Tesla: please use Google Maps for traffic-based navigation

[hiroshiy]

Today, Tesla sent me an email that they will release nav functionality to our Japanese cars in summer. Right now, absolutely no navigation at all. People use smartphones.

This is another reason why I agree OP about use of Google Maps. It's a global software, also well localized in Japanese too.

 

[bhzmark]

+1 to the OP

nobody, and i mean nobody will come close to google maps when it comes to the quality of what they offer

.

waze (oddly owned by google) still beats google maps b/c of crowd sourced map editing and crowd sourced real time updates like road closures and speed traps

 

[artsci]

Actually - I would prefer if the Tesla used the Google owned Waze for Nav. Although it wouldn't surprise me if Google Maps and Waze share the same underlying traffic data. But Waze offers a lot more info, like warnings of traffic jams/accidents, police locations, estimated speeds of roads in km/h (or mph) rather than colour coding, etc.

Agree. Waze is the bomb

 

[kennedyseattle]

Love my P85D but miss Waze. I loaded waze.com on the 17" browser and of course nothing happened, made me sad. Come on 3rd party apps. Not sure why TM feels like they need to own the navigation experience that others do better.

 

[TES-E]

You guys DO realize that Google, waze, etc., requires an active internet connection, right? What happens when you are in an area of no coverage? You got nothing. sorry, but I'll keep my on board navigation system that keeps me on track through the mountains and deserts without the need of data connections. Is it perfect... no. But gets the job done.

 

[BerTX]

Love my P85D but miss Waze. I loaded waze.com on the 17" browser and of course nothing happened, made me sad. Come on 3rd party apps. Not sure why TM feels like they need to own the navigation experience that others do better.

I like Waze. I doubt that they will ever include wind direction and speed, or elevation change in their routing. Tesla doing it in-house means there is that potential, but there is a lot of unrealized potential, it seems.

Google Maps is starting to include some features of Waze, i think. I suspect we might lose the law enforcement spotting features, as it has been requested to be removed by the police. This is not because of wanting to catch traffic violations, but because criminals can monitor police patrol positions.

 

[jerry33]

Google Maps is starting to include some features of Waze, i think. I suspect we might lose the law enforcement spotting features, as it has been requested to be removed by the police. This is not because of wanting to catch traffic violations, but because criminals can monitor police patrol positions.

Criminals can monitor police positions the same way they have always been doing. This is just an excuse to drive revenue.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Waze is the way to go
You don't need Waze to the track the police - scanners have been doing this for years.

I run Waze on a Steelie mount right next to the main screen and run the media and rear camera all the time in the split screen view. Somewhat frustrating that their is no Waze App on Telsa. Guarantee they would sell more cars if this was an option on the main screen.

 

[Andyw2100]

Guarantee they would sell more cars if this was an option on the main screen.

Really? That's an awfully strong statement to make.

I don't think there are very many people who are making the decision on whether to purchase the car or not based on whether Google, Navigon, or Waze are driving the Navigation system. That's not to say that Tesla wouldn't make a lot of existing customers very happy by making Waze an option. I just don't think Tesla would sell many, if any, more cars because of it.

 

[BerTX]

Waze is the way to go
You don't need Waze to the track the police - scanners have been doing this for years.

Really? How do you know the exact location of a patrolling police car from a scanner? You can know if they are called to an event, and occasionally get a position report, but I'm not aware of constant location reporting.

And many modern police departments rarely use the radio anymore.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Really? That's an awfully strong statement to make.

+1

I can't imagine a single person out there about to write a check for $100k+ for a new car, only to find out Waze isn't available.. oops, sorry, I'm now going to go buy ... hmmm.. what other car on the planet has Waze built in???? None.

Or that there's even one person chomping at the bit, holding back buying a Model S specifically because Waze isn't included. "Dear Tesla, I'm not buying your crappy car until you include a Waze app." Or even further, that there's someone who has money to burn, and is on the fence, but including Waze would tip them over to buy a $100k car. All these scenarios are complete bonkers.

But yes, it would make a boat load of existing owners very happy to have alternatives to the on-board navigation.

 

[Kofi]

How could our most-advanced-cars-ever manage to use Google maps for the maps appearance, but NOT use Google Maps's outstanding navigation to actually calculate a route and advise traffic?

For this morning's commute, I had my phone running Google Maps side-by-side with the P85D's built in nav. The comparison was revealing: the built-in nav consistently made bad choices, even when both systems seemed to be aware of the same traffic, while Google Maps on my iPhone never made an obvious bad recommendation. It was almost comical because both apps displayed the same maps with the same appearance and same traffic coloring, but one app seemed like it was using a 5-year-old to do that actual routing.

Overall the built-in nav routes would have added more than 25% time to my commute, until I was about 50% done with the commute and only then did the built-in system converge on the Google Maps solution. I've been driving this commute for 15 years, so I'm pretty sure I know the optimal Monday morning winter season commute route, and it is virtually identical to the Google Maps route. As a bonus, the current Google Maps system gives you real-time-updated alternative route choices all along your route, showing how many minutes faster or slower each alternative route is, and allows you to switch routes simply by clicking on these "4 min faster" (for example) buttons.

Tesla: please consider changing to Google Maps not just for the shell appearance of the nav app, but for the actual navigation too.

Thank you!

