OTA updates nothing to get excited about, sb a purchase deterrent…

[jjrandorin]

But this should not be done on a commercial product that is shipping to customers unless there's a damn good reason for it.

I kind of feel the same way you do, but modern web based software is absolutely changed all the time, with features coming and going, interface changes etc. Just about every major platform does this now, especially if its web based. Mail platforms, Word Processing / Spreadsheets, etc.

Everything has moved to "continuous improvement" methodologies. Now, whether its being improved or not is a different thing, but things are constantly changed, everywhere.

 

[STS-134]

I kind of feel the same way you do, but modern web based software is absolutely changed all the time, with features coming and going, interface changes etc. Just about every major platform does this now, especially if its web based. Mail platforms, Word Processing / Spreadsheets, etc.

Everything has moved to "continuous improvement" methodologies. Now, whether its being improved or not is a different thing, but things are constantly changed, everywhere.

That's true, but there's something particularly amateurish about the way Tesla does these updates. The changes to Gmail for example, have never left me wondering where the send button was or how to access the settings menu. I feel like most companies at least test their potential changes on people prior to release to make sure it's at least logical in the minds of their customers and doesn't cause massive amounts of confusion, whereas Tesla just makes changes and then waits to see how many complaints roll in.

 

[kavyboy]

I dont know what counts as "long time user". I have only had a tesla since dec of 2018, and Its a model 3 (so no MCU1 etc etc). I have been perfectly happy with the updates, and version changes I have received. With that being said, thats not nearly "long time" in relation to tesla ownership, more like "mid time".

Parts of V11 sort of annoyed me, but not to the level / vitriol that is displayed here. I am still excited that my 2018 model 3 does virtually everything from a software perspective that brand new ones do, unlike all the BMWs I had previously which were outdated within a year or two at most, from a software feature perspective. It was always "oh the new one does that".

Im certainly not trying to tell anyone else they should or should not be happy with it, thats up to them. The only thing I dont understand, frankly, is why wouldnt people "vote with their wallet" on these things they rant about. If I was nearly as unhappy as some people online sound, I would have sold the product and moved on a looonnnnggg time ago.

Life is too short to be super angry about a car, which is fairly easy to remedy by getting rid of it and getting something else that suits one better. I am a firm believer in "every product is not for every person", so I completely understand when something doesnt work for someone.

Some things (like a home) are harder to move on from, but a vehicle is super easy to move on from, so I dont get why people dont simply move on and buy another product that doesnt make them so angry.

There are definitely some people who present themselves here as having an obsessive hatred for one thing or another. I would recommend they sell and move on, but unfortunately that often comes off as "you are not worthy - leave us!" For me, the car's paid off, so replacing it with anything else other than a beater is a money-losing proposition. I can't vote with my wallet. I'll move on if it aggravates me too much more. I'll not buy another Tesla, which is sad because I was accused on multiple occasions of being an undercover PR rep for the company. (Yes, know nobody will care and the new order waitlist will continue to grow.)

I think the original intent of this thread is valid, though. People should know and discuss that OTA updates bring bad as well as good, and sometimes just heaps of change just for change's sake. You end up with something that's not what you bought, but you have no say in the matter. To make matters worse, new changes don't always apply to old hardware. So, not only is my MCU1 "outdated", it's actually lost features. For example, if I update versions, I lose the energy graph which I 1) use all the time and 2) think looks cool. That's where my frustration comes from. This care used to be for me, but then it changed. Something I owned was essentially taken from me.
Plus, this:

 

[Calliope]

There’s cruise control with no auto steer. That’s dumb cruise is it not?

No, "dumb" cruise control is not adaptive - it doesn't speed up or slow down based on the distance to the car ahead of you, it just stays at the speed you set it.

 

[glide]

Not realistic to have so many different versions of the UI floating around out there, I agree. However, a policy that existing things in the UI should not be changed unless there's a really good reason to change them is totally reasonable, and is what's sorely lacking in Tesla's engineering department. Those guys act like grad students who are working on a UI research project and just change stuff around willy nilly because they feel like it, even if nothing about the old way of doing it was broken. You can do that if you're working on a research project, something that is pre-release and only seen by beta testers, or something that is for internal consumption by other software engineers. But this should not be done on a commercial product that is shipping to customers unless there's a damn good reason for it.

