We still seem to be going in the wrong direction on development of the navigation software, by the recent addition of yet another vendor providing data. For navigation we now have - routing software provided by Navigon/Garmin, road/navigation map provided by Navigon/Garmin (and is approaching two years old), speed limit data provided by TomTom (which is missing or incorrect in many areas around us), street/satellite maps displayed on the console from Google (using up-to-date online data), real-time traffic data provided by Google (though we still don't get any notification of upcoming traffic restrictions, other than an automatic rerouting), and navigation user interface provided by Tesla.
With components from so many sources and vendors, it's not surprising how limiting the navigation software is - and why we still don't have basic features like waypoints and route customization (the ability to select among several routing options, such as for fastest or shortest route).
Tesla has added the Trip Planner feature (which appears to be a user interface change, not requiring any changes to the actual navigation software), which was an improvement - but still not enough to bring the Tesla navigation functionality up to the level we've had in previous Toyota & Lexus cars (over 10 years ago).
If EAP & FSD are going to rely on the navigation software for routing, clearly Tesla has to make some major improvements in the navigation software. Has anyone heard any mention of this?
Routing needs to be on up-to-date and accurate data - it seems likely the only solution that will work is a shift towards routing using a cloud server, rather than relying on providing up-to-date data distributed to every car. There would still need to be an offline navigation system in the car (which could be the current "FrankeNAV" system), to be used if the Internet is not accessible. And, if Tesla really intends to do a cross-country FSD demonstration later this year, they can't preprogram the route like they did with the FSD demo video - so we could hear more about navigation data/software improvements in the next few months (firmware 9.0???).
The media player remains a disappointment, with few actual improvements in the 5 years since the first Model S was produced, and competing vehicles now having much better smartphone integration - Tesla risks falling further behind - and having their infotainment system impact sales when other manufacturers bring competing long range EVs to the market - with better software.
With components from so many sources and vendors, it's not surprising how limiting the navigation software is - and why we still don't have basic features like waypoints and route customization (the ability to select among several routing options, such as for fastest or shortest route).
Tesla has added the Trip Planner feature (which appears to be a user interface change, not requiring any changes to the actual navigation software), which was an improvement - but still not enough to bring the Tesla navigation functionality up to the level we've had in previous Toyota & Lexus cars (over 10 years ago).
If EAP & FSD are going to rely on the navigation software for routing, clearly Tesla has to make some major improvements in the navigation software. Has anyone heard any mention of this?
Routing needs to be on up-to-date and accurate data - it seems likely the only solution that will work is a shift towards routing using a cloud server, rather than relying on providing up-to-date data distributed to every car. There would still need to be an offline navigation system in the car (which could be the current "FrankeNAV" system), to be used if the Internet is not accessible. And, if Tesla really intends to do a cross-country FSD demonstration later this year, they can't preprogram the route like they did with the FSD demo video - so we could hear more about navigation data/software improvements in the next few months (firmware 9.0???).
The media player remains a disappointment, with few actual improvements in the 5 years since the first Model S was produced, and competing vehicles now having much better smartphone integration - Tesla risks falling further behind - and having their infotainment system impact sales when other manufacturers bring competing long range EVs to the market - with better software.