What features do you wish the Model Y came with (Dec 2022/Jan 2023) Wishlist

[macheboston]

Love my Model Y, but there's always room for improvement...What features would you like to see Tesla make for Model Y or Model 3?

Let's classify this as either A) software updates or B) hardware upgrades (for new cars and possibly retrofitting to existing cars).

I'll start...

A) Software Updates

1. Please enable the matrix headlights.
2. CarPlay and Android Auto (which may or may not require HW changes)
3. Navigate to 3rd party DCFC
4. Error/warning messages need text-to-speech. The text is tiny and I shouldn't need to look at the screen to see that autosteer is disabled or some other critical alert.
5. Voice recognition for changing radio stations (I thought every car had this — my Ford and my Toyota did)
6. Without EAP or FSD, lane changing should be more seamless and less beepy. In my last car (Mach E), you'd signal, it would let you change lanes without lane keeping, and it would detect when you're in the new lane and re-engage lane centering.
7. Add ability to adjust wiper sensitivity
8. I've had 3-4 times in my 3 months with the car where the car would not update its status in the app. It was in persistent disconnected status (in a well covered cell area that I go all the time). In a couple cases it was broken for 3-6 hours. I had to two-button restart. Please fix this.

B) hardware upgrades (and please offer upgrades to current owners)

1. Heads up display (that seems like the perfect minimalist match for Tesla)
2. Cameras support for Birds Eye surround view (downward facing cameras under the side mirrors, etc)
3. Infrared eye illuminator and camera tracking for detection driver attention instead of hands on the steering wheel (like Chevy Supercruise and Ford BlueCruise)
4. 80A level 2 charging (19.2kW). I know early Model S cars had an option. But more and more businesses are installing 80A chargers. Blink and SemaConnect have sold 80A commercial chargers for a while. Chargepoint released a 80A commercial charger a couple months ago. If you can get almost double the charge (vs a 48A charger) during a shopping trip or a movie, or move almost twice as many cars through a charger at a workplace, that would be great.
5. Vehicle to load and vehicle to house. We've all seen what the Hyndaid/Kia can do with a built-in plug and a J1772 adapter. And the Ford Lightning's ability to power your house. Come on Tesla, we want this too!

"File:2020 Tesla Model Y, rear 8.1.20.jpg" by Kevauto is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Added as thumbnail for blog.

 

[macheboston]

What is “Safe Exist Assist”????

I googled it. It's Hyundai Safe Exit Assist.

Of course, if you have younger children who are physically developed enough to begin exploring the world around them, but are not yet aware of the consequences of their actions, you will have activated the Electronic Child Safety Lock. This way children can’t open the doors or windows mid-journey and potentially cause themselves harm while you are driving.

You pull over to a roadside spot where your child can relive themselves. But without you or your child realising it, another vehicle is approaching fast from behind. Safety Exit Assist uses radar to detect that vehicle and override you if you attempt to deactivate the Electronic Child Safety Lock, issuing an acoustic and visual warning as it does so.

The result: the rear door your child is trying to open remains locked until the vehicle approaching from behind has passed by, averting a potentially lethal accident. When the road is clear, the Electronic Child Safety Lock can now be deactivated and your child can open the door and exit the vehicle safely.

Safe Exit Assist: how does it work?

 

[exxxviii]

I googled it. It's Hyundai Safe Exit Assist.

Holy crap. That’s awesome. I didn’t know our other car had that.

 

[macheboston]

Holy crap. That’s awesome. I didn’t know our other car had that.

That info was from an EU site, so it may or may not be on Hyundai cars sold in the US.

 

[YNoVA]

What is “Safe Exist Assist”????

If you open your door on the shoulder of the road or in a parallel parking spot, the car will warn you if there's an approaching car, cyclist, etc.

Tesla could easily implement this with their camara system.

 

[WyoDude]

1. Navigate to DCFC/Manually precondition battery
2. See Tesla Super Charger rates on the app
3. Enable Retrofitting of lost features, within reason, by service or self. (e.g. Pax Lumbar [currently software locked even with equipment installed])
4. EAP as a subscription (would be nice for road trips, would spend $50/month to use EAP on extended trips)
5. Set Gemini without cover as a wheel option
6. Disable auto lock until the phone is out of range, not after the door close timeout expires
7. Install Lithium Ion 16v down stepper to 12v. This would make most 12v accessories work again and reduce fire hazards when plugging into the low-voltage ports.
8. Vehicle to Load/Grid (would massively increase the Tesla Powerplant if enabled)
9. Full-Screen browser mode, with caching and cookies. I am tired of always having to login every time.
10. App Store with Development SDK

Why #5?

 

[WyoDude]

Or, what if... they took the resources used to make fart noises and port Sonic the hedgehog and put them towards hiring people experienced in UI design. or maybe a communications department? Now THAT would be a management miracle!

Do you think Tesla currently doesn’t employ people with UI design experience?

 

[GoldenBoy]

Coming from a Volvo that lacked 1/2 the features this baby has, I really don't miss what I've never had.

HUD would be great. I use a magsafe mount and the ENH commander, and while it's nice, I'd rather have hud.

