Model S/X deliveries with Intel-based MCU

[whitex]

It's not just about stockpiling chips.. I think a new V1 MCU retrofit module would also greatly reduce the complexity and cost of the existing board which was designed and built nearly a decade ago. Why continue to build something so outdated? Have you seen the MCU motherboard teardowns? It's a big board with lots of components, which I'm sure 10 years later has been massively consolidated into fewer chips and a smaller, easier to manufacture, motherboard.

I'm sure once we see a teardown of the Intel MCU, the motherboard will be much less complex. I'd think if Tesla were going to offer a V1 MCU retrofit down the road, they'd want to do the same thing, or even just use the same Intel board with the now deprecated inputs, outputs, and displays of the older cars. It's just going to take them time to engineer that.

This way, as they do release/develop more advanced software features, they can offer them to older cars with a drop-in Intel retrofit unit. If they price it right, say $2500-$3500 and use the old units as core exchanges (the touchscreen, display, case, and mounting hardware all likely can be reused in newer units, so they're not all just trashed), I'd bet they could turn the retrofit program into a profit center and make tens or hundreds of thousands of pre-Intel MCU owners very happy.

But I wouldn't expect that to happen for at least a year or two.

The counter argument is of course, never offer an MCU upgrade path and just force people to buy new cars. But that's not very customer friendly.

Valid points, however another alternative is to stock sufficient number of MCU's for repairs and use refurbished ones. Designing a new dedicated replacement would cost money and time. It's not simple, it's like designing an industrial tablet - think ipad but with the additional constraints of having to certify it for safety, more extreme operating environment (automotive requires electronics to work at 98 degC ambient for example (happens when car parked in the sun in some countries), and longer lifetime (ipad is designed for 2 years). It really is not cheap. Manufacturing an old design is much cheaper and doesn't consume valuable engineering resources.

 

[BigD0g]

Thanks. Same as Model 3. Very interesting!

Maybe Tesla is finally getting their software house into shape.

Not saying I said this, but I think I said this

 

[eyedrop]

I wonder if the upcoming web browser and kernel update will apply to the older Tegra chip? Like someone above said, there is no real reason that the software cant be optimized for better performance. The old Tegra has plenty of horsepower.

But the question is, will Tesla even bother optimizing the software for the old chip? Will we still get web browser and UI improvements? Or is the old tech essentially done evolving?

 

[HankLloydRight]

Not saying I said this, but I think I said this

Before or after news of the Intel MCU broke?

 

[Darmie]

I am going to email my local sc for them to ask hq about possibility of a retrofit. This is something that I really, really want.

What'd they say?

 

[BigD0g]

Before or after news of the Intel MCU broke?

Before, I said a new cid was coming based on my sources, now I need to go find that post from several months ago

 

[whitex]

But going forward now, they have to support two entirely different software branches -- Tegra and Intel.

So either they can either:

(1) Stop all development on the old platform and abandon all those customers who invested in Tesla early on, and only offer new features to Intel MCU customers.

(2) continue development on the old platform, but come on, what developer wants that crappy job?

Or

(3) they can sharpen their pencils and offer the Tegra customers an upgrade path, at an appropriate cost (say, under $5k).

Option (3) doesn't remove the number of branches they have to maintain, it adds one. Now you have:
a. Old Tegra MCU + Tegra IC
b. New Intel MCU
c. New retrofit MCU (which may even use the old Tegra IC)

They cannot just drop the old MCU maintenance, at the very least safety and security updates. Adding a new type of hardware for retrofit just adds more work whether:

• all the branches are lock step (nightmare of coding same features for differently capable platforms and of course still need to test on all 3 platforms for each release)
• each branch has its own features, so basically their own products

What will most likely happen is Tegra MCU will go into maintenance only mode. The new MCU will get all the new features. Elon will be credited with delivering new features because most people don't have a Tesla and the fact that old cars don't get the update escapes their attention spans (and they've already heard from Elon that ALL cars get OTA, so an easy jump to a conclusion that all cars get all new features).

 

[BigD0g]

Before or after news of the Intel MCU broke?

Here you go! Jan 31, 2018 !! WOOT WOOT!

New CID imminent for S/X (Next few months)

 

[Joer293]

However, this situation is not one of them. We're talking about a processor based in 2011 technology vs 2018. There is no comparison. Who wouldn't want faster technology? Especially when said technology might be needed for future upgrades?

