So while sitting in the service center for some minor issues, I happened to get an email from Tesla asking about my experience after my first month of ownership. i am sure all of the following has been discussed ad nauseum, and Tesla will either deal with them or not, but it doesn't hurt to say it again. Here is what I wrote. I'd be interested in what else people think are high priority items.
"Let me start by saying I love the car, and am completely committed to Tesla. Nevertheless, in certain highly visible ways, the Model X actually lags way behind other, far less expensive and less advanced cars, and needs immediate improvement. The following are some of my thoughts:
I. Cell phone integration: this is probably the number one deficiency and source of discontent. For the iPhone, which I have, this most noticeable omission could easily be accomplished by offering two relatively simple options, providing different, but much needed functionality, for which users could pay like XM radio or any other optional service: (a) Apple CarPlay, and (b) an app which simply displays the phone's screen on the Tesla display.
The latter is actually much more useful than some people think, and could be outsourced to one of a number of third-party developers who have already developed much of this technology. The most obvious benefit is users could see useful apps, which are unlikely to ever run natively in the Tesla operating system--Waze is a perfect example. But there are other substantial benefits as well.
It is unrealistic to think drivers don't look at their phones to varying degrees--an obviously dangerous practice exacerbated by the absence of any useful integration with the car. Having an enlarged view of the screen at eye level would substantially reduce or eliminate that source of distraction. Moreover, through voice commands, whether the car's (which are way to limited, by the way,) or "Hey Siri," and familiarity with the relative location of items to touch on the phone's screen, access to many of the phone's functions would be no more difficult--and often much easier--than most of the other things drivers do using the Tesla touch screen and other controls.
II. Other Apps: The second priority for me is a group of relatively minor, but extremely annoying, omissions from existing apps which need to be addressed because they make essential functions excessively cumbersome.
A. Contacts: finding a contact in the phone app is ridiculously difficult. I have probably 1500 contacts, and must scroll through the entire list if the person is not in the recent call list. The lack of "favorites" and a search capability is simply inexcusable. Merely selecting a letter in the alphabet doesn't cut it.
B. The Browser: The browser is in serious need of enhancement, but many deficiencies could be addressed without major surgery.
1. The apparent lack of "cookies" or saved passwords must be fixed. Now, information must be re-enter every time a website is accessed after the car restarts. No other browser works like this, and like the phone, the browser is used while driving. Forcing the driver to constantly re-enter data is not only bad design, it is a dangerous and easily rectified source of potential distraction . Security concerns could be addressed by a setting enabling/disabling this function, and automatically disabling it in valet mode.
2. The absence of a tabbed interface substantially reduces the functionality of the browser and makes it look quite dated. Having to reload pages in a single window, even if the address is stored as a favorite, is very primitive, and another unnecessary source of distraction.
C. Navigation: the in-dash display should include additional information, and/or allow the driver to cycle through various data elements, e.g., projected arrival time, remaining miles, minutes to destination, miles to next turn, etc.
D. The music app re-reads my USB flash drive every time I lock and unlock the car, and does not simply resume where it left off. Needless to say that is quite irritating. I have a 128gb flash drive, and it takes quite a bit of time to re-read the contents, and I then must find and re-select the song I was playing when i got out of the car. Not good. Also, the music player seems to "hiccup" playing high bitrate FLACC files, and they actually sound worse than normal MP3 files. I have the upgraded sound system, which I bought partially because it was supposed to provide superior sound for high res audio files. The reverse seems to be true.
III. Key Fob functions:
A. The passenger door cannot be opened from the fob or the app. That is very inconvenient, especially since people getting in the car for the first time are often confused about how to open the door. Two taps on the fob opens the driver door--how about 3 clicks opening the passenger door?
B. When i double-click the top of the key, the drivers door opens, and that is fine. But I cannot simply unlock the car with the key fob without opening any door. I can do it from the app, but not from the key. For example, if I want to disconnect the charger I must unlock the car, but I may not want to open the door. A single press locks the car; how about a long press to unlock it?