Not just Tesla but most luxury brands should be using Google Maps for navigation. Factory navigation systems just don't compare to the user interface and precision of Google Maps.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

Criminals can monitor police positions the same way they have always been doing. This is just an excuse to drive revenue.

Amen

 

[bob_p]

With more cars getting Internet connectivity, it will be harder to continue constraining owners to using annually updated maps - and paying $200-300 per year for maps, that are already out-of-date by the time they are installed. This is not just a problem with Tesla - but with all of the car navigation systems.

With the other manufacturers adding internet connectivity to their cars, it will be increasingly difficult for owners to accept the infrequently updated maps.

While using the Google map data would be much better than we have today with the annually updated maps, if the maps were updated more frequently (quarterly or monthly), that would be a significant improvement.

Though as long as the navigation software is using different maps than the touchscreen display - this is always going to be a problem - and it would be much better to use the same maps for both displays.

As far as the software features - which is a separate issue, the latest updates with the trip energy prediction and integration with personal calendar events are an improvement, but still fall considerably short on missing features present in other car navigation packages - and Tesla needs to continue adding more features (such as more control over routing, offering multiple routes, waypoints, entering a destination by selecting a location on the map, ...).

Fortunately, these are all software issues - and can be fixed in future updates to the car.

 

[bhzmark]

You guys DO realize that Google, waze, etc., requires an active internet connection, right? What happens when you are in an area of no coverage? You got nothing. sorry, but I'll keep my on board navigation system that keeps me on track through the mountains and deserts without the need of data connections. Is it perfect... no. But gets the job done.

You DO realize that:
1. ~99% of Model S miles are driven in areas with an internet connection. Let's optimize performance for that 99% of the time. Not sacrifice performance during 99% of usage to slightly better perform during that rare 1%.
2. Waze works just fine in most areas without an internet connection (usually brief short (1-10 minute) periods such as in the valleys of mtn ranges). Waze still plots the position on the road map and gives direction just fine as long as you stay on route as it seems to d/l the necessary map data ahead of time, -- it just won't have updated traffic or police info. I can't recall when it ever just gave me a blank map although I'm sure in the right cirucmstances you can travel outside of whatever map it downloaded when it had a connection.

There might be some situation where you are without an internet connection for a long time and can't get the data. Options are:
1. Chances are you are in the middle of nowhere and your road options are pretty few and obvious anyway, so dust off your compass as needed and just deal with it.
2. the nav system could switch to pulling map data to an old fashioned Garmin or whatever map data that 2 years old and inevitably isn't very useful anyway. I have this as an option when I run waze on my phone, with the built in car nav system as the back up, and I simply never ever use the car nav system anymore.
3. Waze could identify regions where people typically don't have a signal, it could then predict that you will need maps downloaded when it plots a course for those regions, and it could do that for you. For all I know it already does this as I still have a good detailed map when I drive through areas (e.g., PCH) that lack a cell signal for longish periods.

 

[BerTX]

I don't have a Tesla.

I use TomTom for navigation and use Google Maps for traffic. There is just no comparison in my mind as far as route planning, screen display, and verbal directions between the two.

Whenever I am in the car without the TomTom, I use the phone and Google Maps. Better than nothing, but really just annoying, particularly WRT the verbal directions.

My point is, I understand that the Tesla navigation is not ready for prime time, but please -- Google Maps is the solution?

I honestly am not a big Waze user, so maybe it's better. I would think that Google Maps and Waze features will merge with the purchase of Waze by Google.

 

[Rheazombi]

Well maybe it's just me, but in my experience Garmin Navigation is way more sophisticated. Plus, it works even when you're out of reach of cell towers (which is when you actually need navigation the most!)

I just wish Tesla would go one step further and incorporate some of the awesome features that Garmins have that Google Maps lacks, like "avoid highways", "avoid/don't avoid unpaved roads", etc and allow waypoints. Or create custom routes using waypoints, or POIs, etc. Or search by category, ie: "find government buildings > town hall/police station/etc", "find restaurants > chinese", "find public bathrooms/hospital/camp grounds", etc etc.

It's one of the reasons I still bring my handheld Garmin with me when driving out of town.

 

[TES-E]

This is the point I was trying to make earlier. Yes, the on board system needs improvement. However, it is not dependent on sometimes iffy or non-existent internet signals in many parts of the country. I don't have a commute where I need traffic information, so others will have a different opinion. The combo of on board navigation with a Google maps overlay (or perhaps a waze overlay at some point) seems like a good combination to me.

 

[DavidB]

...The search sucks. Here is a simple example of searching for 'post office' in Anaheim, CA. It found something in India, Africa and Europe. WTF?
View attachment 68339

Don't search for "post office", but rather, search for "nearest post office". This feature is based on where you have your map oriented--move the map to your desired location (this could even be in a different country), zoom in to the highest magnification (or zoom further out if you desire more scattered hits), and THEN search "nearest post office".

 

[jerry33]

1. ~99% of Model S miles are driven in areas with an internet connection. Let's optimize performance for that 99% of the time. Not sacrifice performance during 99% of usage to slightly better perform during that rare 1%.

More like 85%, but anyway, whatever remains is likely going to be where you need the Nav system the most. Basically anywhere away from the major cities in the Midwestern states (KS, NE, IA, etc). And I don't really want to have to look at a dinky screen on a secondary device for Nav information while I'm driving.