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I guess my message sounded like I was bashing Tesla, but that's actually not the case. Even though as a buyer your car is quickly not the latest and best, I enjoy this approach from Tesla making rapid and sudden changes.
My point is, Tesla has done retrofits in the past and might do some in the future (Nvidia Drive PX 2 swapped if not sufficient for FSD). I DIT NOT expect the MCU retrofit, I hoped for it.I was merely saying that it was unfortunate this specific change was not in the cards for those who would pay for a retrofit, but that won't make me enjoy the car any less.
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vraev
Member
I went to the Oakville SC today and talked to the service technicians. They have been dealing with hundreds of emails about this. Dave (service advisor ) has said that an upgrade is unlikely for current owners. This also seems to be likely for the vanity mirror lights or Bluetooth/5ghz update. They are unsure if the schematics will be compatible and also say that it will be unlikely to know about an upgrade possibility for at least a few months down the road. Even now they have issues ordering certain replacement parts. Furthermore, if the MCU in a 2.0/2.5 car fails, they will replace it with our model (Nvidia Tegra) MCU and not an upgraded SoC.
Definitely a bummer. Hopefully the mod community comes up with a better soliutioon. Perhaps Tesla will change their stance and offer update possibilities.
Definitely a bummer. Hopefully the mod community comes up with a better soliutioon. Perhaps Tesla will change their stance and offer update possibilities.
One reason that the MCU may not need to be option coded is that if the MCU communicates with Tesla to pull down firmware and update, the MCU already knows what kind it needs without seeing that code.
Where is the VIN kept? If the VIN is in the MCU, doesn't this create some sort of security risk if users can populate this within the MCU? And wouldn't hacking the VIN be required for a DIY retrofit if the VIN is in the MCU?
Also I found this thread insightful that a SC might be willing to do the wiring harness update for bluetooth and 5GHz, specifically these two posts...
Retrofitted to new power folding mirrors today
Submitted by CalabasasKid on April 1, 2014
Van Nuys SC did it in a couple of hrs while they were replacing my MCU (bad 3G modem). They charged me $1500. For me, it was well worth it....
Submitted by CalabasasKid on April 1, 2014
Van Nuys SC did it in a couple of hrs while they were replacing my MCU (bad 3G modem). They charged me $1500. For me, it was well worth it....
chrisdl | April 2, 2014
...Power folding mirrors are only part of the tech pack since October 2013, if I remember correctly. Many cars don't have them. If you have a car with a VIN below P12142 you even need to double the retrofit price because the wiring harness needs to be changed as well.
...Power folding mirrors are only part of the tech pack since October 2013, if I remember correctly. Many cars don't have them. If you have a car with a VIN below P12142 you even need to double the retrofit price because the wiring harness needs to be changed as well.
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Perhaps if they really hear this much customer feedback about willingness to pay for an upgrade, they'd change their minds and design a retrofit. If you're willing / interested to pay for a retrofit, IMO I'd email corporate support to express that.
Got the response from the exec escalation, this should be the definitive answer regarding retrofits.
"First of all, welcome to the Tesla family!
In the interest of full transparency, will not be implementing these retrofits in vehicles that have already been built and delivered. While I can absolutely understand your frustration and concern here, I can assure you that the changes that were made were minor, and will not affect the user interface or overall experience with your car whatsoever.
I apologize that this is not the answer that you were hoping for, but this has been decided by our executive team. As always we will continue to introduce improvements to your vehicle with over-the-air updates – and unlike any other vehicle, your Tesla will continue to get better over time.
Thank you for understanding. Have a great weekend!"
This email answers most of the concerns, the tegra mcu will keep being updated ota, and will share the same feature set as the intel mcu for the next foreseeable future!
"First of all, welcome to the Tesla family!
In the interest of full transparency, will not be implementing these retrofits in vehicles that have already been built and delivered. While I can absolutely understand your frustration and concern here, I can assure you that the changes that were made were minor, and will not affect the user interface or overall experience with your car whatsoever.
I apologize that this is not the answer that you were hoping for, but this has been decided by our executive team. As always we will continue to introduce improvements to your vehicle with over-the-air updates – and unlike any other vehicle, your Tesla will continue to get better over time.
Thank you for understanding. Have a great weekend!"
This email answers most of the concerns, the tegra mcu will keep being updated ota, and will share the same feature set as the intel mcu for the next foreseeable future!
This statement is obviously false, so I suspect the rest of the message is similar PR horseshit. Tesla's credibility continues to evaporate.
Tesla has a long history of offering upgrades to their cars. From AP GPUs upgrade promises, to LTE, to uncorking, to HEPA, to tow hitch, to dual charger, to carbon fiber spoiler, to windshield replacement, instrument cluster replacement, Ludicrous, and 75 kWh OTA battery pack upgrade.
