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I believe this is a big deal in regards to Tesla. Tesla locks down their cars to a insane degree- To a point where if you fuck around too much, apparently they

I believe this is a big deal in regards to Tesla. Tesla locks down their cars to a insane degree- To a point where if you fuck around too much, apparently they call you up telling you to knock it off. With this law, I would imagine tesla would have little to no leverage with those folk Good reading here : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11233898

mikeash 11y ago
Who did they call? Tesla currently makes service manuals and tools available (for a hefty fee) to third parties, but only to accredited body shops, or residents of Massachusetts. I'm sure that last part is not a coincidence.
- akama 11y ago
  The primary example that he might be referring to is this one [1]. It's someone reporting on their experience connecting to an ethernet port in his tesla and getting a call from Tesla to please stop. http://jalopnik.com/the-tesla-model-s-is-basically-a-good-looking-it-depart-1558372928 http://jalopnik.com/the-tesla-model-s-is-basically-a-good-lo...
  - mynameisvlad 11y ago
    More like "getting a call from Tesla to stop and then getting the port disabled".
  - mikeash 11y ago
    Fun! At least it sounds like they were nice about it.
    - michaelmrose 11y ago
      Nice about telling you how you could use the car you purchased from them in what universe is this reasonable.
      - mikeash 11y ago
        I don't see that they told him anything, they just asked.
        zanny 11y ago
        They remotely disabled the port, that isn't asking.
        manarth 11y ago
        They remotely disabled the port? I can't see anything in the article to suggest that…where did you read this?
        cowsandmilk 11y ago
        To clarify, they disabled it for everyone in a software update[1]. Some comments made it appear they just disabled it for this guy due to his hacking, but it was for everyone. [1] https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/691884/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/691884/
        jstanley 11y ago
        They shouldn't even know that he plugged anything into the ethernet port, let alone have a problem with that and ask him to stop... It's his car!
        mikeash 11y ago
        He could have disconnected the car from the internet before he started fiddling around if he wanted to hide his activities. The car makes no secret of the fact that it's always connected.
        jstanley 11y ago
        He didn't want to hide his activities, and shouldn't have to. They shouldn't be able to watch.
- walrus01 11y ago
  How long until somebody in MA screen captures the entire Model S service manual and puts it up for public consumption as a torrent?
  - bubblesorting 11y ago
    Even if they did, just going off of experience with other software projects, my gut says the docs are obsolete before you're* even able to download them. *someone from the commonwealth
    - dsfyu404ed 11y ago
      Tesla would go out of business if they changed hardware that often.
  - dublinben 11y ago
    Start a crowdfunding effort. There are enough Tesla owners in MA that at least one of them will be willing to do this.
synaesthesisx 11y ago
With advanced autopilot tech I think this is reasonable - if a third-party vision sensor or something similar were to screw up and cause an autopilot collision that could be potentially disastrous.
- maratd 11y ago
  > With advanced autopilot tech I think this is reasonable No, it isn't. We've allowed people to mess with the brakes of a car for over a century and the world hasn't come to an end.
  - dforrestwilson1 11y ago
    What about the likelihood of electrocution? A friend who is an auto mechanic told me previously that hybrid cars are by nature, more dangerous to work on.
    - ball_of_lint 11y ago
      If you can self service the battery, then you can obviously remove it, and with no source of power there should be no real risk of electrocution
      - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
        Can you self-service the battery on an electric or hybrid car? I'd be mildly surprised if you could. (Of course, I never actually thought about the question before...)
        koenigdavidmj 11y ago
        It's not supported but is possible. Someone on here replaced a single damaged cell on a Prius, whereas the dealer would only offer to replace the whole bank (which costs $5000).
        avs733 11y ago

mikeash 11y ago

Who did they call? Tesla currently makes service manuals and tools available (for a hefty fee) to third parties, but only to accredited body shops, or residents of Massachusetts. I'm sure that last part is not a coincidence.

akama 11y ago
The primary example that he might be referring to is this one [1]. It's someone reporting on their experience connecting to an ethernet port in his tesla and getting a call from Tesla to please stop. http://jalopnik.com/the-tesla-model-s-is-basically-a-good-looking-it-depart-1558372928 http://jalopnik.com/the-tesla-model-s-is-basically-a-good-lo...
- mynameisvlad 11y ago
  More like "getting a call from Tesla to stop and then getting the port disabled".
- mikeash 11y ago
  Fun! At least it sounds like they were nice about it.
  - michaelmrose 11y ago
    Nice about telling you how you could use the car you purchased from them in what universe is this reasonable.
    - mikeash 11y ago
      I don't see that they told him anything, they just asked.
      - zanny 11y ago
        They remotely disabled the port, that isn't asking.
        manarth 11y ago
        They remotely disabled the port? I can't see anything in the article to suggest that…where did you read this?
        cowsandmilk 11y ago
        To clarify, they disabled it for everyone in a software update[1]. Some comments made it appear they just disabled it for this guy due to his hacking, but it was for everyone. [1] https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/691884/ https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/691884/
      - jstanley 11y ago
        They shouldn't even know that he plugged anything into the ethernet port, let alone have a problem with that and ask him to stop... It's his car!
        mikeash 11y ago
        He could have disconnected the car from the internet before he started fiddling around if he wanted to hide his activities. The car makes no secret of the fact that it's always connected.
        jstanley 11y ago
        He didn't want to hide his activities, and shouldn't have to. They shouldn't be able to watch.
walrus01 11y ago
How long until somebody in MA screen captures the entire Model S service manual and puts it up for public consumption as a torrent?
- bubblesorting 11y ago
  Even if they did, just going off of experience with other software projects, my gut says the docs are obsolete before you're* even able to download them. *someone from the commonwealth
  - dsfyu404ed 11y ago
    Tesla would go out of business if they changed hardware that often.
- dublinben 11y ago
  Start a crowdfunding effort. There are enough Tesla owners in MA that at least one of them will be willing to do this.

synaesthesisx 11y ago

With advanced autopilot tech I think this is reasonable - if a third-party vision sensor or something similar were to screw up and cause an autopilot collision that could be potentially disastrous.

maratd 11y ago
> With advanced autopilot tech I think this is reasonable No, it isn't. We've allowed people to mess with the brakes of a car for over a century and the world hasn't come to an end.
- dforrestwilson1 11y ago
  What about the likelihood of electrocution? A friend who is an auto mechanic told me previously that hybrid cars are by nature, more dangerous to work on.
  - ball_of_lint 11y ago
    If you can self service the battery, then you can obviously remove it, and with no source of power there should be no real risk of electrocution
    - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
      Can you self-service the battery on an electric or hybrid car? I'd be mildly surprised if you could. (Of course, I never actually thought about the question before...)
      - koenigdavidmj 11y ago
        It's not supported but is possible. Someone on here replaced a single damaged cell on a Prius, whereas the dealer would only offer to replace the whole bank (which costs $5000).
      - avs733 11y ago