Sarcastically speaking, yet true, my iMac 2011 top of the line still runs circles around 90% of the 2018 computers for sale at Best Buy. It's so sad that modern computers are so concerned about price, they've sacrificed everything. Unless you are willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money for something good.

Most changes at Tesla or any industry are not consumer focused. If Tesla isn't marketing the change, then it's likely a manufacturing reason. They are trying to solve issues like cost, volume, run rate, warranty risk, supplier buyouts/bankruptcies, security hacks, wire harness costs, etc.

 

[verygreen]

No promised features are dependent on a new MCU

Except the new browser, right?

 

[kirbytazzy]

Ahh!!! OA just confirmed I DO have the Intel MCU upgrade.
MS100D
ordered 1/9
Cnf 1/12
VIN 2469xx 2/8
Prod start 3/7
Prod end 3/12
Deliv 3/19

 

[verygreen]

The base OS is Ubuntu which is a good multi-architecture base

Nope, they are going away from Ubuntu for obvious reasons

 

[BigD0g]

Except the new browser, right?

It's not in the owners manual so it's not a promised feature!

 

[CarbonFree]

From the looks of things, a retrofit is absolutely possible. After the new MCU was announced, I went into my garage and found that the MCU in my four month old Model X looks like this:

Extremely modular!

 

[kak1154]

I think with this rationale you will never get a Tesla. If you refuse this delivery with the old MCU and re-order, your car will appear in Norway in June... but at that point you'd probably also refuse delivery because of some other stuff changed. Maybe a new interior refresh, exterior facelift or a new battery pack. Who knows

Ah, the slippery slope argument. There's such a thing as nuance. Yes, if you refuse delivery for every tiny thing, you'll never get one, but that's not what we're talking about here. Some of the most significant rolling changes since the Model S launched imo are the facelift, AP2, and this MCU upgrade. In my opinion, this MCU upgrade is enough to warrant refusal of delivery, and worth the extra wait.

That's simply not how it works. If you refuse delivery then you can kiss your deposit goodbye. You got the car you ordered and Tesla makes constant changes, what else are you going to refuse delivery for?

Not necessarily. Myself and another user here have already been promised our deposits will be applied to a new order. Besides, I'd pay $2,500 for this upgrade. (Luckily, I don't have to.)

See above for nuance. It's a personal choice about what to refuse delivery for. This is major enough for me. Slightly different mobile connector? Not so much. I'm just happy I found out about this 5 days before delivery instead of 5 days after.

 

[DaiPlusPlus]

Ahh!!! OA just confirmed I DO have the Intel MCU upgrade.
MS100D
ordered 1/9
Cnf 1/12
VIN 2469xx 2/8
Prod start 3/7
Prod end 3/12
Deliv 3/19

Oh hay, still in Sammamish? I'm up the road from you in the valley!

 

[Glap86]

This does not even trigger the slippery slope as someone else said.

The MCU upgrade is one of the most overdue upgrades and fixes what I think is the worst thing about an often $100k+ car, which just happens to be on one of its signature features (the touchscreen).

They're not going to do another Facelift, and an interior is an interior, generally speaking. If I want my interior upgraded, I can do it aftermarket. Can't do that with the MCU.

 

[kaiserpathos]

Yes under warranty. I’m excited. I was told this is 100% the case just today. So let’s see when I get my car back.

Based on what I heard from my SC, and on the "MCU Retrofit" thread on these forums -- you may be the only one getting an Intel MCU during warranty work. Sounds like there will be no retrofit SKU offered. As an AP1 car owner, I'm really interested in hearing if it actually pans out on yours. Good luck and let us know!

 

[GatorGuy]

This does not even trigger the slippery slope as someone else said.

The MCU upgrade is one of the most overdue upgrades and fixes what I think is the worst thing about an often $100k+ car, which just happens to be on one of its signature features (the touchscreen).

They're not going to do another Facelift, and an interior is an interior, generally speaking. If I want my interior upgraded, I can do it aftermarket. Can't do that with the MCU.

I bought my car DESPITE it having a processor from 2011. I accepted delivery yesterday because I figured it wouldn't be a difficult retrofit and be simply a matter of cost.

To deny this to existing cars when they implemented it with zero notice seems pretty crazy to me.

 

[evster]

Ok guys.. just to counter balance this a bit...
Is this new MCU really that kind of crazy big improvement in reality? I mean, if you consider that the browser is never used, then the other improvements are not that massive? When Vector maps is released to the old MCU, the maps will be much improved in speed and more than acceptable.
Really looking forward to see what improvements we can see from a software perspective for the old MCU the coming months.