Philip Koopman’s Post

Tesla is introducing new parental controls to improve road safety 🦺 These features allow drivers to limit their speed, prevent safety features from being disabled, and even set a "night curfew" alert, giving families peace of mind while improving vehicle oversight. 🚗As Tesla strives to provide a more user-friendly in-car experience, it is critical to prioritise consistent functionality. Reliable connectivity ensures that always-on safety features like these operate in real-time to safeguard young drivers. Read the full article: Tesla tests ‘parental controls’ to keep young drivers safe #Tesla #Connectivity #Parentalcontrols #Roadsafety

Tesla’s latest massive recall is a weird one. It’s not about reported problems with sudden braking, airbags, driver monitoring alerts, or even seat belts. Nope, this one is all about font size. It turns out that the font size for Tesla’s brake warning system is a bit too small. How small? Smaller than 3.2 millimeters, or one-eighth of an inch, as prescribed by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). So the company has to recall all 2.19 million vehicles it has on the road today. As per usual, this is not a recall in the traditional sense. Tesla says it will push out an over-the-air software update to correct the font size. At least they didn’t use Comic Sans.

Automotive technology continues to advance across the entire industry. Electronic door releases are one part of that wave and, in some cases, can increase safety. At the same time, they pose a significant danger to young ones when the battery of the car in question dies. One Tesla owner in Arizona just found that out while narrowly avoiding catastrophe. Renee Sanchez was about to take her 20-month-old granddaughter to the Phoenix Zoo. After safely strapping her into her car seat, Sanchez went to get into her Tesla but then realized the EV was dead. Her granddaughter was now trapped inside of the car with no way to easily get out. Tesla, and most other automakers with electronic door releases, have manual releases that owners can use from inside the cabin. At the same time, several owners don’t know about the manual releases that come on vehicles with electronic door latches. At times, they even panic before learning that all they had to do to get out was to pull a manual lever inches from their own hand. In addition, those manual releases don’t help if the only person in the car is a toddler or infant as was the case for Sanchez. Understanding the severity of the situation, she called 911. When the fire department arrived, they told her that they couldn’t get into the car. As reported by AZ Family, she gave them the go-ahead to break in at all costs. Sure enough, they had to smash a window to retrieve the child as quickly as possible. Notably, Tesla does have a procedure to get into the car but it requires several steps and a battery charger. Interestingly, this sort of situation isn’t a Tesla-centric one. Plenty of modern cars, including gas-powered ones like the most recent versions of the Chevrolet Corvette. The lesson here then is clear. Those who own vehicles with an electronic door release need to know how to get into them efficiently should the battery die. If they don’t, a trapped child could be at serious risk depending on the circumstances. #ev #electriccar #tesla #battery #children

Is the Tesla 3 year FSD + Connectivity + Supercharging really a deal at $5k?? It depends how much you drive, and you'd really have to want an S or X. "The new deal applies only to the Model S and Model X, not the more popular Model Y and Model 3, which are the more affordable Tesla options. This has led some to speculate that the bundle may be an attempt to boost sales of the more expensive S and X." There's no denying that the Tesla Model S and X are getting very long in the tooth. They're not quite 70 series LandCruiser old, but they ain't young at 10 and 12 years old respectively. Even with the constant updates, there's newer, sexier product out there for this money. The thing is, despite price reductions, they still ain't a cheap piece of kit. So, as the quote suggests, this is less about discounting FSD, and more about offering incentives for S and X. (Personally, I think at $US8k, FSD is still FAR to expensive for most people.) For a high mileage driver, the deal is very good. You'll easily get that value in Supercharging alone, and FSD is a very nice bonus. In fact, I really liked the highway FSD performance when we had it on our Model 3 back in April (less so around town though). In fact, for those operating a limo business, this is a very good deal indeed. For low mileage drivers who don't get the use out of the Supercharger and FSD, it's not as tempting, but probably still worthwhile. But, again, you'd have to want an S or X. If this deal was available on the 3/Y, Tesla would be swamped with new orders. Do you think $5,000 for the 3 year FSD / Supercharging/ Connectivity package is a good deal? Does it make a Model S or X more desirable? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below #automotive #batteries #climatechange #electricvehicles #innovation #sustainability #cleanenergy #renewableenergy More here https://lnkd.in/gqREMSgb

As of October 2023, Tesla's vehicles, even with the "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) package, are not officially certified as any level of autonomous vehicle. Tesla's current technology falls under Level 2: Driver Assistance, which means the car can help with some driving tasks, but the driver must always be paying attention and ready to take over at any moment. Journalists should stop spreading false information and do their job checking facts, instead of chasing audience (BTW, I'm a disapponted WP subscriber). For example, they could point at deceiving marketing campaigns, instead of indirectly supporting false claims.

⚡#Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) mode is increasingly making decisions more like a human! In the video, the car navigates a dead-end road by making a U-turn from a suitable spot and continues on its path. With each new update of FSD version 12, the software's decision-making and road behavior are becoming increasingly human-like. With the latest version 12.3, Tesla confirmed that features like Smart Summon and automatic parking will soon be available in a more advanced form. Additionally, Tesla announced that backing up when needed will also be possible in the FSD mode in the near future.

Tesla’s latest screwup involves making the font size of its braking system too small. Tesla’s latest massive recall is a weird one. It’s not about reported problems with sudden braking or driver monitoring alerts or seat belts. Nope, this one is all about font size. It turns out that the font size for Tesla’s brake warning system is a bit too small. How small? Smaller than 3.2 millimeters, or one-eighth of an inch, as prescribed by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). So the company has to recall all 2.19 million vehicles it has on the road today — again... https://lnkd.in/dWwwHbSH

🛑 “Last weekend, my Tesla Model Y received an over-the-air update to make its driver-assistance software safer. In my first test drive of the updated Tesla, it blew through two stop signs without even slowing down.” 🛑 Not the headline anyone on the roads wants to read! While a government investigation prompted the recall of 2M Tesla vehicles in December to fix software related to its Autosteer advanced driver assist feature, the software update itself was driven by Tesla. And, as Geoffrey Baird Fowler explains it appears not to want to alienate some customers by imposing new limits on its tech. Ronen Smoly believes that this is a real setback for customers. Users are used to updating applications on their phones manually, but also with the trust that the update itself is safe and secure. At Argus, pushing unsafe software updates into our cars is a gamble we are not willing to make. We will quickly lose the trust drivers and pedestrians place in our technology, jeopardizing the very purpose of safety features meant to protect all users, both inside and outside our vehicles. https://lnkd.in/e67cNKAh

Recall? Rather a software update. First, the issue that needs to be addressed by Tesla is about the “font size” of a display letter. Not necessarily a safety critical car component. It can be fixed in a simple software update. Unlike other companies where it is necessary to come to the garage for such an update, Tesla already has a mechanism in place to update car software remotely without hassle for the car owner. So this much less of an issue than the airbag problems reported by Toyota in December. https://lnkd.in/eTaV6Pma #tesla #software #overtheairupdate #recall