Inside the NVIDIA PX2 board on my HW2 AP2.0 Model S (with Pics!)

[lunitiks]

Just a word of warning, Tesla doesn't like forum posts of this type I suppose.

Tesla should absolutely love threads like yours. Your project gave Tesla a whole bunch of attention and buzz - free of charge!

You deserve not just a big thank you, IMO they ought to give you some kind of free upgrade to your car, like for instance the new AP2.5ECU. You know, "for your eyes only"...

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

That's a pretty serious accusation. I'm pretty sure from your location and post history there is probably enough hints to easily piece together (in about 1 minute of search I was able to find what car you have, when you took delivery, and also details about your delivery process).

It does seem a bit big brother-ish, but those of us here long enough do know some Tesla employees do read these forums.

But, this happened in 2015 right after I got the car. Plus I bought my car right before the end of the sales tax exemption when Tesla was delivering dozens of cars a day.

In any case I'm not a conspiracy theory kind of guy (aside from them being fun), but I don't believe how fast and how accurate Tesla can track a customer on here can be attributed to a Tesla employee reading the forum.

Plus I think it's less of a serious accusation to blame the Forum owners because it could be that I simply didn't read the fine print. It's not like it was something I gave much thought to.

It's more of a serious accusation to accuse Tesla of basically stalking. If that was true it would show a tremendous amount of disrespect on the part of Tesla for not respecting our space here.

It's not like the employee can't message us on here asking if he/she can help out. That would be a good way of not coming across as creepy.

 

[stopcrazypp]

But, this happened in 2015 right after I got the car. Plus I bought my car right before the end of the sales tax exemption when Tesla was delivering dozens of cars a day.

But you posted quite a few posts before delivery that has plenty of specific details that would make it quite easy to identify you. You can use search to confirm yourself.

In any case I'm not a conspiracy theory kind of guy (aside from them being fun), but I don't believe how fast and how accurate Tesla can track a customer on here can be attributed to a Tesla employee reading the forum.

Plus I think it's less of a serious accusation to blame the Forum owners because it could be that I simply didn't read the fine print. It's not like it was something I gave much thought to.

I'm pretty sure the admins would take such an accusation seriously. I remember previous talk about TMC selling emails to third parties, and the admins came and made it clear that they don't.
Tesla-box: Anyone else receiving these spams?

You can see TMC's privacy policy. Nowhere does it say they would share user information with Tesla:
Privacy Policy

It's more of a serious accusation to accuse Tesla of basically stalking. If that was true it would show a tremendous amount of disrespect on the part of Tesla for not respecting our space here.

Not really. I remember reading in some other thread that Tesla employees do read these forums in their free time. They might also have dedicated employees monitoring this forum (well, some we already know publicly, like the various VPs that have responded to comments directly, but some might just be lurkers).

I don't think having a dedicated team to monitor social media reactions is a sign of disrespect. This is likely a necessary part of market research for any modern company in this day and age (old days of relying on commissioned surveys/polls/interviews simply is too slow).

This is a public forum so there is no expectation of privacy for posts made publicly. For details you don't want others to know, don't post it at all.

What feels iffy is using this information to compile a blacklist rather than responding to customer concerns.

It's not like the employee can't message us on here asking if he/she can help out. That would be a good way of not coming across as creepy.

It is quite routine for employment contracts to not allow employees to represent the company in social media (specific PR social media accounts excepted). A recent story in the spot light was about Jemele Hill's tweets and ESPN (and she wasn't even speaking using the role of an ESPN employee in this case).

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I don't think having a dedicated team to monitor social media reactions is a sign of disrespect. This is likely a necessary part of market research for any modern company in this day and age (old days of relying on commissioned surveys/polls/interviews simply is too slow).

That isn't the disrespectful part. What's disrespectful is the stalking if that indeed took place.

I don't mind a normal TMC user with too much time on their hands "researching" things. But, when it's the company I bought the car from it's rather creepy.

You say it's routine for work places to not allow employees to represent the company in social media, and I believe that's true in general. But, for Tesla they have used social media. In fact I love how the Service Department near me will answer customer concerns on the Northwest Tesla Usergroup on Facebook.

