[mochalatte]

I've been watching the EV market for years, and up until recently I liked Tesla on the whole and planned to buy one when I finally made my move. However, the sleeze-factor surrounding the company just got to be too much for me. Here's their latest over-draft on the company's goodwill:

Tesla Apologizes For Model S Delivery Delays But Questions Remain

Tesla has apologized to Model S buyers for delivery delays that were not communicated, but has failed to explain the cause for the delays.

insideevs.com

Highlights from the article:

The EV maker would have an excuse if that was the case for all customers, but some people who placed orders more recently—after Tesla raised prices by $10,000—are taking delivery before those who ordered their Model S before the price hikes.
... [snip] ...
According to the same source, several Model S buyers who saw their delivery dates delayed are apparently being told that they could take delivery this month if they updated their orders and accepted the $10,000 price hike.

Now, that’s a serious allegation and we’d take it with a grain of salt unless some proof is produced.

 

[Froggy]

Watch out! Their legal branch, Dewy, Cheatem, & Howe, might read this.

 

[eb2143]

I agree with OP. Their sleeziness is also apparent in their escalating FSD upfront cost for years despite poor progress on that front. Those poor suckers have been strung along by FSD promises since 2016. Now the 2016 -?2018 car owners who made their purchase with understanding that their cars had the hardware for FSD, are asked to pay $1500 for a new computer to upgrade to 3.0. I hope they get smacked with a big class action and Musk learns to watch his words/tweets

 

[adamjcook]

I agree with OP. Their sleeziness is also apparent in their escalating FSD upfront cost for years despite poor progress on that front. Those poor suckers have been strung along by FSD promises since 2016. Now the 2016 -?2018 car owners who made their purchase with understanding that their cars had the hardware for FSD, are asked to pay $1500 for a new computer to upgrade to 3.0. I hope they get smacked with a big class action and Musk learns to watch his words/tweets

Mostly in the interest of roadway safety, I will point out a few things as a roboticist and controls engineer:

• Tesla's "Full Self Driving" product on existing Tesla vehicles will never exceed a J3016 Level 2 system with an effectively "unbounded" ODD (Operational Design Domain) as they do not have the necessary sensors equipped on the vehicle; and
• Building on that point, an effectively "unbounded" ODD is impossible to validate even if Tesla wanted to, in systems engineering speak, that means that the system is unsafe; and
• Musk's recent overtures that existing Tesla vehicles (or even foreseeable future Tesla vehicles) will be capable of J3016 Level 5 autonomous driving are absurd as a technical pathway to achieve that is not remotely close to existing, if it ever will. J3016 Level 4 in limited, geofenced areas is the most that we can achieve for the imaginable future - and even that is proving hard enough!

Musk's statements and Tesla's Autopilot marketing are intended to portray their system as more capable of handling the dynamic driving task than it actually is. Tesla does this in a bid to sell vehicles and pricey add-ons. Exaggerating the capabilities of an automated driving system will degrade the safety of the human-machine combination and of roadway safety itself.

If Tesla owners are purchasing the "FSD" package thinking that their existing vehicles will or will one day earn them "robotaxi" income while they sleep, they will be forever disappointed.

With very few exceptions, all vehicles that can be purchased today require a fully attentive driver at all times, even when the vehicle's automated driving functionality is active - no different than if no automated driving features were present on the vehicle at all.

The few exceptions are the recently emerging J3016 Level 3 vehicles (say, Mercedes' DRIVE PILOT) when, on certain limited highways and in certain highly favorable weather conditions, the driver is allowed by the manufacturer and the driver monitoring system to disengage attentiveness to the roadway and interact with the in-vehicle infotainment screen.

Stay safe out there!

Sincerely,

Adam J. Cook

 

[mochalatte]

Electrek managed to exceed Tesla’s absurdity posting an article yesterday evening “Tesla aims to release $25,000 electric car in 2023, likely will not have a steering wheel”. I can’t bring myself to link it. Eyeballs and clicks. SMH.