davidc18
Active Member
Oh, yes, the Tesla employees know what the systems do. I was referring to knowing what and when new things (enhancements) are coming down the road.
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Oh, yes, the Tesla employees know what the systems do. I was referring to knowing what and when new things (enhancements) are coming down the road.
The introduction of AP 1.0 was much more smooth and professional.
The countdown to autonomy is in the hands of the legislature rather than the engineers.
Tesla-time will soon be replaced by lawyer-time.
Imagine my joy.
Just stating that such decisions are hard to make using software, and even harder for two humans to agree that is the right path, and finally, convincing the lawmakers that the s/w is going to make better decision that humans in such cases.
I have to disagree with that. Telsa employees can sell and explain the new AP the day after its release. They had to have had "some" kind of training a week or a month ago.
Everybody knew when they bought their car that upgrades would be coming while
I do feel a bit of sympathy for the guy who was told point blank that everything would be upgrade-able. That's not cool.
In Any case, the real question is whether or not AP1 is will ever be able to do the things we were told it would. I think that just became very unlikely and is the real reason for any anger. Firmware 8.1 will most likely not be much of an update for us.
Did you really just compare a PC chassis to an automobile chassis, in terms of simplicity and standardization for upgrade-ability? I would encourage you to contemplate further on some of the many different features of the automobile that would make that difficult. Sensor design and placement, for example. While the connection to the wiring harness may be standardized, the placement and connection to the body itself is complicated by a number of factors: sheet metal shape and composition, distance from the harness, other components in the way, potential environmental factors, regulatory issues...
Did you really just compare a PC chassis to an automobile chassis, in terms of simplicity and standardization for upgrade-ability? I would encourage you to contemplate further on some of the many different features of the automobile that would make that difficult. Sensor design and placement, for example. While the connection to the wiring harness may be standardized, the placement and connection to the body itself is complicated by a number of factors: sheet metal shape and composition, distance from the harness, other components in the way, potential environmental factors, regulatory issues...
If we want to stay with the computer paradigm, I would suggest that a Tesla is more akin to an engineered system, aka like storage/compute/network platforms that are all in one (FlexPod, SuperCluster, or hyper converged like Nutanix, Simplivity). Point being - as you said, those types of systems like Teslas aren't really upgradeable to any large extent. When you want the newest, you have to buy the new platform. Tesla is not a consumer grade PC..
Side note - 3 Marylanders debating, maybe we should meet for coffee
Very good letter and I fully agree!
The introduction of AP 1.0 was much more smooth and professional. Now it was completely different: no good planning with production, no event, delay of that announcement to make a last minute video, software unfinished. We also cannot compare this with 100 battery or facelift because this is biggest and most important upgrade since AP 1.0.
No automaker designs their wiring harness to be easily replaceable. There's little to no advantage to designing a car like that versus the compromises you might have to make to do that (wiring harnesses must be protected from damage from exposure, vibration, heat, flexing, etc, so naturally they are put in places that are hard to reach, which make them difficult to replace). Tesla also never promised that their cars would have easy *hardware* upgrades (other than the battery pack which was designed to be swappable from the start). So far the way they accomplished upgrades is with software (hardware already built in but activated later).It is no so much about a free lotto ticket. This is about Tesla providing the upgrade standards we have come to expect in technology products. Tesla clearly claims to be selling a technology product.
At the time of ordering, we asked explicit questions about forward compatibility, upgrades, and obsolescence. We were assured that the car would continue to improve over time and that future improvements could be integrated into the platform. So we invested in the platform. With the AP 2.0 announcement, we have some emerging concerns as to whether Tesla is keeping the faith....
To seed a healthy discussion, with an eye towards improving a company we have great affection for:
Point #1 -Design for future upgrades
Choosing whether to (or not to) design the electronics packages, sensors, and wiring harness to be easily upgraded (or not) is absolutely a design priority choice. Sitting on my desk is a 14 year old computer chassis, upgraded continuously over time, to perform on par with any of today's fastest gaming systems (but alas doing real work!). Why? Because the the electronics components were designed with to be plugged, unplugged, and easily swapped. During its service life time it has been easily upgraded 4 times with major updates.
While I can fully understand Tesla desire we do not mix and match hardware configurations they have not fully vetted, I find it absurd that you cannot swap complete packages of boards, wiring harnesses, and sensors on the vehicle chassis to keep pace with current technology. Tesla missed the ball in failing to design for easy upgrades, even if the new hardware is expensive. Note to Tesla: Think Atari Cartridges (yes I am that old).
Point #2 -Encourage upgrades
Tesla service network expansion is way behind. At the time the upgrade was announced there should have also been a AP 2.0 hardware pack announced and made available for sale ONLY through a network of independent Tesla certified installers who were authorized to sell, install, certify, and then activate the AP 2.0 hardware pack. These independent installers could create a highly competitive and cost efficient means of installing the upgrades and offloading work from the Tesla Service centers. This has already been done by Tesla with auto body service centers.
In failing to sell upgrades to existing vehicle owners, Tesla is leaving cash on the table.
Thoughts and comments welcome. Tesla, I hope you can hear us.
Buried in the hype is the reality that everyone buying a Tesla today, and paying for Autopilot, will not be able to use it for some unspecified period of time that in truth amounts to "however long it takes us to prove it is safe." And that's a huge and important point that everyone is completely missing.
I'm not surprised.
I expect more responses like this.