new hardware coming?

[ccharleb]

Hello,

I'm planning to buy a S85D next year. I know that Tesla is always improving and that new hardware is added without too much notice.
What can we expect to come "soon"?

- Heated wheel (coming very soon...)
- LTE connectivity?
- Next Gen seats for non-P models?

What do you think?

Christian

 

[Shawn Snider]

I also plan to buy an S85D next year, I hope they free-up their customization options like the Next-Gen Seats, I personally find the regular seat's a deal breaker and I can't afford a P85D.

I hope they find a way to keep the HD Reverse Camera clean while driving (snow build-up, mud, etc). Maybe enclose it like a windshield+wiper combo....

 

[thebishop]

I hope they find a way to keep the HD Reverse Camera clean while driving (snow build-up, mud, etc). Maybe enclose it like a windshield+wiper combo....

+1

That was the initial bug I reported after doing a test drive - the reverse camera is useless in countries where there are "bad" weather. Look to VW for the solution, they rotate forward the reverse camera from under the car logo on the back trunk when the car is put in reverse only - so it is always protected during normal driving. Great solution that works really.

 

[Todd Burch]

+1

That was the initial bug I reported after doing a test drive - the reverse camera is useless in countries where there are "bad" weather. Look to VW for the solution, they rotate forward the reverse camera from under the car logo on the back trunk when the car is put in reverse only - so it is always protected during normal driving. Great solution that works really.

Why is that a great solution? The best part about the Tesla camera is that you can leave it on all the time, to monitor your blind spots.

BTW, Tesla has publically said that there's no new hardware coming to the car for a while.

 

[ccharleb]

I know they said no new hardware, but they are just about (if not already) adding heated wheel.
I'm just curious about what could be next. Or view it this way: What's missing from an hardware perspective?
- 360 cameras?

 

[stevezzzz]

Hello,

I'm planning to buy a S85D next year. I know that Tesla is always improving and that new hardware is added without too much notice.
What can we expect to come "soon"?

- Heated wheel (coming very soon...)
- LTE connectivity?
- Next Gen seats for non-P models?

What do you think?

Christian

Given Tesla's prior practice, I think you can count on the Next Gen seats becoming an option on non-P cars, probably 4-6 months after they become available (they're really not in full production yet, even for the P85D). The heated wheel, when announced, should be available on any S as part of the Sub Zero package; whether that results in a price increase for the option remains to be seen, but Tesla's not in the habit of giving away optional hardware. LTE connectivity rollout timing is anyone's guess.

 

[NielsChr]

currently tesla is using VCM tegra K1 form nvidia.
I guess at some point nvidia will releaase a VCM K2 - hopefully backwards compatible so Tesla could offer a retrofit. (the nav/browser could bennefit from a faster cpu)
nvidia have already a K2 gpu/cpu so a vcm with a K2 should be comming.

nvidia also makes a i500 GSM/3G/LTE module - this should be a simple taske to implement and might not cost more than pressent solution. I guess this will come no later than Model X goes into production - maybe before.

 

[ecarfan]

That was the initial bug I reported after doing a test drive - the reverse camera is useless in countries where there are "bad" weather. Look to VW for the solution, they rotate forward the reverse camera from under the car logo on the back trunk when the car is put in reverse only - so it is always protected during normal driving. Great solution that works really.

Even in the mild California climate where I live, the rear view camera can be useless in just light rain.

But the VW "solution" you describe is not what I would want, since I leave the rear view camera image on the center display all the time because it is more useful than the rear view mirror...except when it's raining.

 

[Alysashley79]

In regards to the camera. It's not just a back up camera but also used for blind spots! If tesla were to put a shield around it we'd lose most of our visibility. If you live in a rainy orneven snowy area I've found that clearex works really good if you apply it every other day (I live in Seattle so do this every other night when I get home and helps quite a bit.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

If the Model S lacks the features and amenities you desire, there is no harm in waiting until those items are implemented. The car continues to improve, so time is on your side. I think LTE is not something that you should wait for because the current 3G connectivity is plenty sufficient. You can always tether the car via wifi to your LTE smartphone/hotspot. The next gen seats might be worth waiting for, as would be a heated steering wheel if you live in a cold climate.

 

[skilly]

In regards to the camera. It's not just a back up camera but also used for blind spots! If tesla were to put a shield around it we'd lose most of our visibility. If you live in a rainy orneven snowy area I've found that clearex works really good if you apply it every other day (I live in Seattle so do this every other night when I get home and helps quite a bit.

Autopilot and correctly positioned side mirrors and you're good to go = personally using that in a constant state in the 'mission control' screen would give me motion sickness!.

specific to the camera, I would like to see them add the option to put in guide lines with distance color indicators configured to front wheel movement like practically every other car on the market with a rear view camera.
As a new (not yet delivered) P85D owner, I would like to see some of the options like NG seats be somewhat exclusive to that car. Either not be offered or perhaps included in the $22K Premium one pays for the MS version. Or if you are buying a non-P car the premium to u/g being more.

I know this wouldnt be popular with those not opting for the P85D but its consistent with other high end versions of auto manufacturing like Porsche, BMW, MB etc.

 

[thebishop]

Why is that a great solution? The best part about the Tesla camera is that you can leave it on all the time, to monitor your blind spots.

BTW, Tesla has publically said that there's no new hardware coming to the car for a while.

Its a great solution because it is reliable even if there is snow, mud, condensation or similar things. I did a test drive with a spanking new S60 a few weeks ago (with the new seats and radar hardware etc, not next-gen) - the car was looking fairly recently washed (as one would expect a demo car to be that was only one week old...) and when we needed to use the camera for backing up - lo and behold, it was dirtied or had condensation on it so it was absolutely 100% useless, it was just looking like fog. I would rather have a camera that works reliably when I need to back up, then to have one that is unreliable. I _do_ agree it would be even nicer to have one that was always be able to be 'on', but only if reliable - if they can't solve that reliably (which they obviously haven't by empirical evidence), I would rather have another solution.

That being said, I just confirmed my order for a P85D

 

[Danal]

... correctly positioned side mirrors...

After 40 years of driving with mirrors positioned per conventional "See the side of the car", I switched to "BGE" which is "Blind spot & Glare Elimination" setup a few weeks ago. It is wonderful! It only takes seconds to set up. Try it and see if you like it.


How to Eliminate Blindspots with the BGE Mirror Setting : Drivers Ed Guru

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Here's an even easier way to adjust your side view mirrors and it doesn't require you to move your head!

Eliminate Blind Spots - YouTube

 

[Todd Burch]

Rain-X will fix most of those rear camera visibility issues.

 

[donv]

Tesla said a while back that there wouldn't be any significant changes to the Model S until next September. That said, they're always making small, incremental improvements.

 

[ecarfan]

Rain-X will fix most of those rear camera visibility issues.

Todd that's an interesting idea and I happen to have some Rain-X on hand that I once used on my vintage Porsche's. I'll try it.

 

[yobigd20]

Doesn't it already have a heated steering wheel? they added that last month and cars are being delivered with that already. Regarding Next Gen seats Jerome said they will be available for all models in a few months.

 

[mspohr]

Tesla said a while back that there wouldn't be any significant changes to the Model S until next September. That said, they're always making small, incremental improvements.

At one time, Elon said they make 20 hardware changes a week. It's always improving. You can wait forever for the perfect car but the next week they'll have 20 more changes.

 

[Todd Burch]

At one time, Elon said they make 20 hardware changes a week. It's always improving. You can wait forever for the perfect car but the next week they'll have 20 more changes.

But those are design changes/improvements, not changes to the available feature set (apart from software updates).