There are other issues, but this represents what to me are the most pressing. Essentially, the Model X is a computer on wheels, and therefore the user interface is a critical component of the driving experience. Unfortunately, these glaring, serious defects in the driver's interactions with the car, conflict disproportionately with its otherwise technologically advanced nature, and seem primitive compared to virtually every other new car of any price. None of these should be difficult or expensive to address, and this blemish on what is otherwise a truly spectacular automobile should be eliminated without delay. "
"Let me start by saying I love the car, and am completely committed to Tesla. Nevertheless, in certain highly visible ways, the Model X actually lags way behind other, far less expensive and less advanced cars, and needs immediate improvement. The following are some of my thoughts:
I. Cell phone integration: this is probably the number one deficiency and source of discontent. For the iPhone, which I have, this most noticeable omission could easily be accomplished by offering two relatively simple options, providing different, but much needed functionality, for which users could pay like XM radio or any other optional service: (a) Apple CarPlay, and (b) an app which simply displays the phone's screen on the Tesla display.
The latter is actually much more useful than some people think, and could be outsourced to one of a number of third-party developers who have already developed much of this technology. The most obvious benefit is users could see useful apps, which are unlikely to ever run natively in the Tesla operating system--Waze is a perfect example. But there are other substantial benefits as well.
It is unrealistic to think drivers don't look at their phones to varying degrees--an obviously dangerous practice exacerbated by the absence of any useful integration with the car. Having an enlarged view of the screen at eye level would substantially reduce or eliminate that source of distraction. Moreover, through voice commands, whether the car's (which are way to limited, by the way,) or "Hey Siri," and familiarity with the relative location of items to touch on the phone's screen, access to many of the phone's functions would be no more difficult--and often much easier--than most of the other things drivers do using the Tesla touch screen and other controls.
II. Other Apps: The second priority for me is a group of relatively minor, but extremely annoying, omissions from existing apps which need to be addressed because they make essential functions excessively cumbersome.
A. Contacts: finding a contact in the phone app is ridiculously difficult. I have probably 1500 contacts, and must scroll through the entire list if the person is not in the recent call list. The lack of "favorites" and a search capability is simply inexcusable. Merely selecting a letter in the alphabet doesn't cut it.
B. The Browser: The browser is in serious need of enhancement, but many deficiencies could be addressed without major surgery.
1. The apparent lack of "cookies" or saved passwords must be fixed. Now, information must be re-enter every time a website is accessed after the car restarts. No other browser works like this, and like the phone, the browser is used while driving. Forcing the driver to constantly re-enter data is not only bad design, it is a dangerous and easily rectified source of potential distraction . Security concerns could be addressed by a setting enabling/disabling this function, and automatically disabling it in valet mode.
2. The absence of a tabbed interface substantially reduces the functionality of the browser and makes it look quite dated. Having to reload pages in a single window, even if the address is stored as a favorite, is very primitive, and another unnecessary source of distraction.
C. Navigation: the in-dash display should include additional information, and/or allow the driver to cycle through various data elements, e.g., projected arrival time, remaining miles, minutes to destination, miles to next turn, etc.
D. The music app re-reads my USB flash drive every time I lock and unlock the car, and does not simply resume where it left off. Needless to say that is quite irritating. I have a 128gb flash drive, and it takes quite a bit of time to re-read the contents, and I then must find and re-select the song I was playing when i got out of the car. Not good. Also, the music player seems to "hiccup" playing high bitrate FLACC files, and they actually sound worse than normal MP3 files. I have the upgraded sound system, which I bought partially because it was supposed to provide superior sound for high res audio files. The reverse seems to be true.
III. Key Fob functions:
A. The passenger door cannot be opened from the fob or the app. That is very inconvenient, especially since people getting in the car for the first time are often confused about how to open the door. Two taps on the fob opens the driver door--how about 3 clicks opening the passenger door?
B. When i double-click the top of the key, the drivers door opens, and that is fine. But I cannot simply unlock the car with the key fob without opening any door. I can do it from the app, but not from the key. For example, if I want to disconnect the charger I must unlock the car, but I may not want to open the door. A single press locks the car; how about a long press to unlock it?
There are other issues, but this represents what to me are the most pressing. Essentially, the Model X is a computer on wheels, and therefore the user interface is a critical component of the driving experience. Unfortunately, these glaring, serious defects in the driver's interactions with the car, conflict disproportionately with its otherwise technologically advanced nature, and seem primitive compared to virtually every other new car of any price. None of these should be difficult or expensive to address, and this blemish on what is otherwise a truly spectacular automobile should be eliminated without delay. "
