more problematic is that it appears that some Tesla releases get pushed out to meet arbitrary, self-imposed deadlines whether they work reliably or not. When you develop code with performance deadlines akin to a Master Chef reality show, sh*t happens.

So you didn't hear about 'jumping out of an airplane and designing and building the parachute on the way down'? Quote from Doug Field, Tesla VP of Engineering.

 

[thimel]

So, if you ever get put in the penalty box and don't mind a driving reboot, rebooting clears the penalty. I tested this with the most recent version PRIOR to the one just released in the last few days.

Which do you need to reboot: the 17" console or the IC?

 

[Sharps97]

It is easy to be negative but much more difficult to be positive. Regardless of whether or not something shouldn't have happened in the first place, I think it does make sense to take time to provide positive feedback when something goes well. Positive feedback doesn't happen often enough.

 

[chillaban]

not to dismiss the Tesla folks hard work but through experience with both I know that Linux based systems, (which is what Tesla runs thankfully), tend to be more robust and less prone to surprise bugs. Of course not perfect but yeah when you work with Windows in a large IT environment; nobody knows why or how or what is going to happen with next releases.

That might be true when talking about desktop Linux on established PC hardware, but if that were true for embedded/ARM platforms I would not have a job, much less be able to afford a Tesla!

 

[EVCarGUy]

Dang-it. AP1 with this release nearly drove me into a freeway center median divider. It was a curving section of freeway to the right, and the car took the turn wide even though the little image of the car on the dashboard showed yellow then red curved arcs from both of the left side proximity sensors, and the car was shown well over the blue lane lines. I even got an audible warning from the sensors before I grabbed the wheel.

Why does the autopilot software draw the proximity arcs, turn them red, sound an alarm but keep steering right into the obstacle, even when it knows it's crossed out of the lane lines?

That's rhetorical. I know some people report AP improvementd, but over the past 6-9 months, mine has gotten more scary. Truck lust is real. It's scary to overtake a truck on the right. And, it's absolutely confused by nearby walls like a center divider, or a narrow bridge; it tends to drive toward the obstacle, not away from it. I have crossed over a bridge in the right lane only to have to car abruptly steer right.

So, unless it's a wide open, straight freeway, with little other traffic, I think I'm done with autopilot.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

I find it amazing that identical software and hardware behaves so differently. I've never once experienced truck lust personally and others report other different beahaviour(s). Clearly we all drive in different locations but still you would think something like truck lust would be fairly generic.