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The article explains that it doesn't have power to turn on "tow mode" - so the wheels remain engaged to the now dead electrical system, effectively locking them

by sounds 15y ago

The article explains that it doesn't have power to turn on "tow mode" - so the wheels remain engaged to the now dead electrical system, effectively locking them in place.

sbalea 15y ago
Why can't you plug the car in, and switch on tow mode? Even a laptop with a dead battery works fine when plugged in. I'd venture to say that a tow truck's alternator should be enough to disengage the wheels. Sorry, but this is just crappy engineering.
- Arelius 15y ago
  Unlike a laptop, the Tesla was never designed to be run while plugged in. Combined with the fact that they arent designed to hit zero battery. This is an easy oversight of design, where the laptop can run directly off of wall power not due to fix the problem of a dead battery, but to provide less stress on the battery while being used and plugged in. A usage case that does not exist under normal usage of a tesla. Additionally. Do we know that it is actually impossible to engage tow mode while plugged in? That still doesn't solve all cases of having to manually move it.
  - moe 15y ago
    Unlike a laptop, the Tesla was never designed to be run while plugged in. Which is actually an amusing thought. Perhaps they could ship them with really long extension chords, just enough for a city-commute...
    - jambalaya 15y ago
      How about a driving around a generator :p It would be cool though to have wireless power from beneath the road or something.
      - Arelius 15y ago
        Isn't that basically what a hybrid does? Also, it'd be neat if you could attach to the wires for buses that are in many major cities.
MBCook 15y ago
That seems like something that should really fail open, for exactly those kind of situations.
- simcop2387 15y ago
  I dunno, that would mean that a bricked roadster on a hill would possibly roll away.
  - DrStalker 15y ago
    Failing open would be bad, a "unscrew this small panel and pull this switch" would be fine. My car is old Saab and there are places to move aside bits of trim to manually operate the sunroof and fuel tank cover if the battery is completely gone.
  - kijin 15y ago
    Whatever happened to good old parking brakes? Sometimes, low-tech is better.
    - simcop2387 15y ago
      They may have them, I'm not rich enough to buy a brick that big. But from what I've noticed in friends and family, most younger people don't even realize they're there. "Isn't that what P is for?". It makes me feel old driving a manual transmission and knowing what all of those things are for.

by sounds 15y ago

The article explains that it doesn't have power to turn on "tow mode" - so the wheels remain engaged to the now dead electrical system, effectively locking them in place.

sbalea 15y ago

Why can't you plug the car in, and switch on tow mode? Even a laptop with a dead battery works fine when plugged in. I'd venture to say that a tow truck's alternator should be enough to disengage the wheels. Sorry, but this is just crappy engineering.

Arelius 15y ago
Unlike a laptop, the Tesla was never designed to be run while plugged in. Combined with the fact that they arent designed to hit zero battery. This is an easy oversight of design, where the laptop can run directly off of wall power not due to fix the problem of a dead battery, but to provide less stress on the battery while being used and plugged in. A usage case that does not exist under normal usage of a tesla. Additionally. Do we know that it is actually impossible to engage tow mode while plugged in? That still doesn't solve all cases of having to manually move it.
- moe 15y ago
  Unlike a laptop, the Tesla was never designed to be run while plugged in. Which is actually an amusing thought. Perhaps they could ship them with really long extension chords, just enough for a city-commute...
  - jambalaya 15y ago
    How about a driving around a generator :p It would be cool though to have wireless power from beneath the road or something.
    - Arelius 15y ago
      Isn't that basically what a hybrid does? Also, it'd be neat if you could attach to the wires for buses that are in many major cities.

MBCook 15y ago

That seems like something that should really fail open, for exactly those kind of situations.

simcop2387 15y ago
I dunno, that would mean that a bricked roadster on a hill would possibly roll away.
- DrStalker 15y ago
  Failing open would be bad, a "unscrew this small panel and pull this switch" would be fine. My car is old Saab and there are places to move aside bits of trim to manually operate the sunroof and fuel tank cover if the battery is completely gone.
- kijin 15y ago
  Whatever happened to good old parking brakes? Sometimes, low-tech is better.
  - simcop2387 15y ago
    They may have them, I'm not rich enough to buy a brick that big. But from what I've noticed in friends and family, most younger people don't even realize they're there. "Isn't that what P is for?". It makes me feel old driving a manual transmission and knowing what all of those things are for.