Many people, myself included, bought cars with the expectation that paid upgrade options would continue, especially for something as old and obviously obsolete as the MCU and screen. It's not 2011 anymore, and the MCU really defines the user experience. Others might find that funny.
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GatorGuy
Member
That is the same email I got, word for word.
BTW, it doesn't say at all that both MCUs will have the same features.
The heavy duty retrofits were reserved for the Roadster and they are a special class.
They cannot be done anymore at Tesla’s scale.
No one said anything about the MCU until someone “else” got a faster one.
Existing ones can be improved through coding.
“Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals study logistics.”
Go offer Tesla a plan and maybe you can get a job there.
That's why none of my examples pertained to the Roadster.
Tesla doesn't pay particularly well, but customers shouldn't need to infiltrate Tesla to maintain high owner satisfaction. They already paid for their cars.
I didn't say retrofit, I said paid upgrade. I'd be happy to remove that reference, if that would keep you focused on my other ten examples. Or we could expand the set to include the Roadster, though there were sporadic cases of a 60 to 85 retrofit on the S.
A semi-official history of retrofits is here:
Modifications | TeslaTap
Tesla Retrofits
Tesla offers a number of documented and undocumented retrofits to add items you did not select or were not available when the car was made.
- 40 to 60 kWh Battery Upgrade
- 60 to 85 kWh Battery Upgrade
- 60 to 75 kWh Battery Upgrade
- 70 to 75 kWh Battery Upgrade
- 85 to 90 kWh Battery Upgrade
- 53 to 74 kWh Battery Upgrade (Roadster)
- P85 to P85+ Retrofit
- Alcantara Headliner Retrofit
- Autopilot/Lane Departure Retrofit
- Bioweapon Defense Filter Retrofit
- Center Console Retrofit
- Defrost Mesh Grille Update
- Fog Lights Upgrade
- Headlights – Halogen to Xenon HID
- Headliner Change
- LTE Retrofit
- Ludicrous Retrofit
- Navigation Retrofit
- Next Gen Seat Upgrade
- Pano Roof Center Bar Cover
- Parking Sensors
- Power Folding Side Mirrors Retrofit
- Rear Facing Seats Retrofit
- Red Brake Calipers
- Supercharging Upgrade
- Textile Seats with Memory and Heaters
- Tire Pressure Monitor Retrofit
- Titanium Underbody Shield Retrofit
- Twin Charger Retrofit
- Washer Nozzle Retrofit
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de Vere
Member
That could be, but changes cost engineer time and production line downtime, and old parts can sometimes be cheaper than brand new as the tooling already exists and is paid for.
I would think they would save a redesign for the a major interior refresh, and do the minimum necessary to accomplish the objective: parity with the Model 3. The Model 3 MCU made the Tegra MCU a laughingstock. Tesla needs to minimize M3 sales cannibalizing MS and MX sales.
The real question is how much effort it would take to tweak the new MCU for existing cars, probably by merging elements of both designs.
No, that is false. The slowness of the UX was the 1st thing I noticed when I got the car last year summer. It felt like an ipad 3 (remember that one? That's the 1st ipad with retina display but the GPU was too slow so it is choppy). I've always told myself, don't worry, OTA software update can make the code more efficient and things will get better. In the worse case, there will be a new chip that will come out and it would be a simple swap, kind of like changing the graphics card or CPU on your desktop computer. This is a Tesla not a Ford, it gotta be upgradable. Because it is an expensive $100k+ car, there will be the motivation to spend some money to make that computer better later on.
I hope I will not be proven wrong on this.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
That's a short-term view. The long term view would be how much would these changes save us in parts, assembly, maintenance, and repair costs? They could easily calculate an ROI on the R&D required to re-engineer everything that needs re-engineering. And for a car design that's going on 10 years old, I'm sure there's A LOT of things that need a new, fresh look to rebuild the platform for the next 10 years.
Car makers have been doing this for decades now. If automakers can shave 10 cents of a part, they will. Ford could have fixed the ill-fated Pinto gas tank for $11 per car (about $80 in today's dollars), but they chose not to and hundreds of people died as a result.
(more details here: Ford Pinto Fuel Tanks - Top Automotive Engineering Failures)
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Nice list but many of those have not applied for many years now. Even stuff I put in last year isn't really being offered this year due to the entry of the Model 3 and them working to streamline S and X ordering options. Less choices and more things are standard.
Point is, Tesla isn't going to replace something like the MCU without a mint worth of opportunity costs.
If Tesla did charge a mint to cover this opportunity cost we'd have very wealthy owners uptake it, and then a lot more people complaining about the option, Tesla is greedy, etc.
NO WIN SITUATION.
Serious, someone actually said "Can't they do something for recent owners?" I mean seriously.. really?
When's the cut off date for that? Jan 15th? What if I took delivery on Jan 14th? It never ends with the whiners. NEVER
eye.surgeon
Active Member
It would be more accurate to say that Tesla owners have a history of demanding upgrade options.
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