Also on TMC there is a Tesla Service employee that occasionally answers questions and does act in an official manner. He seems pretty high up in the food chain so he's isn't just a typical employee of course.

Both of those examples are class acts, and how it should be handled.

 

[KyleDay]

I'm not trying to start a firestorm here. Ultimately, Tesla fixed my issue and they were great about it.

It just seemed creepy to threaten to not honor the warranty based on me posting images of my car online. If I broke something, sure, that's my fault and on me. But, I had a scarlet letter the moment I pulled into service and it felt weird. They told me it was all in my file. And someone at Tesla put it there.

I think it was my honesty and cool headedness that persuaded them to continue working on the car and to fix it. Turned out just fine. But now I have to feel like a beggar and sinner every time if I go back.

No regrets, just feels weird.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Guys, for those that feel Tesla knows who they are ... did you by any chance cross post over at the Tesla.com forums? If so, that's how they found out about you, not here.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

FWIW, Tesla has on several occasions reacted to posts on TMC by seeking and contacting the owner, even though they post anonymously. So clearly they don't have scruples about combining customer data and public details.

Of course Tesla also - many times now - comments publicly on customer logs if it suits the PR needs, e.g. after a crash.

That they put red flags on cars, I guess the only previous note of that is @wk057's car, where they stopped pushing updates into or some such after he whitehatted them.

I can see why someone might have concerns about this connecting of public discourse and customer information within the company. Privacy regulations usually try to limit such.

One could say Tesla seems to take things a bit more "personally" than many businesses.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

Another way to ID you: there are likely specific serial numbers on some of the components you photographed. Those will track to a specific VIN . . . and now Tesla knows who you are, especially when they match the VIN to your car's photographs.

Regardless, it would have, perhaps, been better for Tesla to have kept their info on the down low and not said anything pending their review of your AP complaint.

Hopefully Tesla will take this into account in the future.

Thanks for the AP tear-down; interesting thread!

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Another way to ID you: there are likely specific serial numbers on some of the components you photographed. Those will track to a specific VIN . . . and now Tesla knows who you are, especially when they match the VIN to your car's photographs.

Regardless, it would have, perhaps, been better for Tesla to have kept their info on the down low and not said anything pending their review of your AP complaint.

Hopefully Tesla will take this into account in the future.

Thanks for the AP tear-down; interesting thread!

The car could also have reported component removal through logs.

 

[Kandiru]

I too took apart my Christmas gift RC car when I was about 7, using my dad's toolbox. Loved every minute of it, but not the spanking that followed it.

 

[182RG]

It just seemed creepy to threaten to not honor the warranty based on me posting images of my car online. If I broke something, sure, that's my fault and on me. But, I had a scarlet letter the moment I pulled into service and it felt weird. They told me it was all in my file. And someone at Tesla put it there.

Not only is it creepy, it’s representative of Tesla’s attitude towards its customers. One more middle finger by the company at Magnuson Moss. Sad.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Guys, for those that feel Tesla knows who they are ... did you by any chance cross post over at the Tesla.com forums? If so, that's how they found out about you, not here.

In my case it's entirely possible that I used the same username at the Tesla forum as I did here. That could easily explain the extremely effective stalking by Tesla.

I didn't cross post though as I got sick of the fanboi's in the Tesla forum, and I largely stopped using it. I certainly wouldn't have posted anything negative because they were like wolves.

 

[doug]

The problem is this forum not respecting your privacy. Way back in 2015 I said something about some issues with my car, and I got a call from the local service department asking me if they could take a look at it. This was before I even decided whether it was worth my time bothering with.

I didn't post any pictures or any way to trace the post to me. The only way they'd know it was me is if the owners/maintainers of this forum gave my information to them. Maybe I didn't click some "do not share my information" button, but I don't remember any such button.

To me this is unacceptable. I still use this site, but it's absolutely not a free speech zone.

Just noticed this post and believe it requires a direct response.

It is absolutely not the case that the owners/maintainers of TMC (which includes me) gave your information to Tesla. We take such an accusation very seriously.