Well that’s another part of the problem. Most of the developers *are* just out of grad school and, from the looks of things, don’t even drive cars.

Couple with that little to no continuity within the team and you have the UI/UX mess that we see once a year.

 

[bpobill]

Some people would complain even if they were hung with a new rope!

Some people are such Tesla fanboys they can’t see all the negatives with them.

 

[804son]

Tesla always has been a company that sends OTD Updates that changes the look, feel, functionality of their product. That has been there since day1. I can't imagine someone not knowing this when purchasing the vehicle. Honestly If that's not what you were looking for, you should have bought something else. I personally love the new functionality that the OTA updates bring.

 

[Shocker]

Coming from Bolt world, one OTA that just tweaked the infotainment system in 2017 and none since. Two months of Tesla ownership, so many updates I've lost count, .
Gimme Tesla's approach.

 

[brandon8387]

No, "dumb" cruise control is not adaptive - it doesn't speed up or slow down based on the distance to the car ahead of you, it just stays at the speed you set it.

In what world would I not want cruise to adjust to the flow of traffic? Isn’t that standard nowadays? I know my old 13” infinity even had that.

 

[Y_tho]

The changes to Gmail for example, have never left me wondering where the send button was or how to access the settings menu.

To be fair, for the first five years or so, when Gmail was perpetually in beta, there were many breaking changes, and many features added and removed. And even now, there are changes taking place that are causing angst (such as the latest color pallet changes). And Google has indeed moved or altered core Gmail functionality buttons (such as the button for composing mail).

 

[804son]

There's a small group of individuals on TMC that believe a "dumb cruise control" would be better than TACC or Autopilot. I don't get it. I think it's just venting
Autopilot has been improved significantly in the past few months for vision only cars and hopefully it will continue to improve. That's as long as we continue getting OTAs.

 

[brandon8387]

Agreed.

Since I got my car among a long list of things:

1. Voice command button removed from the screen so, as a passenger, I have to ask permission to use this feature to open the glove box. Or risk a divorce by hitting the button on the steering wheel myself. (Note: in a divorce, he can have the Tesla, I sure as hell don't want it.)

2. The use of the radar was removed from the car, so now in heavy rain and fog I can't use either TACC or AP.

(I don't use our FSD Beta because I've already taught a number of teenagers to drive and don't want to have to teach Elon's baby how to do so unless he's going to pay me. My husband does on occasion (but not in our city) and I get tired of the constant beep of the voice command, and him saying "report." I also don't appreciate the car slowing quickly and pulling hard to the shoulder when being passed on a two lane road.)

3. Lately my USB stick won't record any of the events triggered by horn honks or Sentry. Given how much I've put into buying the damn things (each time it doesn't work, I'm told it is my fault for buying USB stuff that won't work reliably despite buying the exact item referred to in the manual and since then what Tesla Fanboys say to buy.)

I learn here that I was right to refuse to buy anything else new, the damn thing doesn't work because of a software update. I've also learned:

So I still don't have anything protecting my car. Worse, the car next to me in the parking garage was broken into and it was effing embarrassing to have to admit that while he puts up with my car flashing at him and a warning appearing on the screen each time he goes to get into his car, the car didn't bother to record the guy breaking into his car.


These are just a few of the reasons I hate the car and why I agree with the OP that forcing changes that are downgrades upon us serfs (after all, we don't really own the car since we get to use it only as long as Elon says we get to use it, it is his to brick at any time) is something that is not a 'feature' of the car.




1. For me it is sentry mode deletion, and a feature that I bought with the car.

2. I'm an Android user and had no idea the car and features I was buying was not what I was going to always have. But it does not surprise me that someone who is happy with what the God Steve and his successors have given them, would be happy with whatever the God Elon giveth and taketh away. When I complained about losing my voice command screen button to a Tesla Fanboy he asked, "haven't you ever upgraded your phone and had to change the way you do things?" I said that when I found out I hated Android 10's UI I just reinstalled my old third party launcher, and his dismissive response was, "Oh, you like Android, that explains it."

