Yep, so they knew they would lose check marks from all the previous times they did this, and had plenty of time to plan for this. Knowing this, they:
1) Did not include this "temporary" reduction in safety ratings in any of their messaging ahead of it happening. Instead, allowed it to become a news story when NHTSA removed it and had no prepared message for this and had to react. Even though they had a very detailed "transitioning to Tesla vision" page with all kinds of FAQs. When they did add something 3 days later, they added this, which is still there:
Whoops. Doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd say when you knew your safety ratings were about to change in a big news cycle. Yes, I am aware it says "crash safety" in the answer, but the question just says "safety ratings" which absolutely changed. It's either slimy, or they had no idea it was about to happen, except they did know it was going to happen because it already had.
Yes, the original page didn't mention NHTSA ratings at all, but there is not need to mention that in the FAQ if the question wasn't frequently asked by the media or the public (like it didn't back in AP2). However, after the media attention exploded on the ratings specifically (and CR/IIHS also followed suit), they obviously had to add a part to address it, as there were too many rumors flying on what it actually entailed, like if it meant the features were gone completely or if it just meant they are just waiting for testing. Heck, we even had an argument right here about this specific subject! So it was definitely worth adding to an FAQ (which what a lot of owners will look at, not arguments here on the forums or having to dig through reports, esp. given Tesla doesn't even have a PR department anymore).
2) Did not tell anyone when NHTSA would retest the car, until it was a news story and Elon tells Elektrek of all places that "he checked with the AP team and AEB is still there, and they're testing it next week" (which is now this week).
The retesting is a different subject from losing the checkmarks. For AP2 the cars were not retested even after the software restored the functionality. They just lost the ratings permanently. You can check yourself on the NHTSA website to verify. However, this is different from knowing that that the ratings would be lost (Tesla already knew that history). At this point, it's not yet a given they will get the checkmarks back for sure (we'll see soon I guess).
2.5) Elon wasn't sure if AEB was removed until he checked with the AP team days after NHTSA removed the ratings.
Elon may not have fully been in the loop on these nuances, but obviously someone in Tesla knew to be able to answer him. Despite a lot of people treating him like he is superhuman, like he is the only person running the company (despite having to divide his time with SpaceX) and like he is aware of every detail of the company, that is obviously not the case. While it's fair to say he is likely far more involved than your typical executive, I don't expect it's possible he knows every detail without having to consult other people in the company.
3) Decides to remove it on the 3/Y, but not S/X, so now they get TWO news cycles of it being removed when (if ever...) they do it on the S/X, instead of one.
If they postpone this change for the Model S/X until the model year change, they may not need a retest given it'll be part of the 2022 model year (not an awkward 2021 "later release" mid-year change). And even if they do need a retest later on, it would not coincide with the Plaid launch, which is a critical juncture where they need good press (not mixed press).
4) Needed to update their website multiple times in one day, piecemeal, and then kept editing it over the next week. Even removed AEB for a few hours until Reddit noticed. Yep, well planned.
The edit about AEB only showed up that one time and was removed. There doesn't appear to be any other change since then (correct me if I'm wrong).
They've updated the transitioning page at least 50 times since it was first posted.
From what I can see in internet archive, they made one edit (yes I actually bothered to check with a text comparator) on 5/28 afternoon to add the questions about the ratings and to clarify how the safety features are actually affected and it remained the same up to today (other than to correct a misspelling of "breaking" instead of "braking" on 5/29).
If you are referring to the amount of entries on internet archive, that is not a indicator of edits. That is only an indicator of snapshots, which can be taken even if there was no change to the page.
Wayback Machine
So yep, they're either still complete idiots that can't plan at all, or they ran out of radars. Which one is a better message?
That statement seems like another false dilemma or non sequitur being set up. As for the "better message", I don't care about which one is the "better message", only what is the truth. And this is driving further and further from the original topic, which was me asking if there is even any actual evidence of radar unit shortages in the industry (not even talking about Tesla specifically), and so far the only things being posted are evidence of controller shortages (which would entail Tesla removing infotainment or AP as a whole to address, not just a radar unit).
Your argument is trying way too hard to work backwards to say how it "must" be a radar shortage, but the same arguments would still apply if the motivation is simply just to save money by removing the radar unit (regardless of availability of that unit), which we already have evidence of, given the removal of passenger lumbar controls to reduce costs. This is putting aside the "better message", which is that Tesla is saying Tesla Vision will eventually be better without radar.
I cannot believe someone would use this argument to defend Tesla. The idea that you have no idea what you are getting when you order a car, and you have to go over it with a fine toothed comb at delivery because you should know that anything on the web or order form is just hopes and dreams? Meanwhile, most Tesla defenders say "that wasn't on your order page, you aren't owed that!"
I'm not saying or implying this is necessarily a
good thing for consumers (that's why I mentioned the Model Y LR RWD; the people who ordered are certainly not happy about it), or that Tesla must always continue this way. However, it's simply a reality of how Tesla operates (with no sign of change) and everyone looking to buy one needs to be aware of this fact before jumping in. If they don't like it, they need to shop elsewhere. If enough people vote with their wallets, maybe Tesla can be motivated to change back to a more "traditional" way of operation. Currently they do things this way because they feel it makes them more agile to respond to changing market conditions and competition.
All of this just so you can avoid acknowledging that Tesla has supply chain issues just like everyone else and that's why they removed Radar from only some of their products. And Lumbar.
They have supply chain issues affecting other parts (controllers and other chips), and obviously the removal of radar saves them money to address rising costs of those components (which I believe Elon mentioned they found replacements for), but that's different from saying they have a radar shortage (which so far there no one had posted evidence of yet and I'm still waiting for).