TMC is independent from Tesla and we believe part of our value is that independance. We protect member privacy and short of a compelling legal or safety reason will not reveal personally identifiable info to third parties. Please read our privacy policy.

We have refused in the past when Tesla has requested user information, without sufficient cause (in our opinion), and will continue to do so. (They don't really ask any more.) As a customer, Tesla has more info on you than TMC does.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Just noticed this post and believe it requires a direct response.

It is absolutely not the case that the owners/maintainers of TMC (which includes me) gave your information to Tesla. We take such an accusation very seriously.

TMC is independent from Tesla and we believe part of our value is that independance. We protect member privacy and short of a compelling legal or safety reason will not reveal personally identifiable info to third parties. Please read our privacy policy.

We have refused in the past when Tesla has requested user information, without sufficient cause (in our opinion), and will continue to do so. (They don't really ask any more.) As a customer, Tesla has more info on you than TMC does.

My apologies for jumping to conclusions. At the time that I wrote it there just was no other way that Tesla would have been able to identify me from only a username. Plus it was happening to a lot of people so it wasn't just an odd occurrence.

But, it turns out there was an obvious answer that I completely blanked on.

That it was most likely the Tesla's own forum that I had completely forgotten about. Where I likely used the same username as others did as well.

 

[Krash]

Also, in case there are readers to whom it isn't obvious, if you have a referral code in your profile you are instantly identified.

 

[xyeahtony]

They probably traced the serial numbers from the parts to your car. Like literally you have different serial numbers posted on a lot of those pictures, its pretty obvious how they figured out who you were. TMC would never report you but tesla employees lurk this forum all the time.

Threatening to void your warranty seems extreme, but it isn't unheard of if you somehow did inadvertently messed up something in the computer and then tried to blame any future problems on a warranty defect they'd tell you to get lost.

 

[verygreen]

Threatening to void your warranty seems extreme, but it isn't unheard of if you somehow did inadvertently messed up something in the computer and then tried to blame any future problems on a warranty defect they'd tell you to get lost.

Are not they obligated to demonstrate that it's the messing that led to problems?

I only have a personal anecdote myself, but when Tesla broke my autopilot in a hasty rush to contain whatever it is they felt the need to contain and I asked them about it, the very first thing they suggested is "you must have broken something yourself, but we can help you fix it if you want". At least they unbroke it afterwards.

 

[KyleDay]

The car could also have reported component removal through logs.

I'm sure it was easy to find my car. I don't mask my name or location. Simple enough.

Are not they obligated to demonstrate that it's the messing that led to problems?

I only have a personal anecdote myself, but when Tesla broke my autopilot in a hasty rush to contain whatever it is they felt the need to contain and I asked them about it, the very first thing they suggested is "you must have broken something yourself, but we can help you fix it if you want". At least they unbroke it afterwards.

When was this? Was it them remotely trying to keep you from their Code?

 

[verygreen]

When was this? Was it them remotely trying to keep you from their Code?

Not from the code. There are various logging policies that every car gets from mothership. So they updated a logging policy for my car only and had a typo in it or some such causing the logging service to crash on contact with mothership, and when a service on ape crashes, the whole thing reboots. 3 reboots = disabled ap for the rest of the trip.
The way to overcome it that I discovered was to severe ape connection to the internet. Eventually they noticed the problem and fixed it on their end and it became safe to let ape to connect to mothership again.

 

[BigD0g]

Not from the code. There are various logging policies that every car gets from mothership. So they updated a logging policy for my car only and had a typo in it or some such causing the logging service to crash on contact with mothership, and when a service on ape crashes, the whole thing reboots. 3 reboots = disabled ap for the rest of the trip.
The way to overcome it that I discovered was to severe ape connection to the internet. Eventually they noticed the problem and fixed it on their end and it became safe to let ape to connect to mothership again.

Oh, it's the "lets track verygreen" fork in the repo for his benefit to the community. Jeez, Tesla you say one thing, but your actions are definitely saying something different, clearly you don't believe hacking is a gift.