Sentry mode deletion? Huh? On a Y?

 

[kavyboy]

In what world would I not want cruise to adjust to the flow of traffic? Isn’t that standard nowadays? I know my old 13” infinity even had that.

In the world where the traffic-following is so poor that it randomly slams on the brakes and/or doesn't see forward objects. That's what I understand from reading this site. I'm on AP1, so I've had no problems, I love TACC, and would never want dumb CC as long as TACC worked well. I've had dumb CC in older cars, and found that everyone in front of me would drive 2 MPH slower than me, and would slowly end up inching closer and closer. No thanks to having that back!

 

[rjpjnk]

I understand the desire to have the option of dumb cruise control, but I think it would cause confusion and possibly lead to accidents because drivers would forget if the mode they were currently operating in would slow down or not.

 

[Calliope]

In what world would I not want cruise to adjust to the flow of traffic?

Not in any world I know about. The only use (in my opinion) is on a mostly empty highway.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

In the world where the traffic-following is so poor that it randomly slams on the brakes and/or doesn't see forward objects. That's what I understand from reading this site. I'm on AP1, so I've had no problems, I love TACC, and would never want dumb CC as long as TACC worked well. I've had dumb CC in older cars, and found that everyone in front of me would drive 2 MPH slower than me, and would slowly end up inching closer and closer. No thanks to having that back!

I just drove 700 miles & had autopilot plus autosteer active most of the time. I experienced no sudden braking for no reason. As cars got in front of me, car slowed appropriately. I use the features often and car has never “slammed on the brakes”. 2022 Model Y, no front radar, no FSD, Intel atom cpu in infotainment,
I’m looking forward to the NHTSA investigation of autopilot features.

 

[laservet]

Agreed.

Since I got my car among a long list of things:

1. Voice command button removed from the screen so, as a passenger, I have to ask permission to use this feature to open the glove box. Or risk a divorce by hitting the button on the steering wheel myself. (Note: in a divorce, he can have the Tesla, I sure as hell don't want it.)

2. The use of the radar was removed from the car, so now in heavy rain and fog I can't use either TACC or AP.

(I don't use our FSD Beta because I've already taught a number of teenagers to drive and don't want to have to teach Elon's baby how to do so unless he's going to pay me. My husband does on occasion (but not in our city) and I get tired of the constant beep of the voice command, and him saying "report." I also don't appreciate the car slowing quickly and pulling hard to the shoulder when being passed on a two lane road.)

3. Lately my USB stick won't record any of the events triggered by horn honks or Sentry. Given how much I've put into buying the damn things (each time it doesn't work, I'm told it is my fault for buying USB stuff that won't work reliably despite buying the exact item referred to in the manual and since then what Tesla Fanboys say to buy.)

I learn here that I was right to refuse to buy anything else new, the damn thing doesn't work because of a software update. I've also learned:

So I still don't have anything protecting my car. Worse, the car next to me in the parking garage was broken into and it was effing embarrassing to have to admit that while he puts up with my car flashing at him and a warning appearing on the screen each time he goes to get into his car, the car didn't bother to record the guy breaking into his car.


These are just a few of the reasons I hate the car and why I agree with the OP that forcing changes that are downgrades upon us serfs (after all, we don't really own the car since we get to use it only as long as Elon says we get to use it, it is his to brick at any time) is something that is not a 'feature' of the car.




1. For me it is sentry mode deletion, and a feature that I bought with the car.

2. I'm an Android user and had no idea the car and features I was buying was not what I was going to always have. But it does not surprise me that someone who is happy with what the God Steve and his successors have given them, would be happy with whatever the God Elon giveth and taketh away. When I complained about losing my voice command screen button to a Tesla Fanboy he asked, "haven't you ever upgraded your phone and had to change the way you do things?" I said that when I found out I hated Android 10's UI I just reinstalled my old third party launcher, and his dismissive response was, "Oh, you like Android, that explains it."

Sounds like someone didn’t do their homework prior to purchasing the car.