 

[SnowballY]

Access to Sentry mode videos remotely. We were rear ended. We grabbed the usb drive. Nothing on it. But I believe (via reading on the web) sentry mode has it in the car. (cooled seats, better suspension, more comfortable back seat, car play please, better iphone key management)

 

[Kokukenji]

Access to Sentry mode videos remotely. We were rear ended. We grabbed the usb drive. Nothing on it. But I believe (via reading on the web) sentry mode has it in the car. (cooled seats, better suspension, more comfortable back seat, car play please, better iphone key management)

You had sentry mode enabled? Assuming you don't have premium connectivity and that's why you are unable to view the videos on the app, is that correct?

 

[RavynArcadia]

Was your rental from a traditional Car Rental company like Hertz? I'm surprised they don't let you add the car to your Tesla App. I guess they can't control making sure you delete it when your rental is over.

We have rented (and will be again this week) a Tesla through a private owner through the Turo app. Its up to the car owner to approve renters to add the car to their Tesla app. One rental we had through Turo, couldn't add any more drivers as the maximum number of drivers had been reached, probably from renters not deleting the car when the rental ended. We will be in Florida, so COOLING the car before driving will be more of the issue.

Yup. Hertz

 

[sleepydoc]

Do you think Tesla currently doesn’t employ people with UI design experience?

Based on many of their UI decisions, no.

look back to last December when V11 was introduced. It was roundly criticized by many people with real UI experience.

 

[samori01]

- Navigating to 3rd party DCFC is one I doubt will come anytime soon, but ABRP is an app that does this for you. It works with multiple different EVs so it has multiple different charging stations in its database. If you use the browser you can pull it up on your screen and it will navigate for you. You won't precondition but S3XY Buttons (mentioned later) is working on a fix for that.

Looks like I was wrong about how soon this could come:

Navigate to 3rd Party Chargers

 

[WyoDude]

Based on many of their UI decisions, no.

look back to last December when V11 was introduced. It was roundly criticized by many people with real UI experience.

What’s your UI design experience?

 

[THEbuz]

If you open your door on the shoulder of the road or in a parallel parking spot, the car will warn you if there's an approaching car, cyclist, etc.

Tesla could easily implement this with their camara system.

LMAO
Ironically, my buddy’s daughter is the cute little brown-haired girl featured in the new Hyundai commercial demonstrating this new feature.
Talk about irony!

 

[SnowballY]

You had sentry mode enabled? Assuming you don't have premium connectivity and that's why you are unable to view the videos on the app, is that correct?

Hi! I do have premium connectivity. (I do that for streaming podcasts!)

 

[SnowballY]

Hi! I do have premium connectivity. (I do that for streaming podcasts!)

When reviewing sentry mode vs dash cam - and accidents, dash cam captures accidents.

 

[SnowballY]

Hi! I do have premium connectivity. (I do that for streaming podcasts!)

 

[rwiegand]

I was joking. But in any large scale development program, there are many areas that are simply not scalable because they center on core teams with irreducible complexity. Last year I was leading a large development program to build an online retailing platform. We had a few areas that were backlogged with the most work demand, but it concentrated on a couple core teams. We could not make the teams any larger to gain productivity, and the work to split them was too long to make a difference. We essentially had unlimited resources available to us, but there was little we could to to accelerate those teams. (But, we could have added anything else, like farting, without impacting those teams.)

It is like that nine women having a baby in a month cliche.

Yes, I am multilingual, and I understood your native tongue clearly.

Ok, I can see that, and know it’s true from my own experience, but do you really think the windshield wiper control software is done by the FSD/autopilot team or battery management, or whatever the critical rate limiting group is? Or couldn’t be worked on in parallel instead of fart noises? That would be pretty questionable architecture. I really suspect that too many of the decision makers just live places where it seldom rains or snows, so Sonic or whatever is more important to them.

 

[randompixel]

1. Option for S/X-style binnacle, the larger screen with tilt (maybe a Model Y+ SKU; For those that like some of the additional features of the X but don't want the size / doors of the X)
2. Power Frunk / Easier Frunk access (tap phone / keycard on the Tesla logo? Add a kick opener?)
3. Factory fitted trunk/boot kick opener
4. True Matrix Headlights
5. True 360 camera view (not just vector based)
6. App Store, so you don't have to specifically wait for them to bless you with certain services and allow for platform agnosticity
7. If not, YouTube Music as an app
8. Improvements to voice control
9. Animated indicators; don't care - I still love to see them on VWs and Jags
10. Separate low-power sentry system, so main computer doesn't have to stay awake

 

[Yelobird]

Ok, I can see that, and know it’s true from my own experience, but do you really think the windshield wiper control software is done by the FSD/autopilot team or battery management, or whatever the critical rate limiting group is? Or couldn’t be worked on in parallel instead of fart noises? That would be pretty questionable architecture. I really suspect that too many of the decision makers just live places where it seldom rains or snows, so Sonic or whatever is more important to them.

I would bet the windshield software team is very important and likely controlled by the FSD team as the system is critically dependent on the vision being clear to work. If the Full windshield is covered in water/snow there is little concern, but a single drop of water or dirt 1” directly in front of the vision lense would be like an eye patch. Not a solution for all…. But I too had issues with the auto wipers early on until I looked closely at the area over the cameras and kept it clean or installed better wipers. Haven’t had a problem since. Humans can deal with a water streak or rain drops, a camera can’t focus with a single drop.