Is a lack of instrumentation dangerous?

[bmzl]

When a poster queried Elon about the lack of instrumentation, Elon responded by asking the poster what kind of instrumentation he needed when taking a taxi. While that may have some validity for those who pay $8000 extra for FSD, for everyone else, accessing any control requires looking at the bottom of the center display for the correct icon to bring up the correct screen and then operate that screen in order to operate the desired control. That is an awful lot of time with your eyes off the road. That is why other vehicles have dedicated control knobs which can be operated without taking your eyes off the road at all.
Is the <$40,000 M3 a death trap?

 

[jaguar36]

Don't feed the troll.

 

[Stolz25]

Yes, clearly a death trap. Everyone should cancel their reservations immediately.

 

[Marsnaut]

Realistically, the only thing you need to drive a car is your stalk for setting (P, D, R, etc.) and both an accelerator/brake. Headlights are nice but not necessary. Even if the screen fails completely to turn on, it would merely be an inconvenience.

Admittedly, I don't drive much and don't know much about cars. Would the screen failing or even lagging cause any issues with the core operations of the car? It should work well for the first 5 years (kind of like an iPhone) but after that it does become somewhat of a concern for me.

 

[KarenRei]

Don't feed the troll.

Be nice

 

[TexasEV]

Obviously the OP has never driven a Model S.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

I've had a few occasions when the center touchscreen froze up on my Model S and had to be rebooted while I was already underway. This had no impact on the dash screen where I was able to see the speed I was doing and whether my turn signal was on (although I couldn't hear the clicking sound which is seemingly generated by the MCU/touchscreen).

This fallback is not available with the 3 so, there's some risk there if the sole screen freezes up for any reason (bound to happen at some point as firmware bugs are inevitable). Maybe best to try to pullover and reboot in those situations.

 

[scaesare]

Yes. 100% of people who drive a Model 3 will die.

 

[boofagle]

Is the <$40,000 M3 a death trap?

obviously. That's why the majority of Model 3 Reservation holders polled said they were buying it for their "ex husband/wife and/or mother-in-law."

 

[nikeykid]

Yes. 100% of people who drive a Model 3 will die.

Die eventually of too much clean air in their lungs

 

[mmd]

Bright sunlight can wash out the screen. It can be problematic to see the controls.
The screen needs to be in some deep recess or something.

 

[chronopc]

Yes. 100% of people who drive a Model 3 will die.

Musk said with the efficiency of the Model 3, numbers can be as high as 110% or 120% in ideal conditions.

 

[aesculus]

That is why other vehicles have dedicated control knobs which can be operated without taking your eyes off the road at all.

This was true in the early days of cars when there were only a few dedicated controls at close hand. With modern cars it's a nightmare. I got a Infiniti QX80 as a loaner when my X was being annual'd. I was lost in a sea of over 50 levers, knobs and buttons not to mention a track ball sort of gimble. Talk about a distraction.

 

[gregincal]

OK, I thought your first thread was somewhat reasonable, but this one does seem like a troll post. The controls are the same as the Model S and the Model X. Most people don't consider them a death trap.

 

[206er]

my only remote concern with Tesla vehicles - and I guess all vehicles connected to a network - is the potential for hackers to infiltrate the car and somehow take control of the vehicle. Like, could a car be taken over by a hacker remotely while it's doing 60-70 mph down the highway, cruising through the city, or started up from a parking spot and used to hit or run over someone?

I'm not a developer, but would love some tech insight into how easy/difficult it would be to do this, and how hacks like those done by Tencent were accomplished.

 

[commasign]

So, this is a death trap...

But this isn't?

 

[Uncle Paul]

Most hackers now are the good guys. They probe systems to search for vulnerabilities, then inform the manufacturer who patches the problem areas.

 

[Thomas Edison]

Don't feed the troll.

You just did, and I am now. In order to not feed it we shouldn't reply to the thread. Let it die a lonely death.

Take notes people.

 

[redan]

So, this is a death trap...

View attachment 239667

It was for BlackBerry!

 

[Ugliest1]

my only remote concern with Tesla vehicles - and I guess all vehicles connected to a network - is the potential for hackers to infiltrate the car and somehow take control of the vehicle. Like, could a car be taken over by a hacker remotely while it's doing 60-70 mph down the highway, cruising through the city, or started up from a parking spot and used to hit or run over someone?.

My thoughts on this are that it's a lot easier to do that in the movies and on TV than in real life.

However, if that becomes widely possible exploiting some sort of hole, Tesla has a big advantage over everyone (as has already happened, twice I believe): At the first indication there's a problem, e.g., one car being hacked somewhere in the world, Tesla can figure out the problem and the patch and get the update out to ALL Tesla cars very quickly, over the air, while the owners sleep or whatever. Timing being a few days to a week.

TL;DR: 1) Yes in TV, not likely in real life; 2) Tesla's fix would be near-immediate

[EDIT: I should mention re the already-occurred hacks of a Model S: one was by a security company, informed Tesla of the opening, all cars updated within a few days. I don't remember the circumstances of the other but the car wasn't stolen or controlled.]