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"However, to improve things further, we provided an over-the-air software update a few months ago to increase the default ground clearance of the Model S at hig

"However, to improve things further, we provided an over-the-air software update a few months ago to increase the default ground clearance of the Model S at highway speeds" I know this is not specific to Tesla, but it's still really cool. :)

crusso 13y ago
I realize that the suspension isn't unique to Tesla, but over-the-air software updates seem to be. It irks me to no end that I'm told that my Infiniti can't be updated to even work properly with my iPhone, much less the fact that they want to charge for gps map updates that are essentially free from Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.
- iancarroll 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure map data is expensive and those companies license it.
  - crusso 13y ago
    I realize that they license it. I dispute that it's anything but a cash cow for those companies that charge $100-$300 for map updates that many other companies make available for free. I've purchased licenses for multiple software packages and at the scales that these car distributors work at, it's ridiculous to think that their actual gps data costs aren't nominal (ie, pennies) per vehicle.
  - maguay 13y ago
    They license it and give it away with several hundred dollar gadgets. Seems surprising that an auto manufacturer wouldn't do the same with their tens-or-hundreds-of-thousand dollars products.
  - twistedpair 13y ago
    The long term contracts with M2M interfaces for OTA updates are generally low bandwidth. Carriers are willing to sell these long term contracts because it consumes very little of their network capacity. If you started pushing out constant multi-gig map updates across them, then the price to operate their OTA infrastructure (their vendor) would massively increase. That's the point we're they'd probably have you download the update online and usb stick it to your car, assuming they were willing to eat the cost of new maps licenses.
- blisterpeanuts 13y ago
  Yes. My '13 Prius V MP3 player doesn't properly randomize tracks from my flash drives. Apparently no one at Toyota tested their player with a 64 gig thumb drive with ~840 directories. I doubt Toyota will ever retro-fix the obvious software flaws. Tesla however sounds like they get it. Although many of us won't be buying an $80K vehicle any time soon, I expect that these kinds of innovations will trickle down to the mass market as people start to become dimly aware of the benefits. Hey, people might even start to ask why all cars can't be made as survivable as a Tesla S.
  - gregpilling 13y ago
    My Dodge Ram has an unworkable turd as a head unit also. Built-in MP3 that is painful to use, navigation that is horrible. It will never change, I am sure of it.
- pistle 13y ago
  Those maps are paid for in many ways, just not one where you have to swipe your card.
- DEinspanjer 13y ago
  Tesla provides a Google Maps interface at no additional charge, even to owners who didn't purchase the Tech and/or Nav options. If you purchase Nav though, you get GPS turn-by-turn guidance in an additional heads up display on the dashboard. That option is supposed to eventually cost money to update, I think after 5 or 7 years? And it probably won't be cheap. That said, it is really nice that it doesn't get 5 to 7 years stale before you have to pay for an update. I like the model.
madeofpalk 13y ago
Is someone able to explain this more? "Default ground clearance" means the distance between the ground and underside of the car, yeah? How are they able to control that with software?
- codfrantic 13y ago
  The Higher spec Model S' has active suspension that will lower the ride height at high speeds to reduce drag. The active suspension's control system was changed to lower it less.
- Already__Taken 13y ago
  All the suspension is electronically controlled for stability and responsiveness. Most expensive cars to that these days. The software must tell the dampers to ride a bit stiffer stopping the car body being pushed lower at high speeds.
- bullsbarry 13y ago
  Modern luxury/sports cars have active suspension systems that allow for adjustments in firmness, response, and in this case the ground clearance of the vehicle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_suspension http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_suspension
- craigwblake 13y ago
  Traditionally with adjustable pneumatic 'springs' (rubber air bags) that inflate or deflate to change ride height, often in response to increased vehicle weight. Not sure if that is approach Tesla takes. EDIT: Looks like Tesla does indeed use air suspension: http://www.teslamotors.com/de_AT/forum/forums/air-suspension-and-ground-clearance http://www.teslamotors.com/de_AT/forum/forums/air-suspension...
- jkap 13y ago
  The suspension in the Model S is computer controlled, so they just push an update to control it differently!
- FleshGordon 13y ago
drpancake 13y ago
I'm sure there are strict security measures and a rigorous testing regime in place, but still the idea of some anonymous engineer being able to push an over-the-air update to my fast moving, two-ton lump of metal makes me a little nervous. (Tin foil hat mode) Imagine the implications of some malicious third party gaining access to that process.
- bo1024 13y ago
  Agreed, what are the chances that there is no vulnerability (say buffer overflow attack) that allows a black hat to get into the system?
  - mason55 13y ago
    Or even an "oops, I pushed that update to production instead of test"
    - norova 13y ago
      Given the extremely dangerous potentials of such a mix-up, I would very much doubt an "Oops" moment would occur. Quite honestly, the way they run the company, I wouldn't be surprised if the process of pushing an OTA update to the automobiles is akin to launching a nuclear missile.
      - jzwinck 13y ago
        Fifteen years ago, NASA lost a Mars orbiter because one of their contractors used Imperial measurements when NASA used metric. Swissair 111 crashed because the operator installed a new entertainment system which overheated. A lot of serious systems made by serious people still end up with stupid problems.
        jann 13y ago
        While that is true, it also means that the 'serious firmware' developed for the car probably has stupid problems. And it might be safer and cheaper to have the option of fixing problems when you find them, because if you don't have that option, you're forced to weigh the costs of a recall against the risks of the issue for every little thing.

crusso 13y ago

I realize that the suspension isn't unique to Tesla, but over-the-air software updates seem to be. It irks me to no end that I'm told that my Infiniti can't be updated to even work properly with my iPhone, much less the fact that they want to charge for gps map updates that are essentially free from Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.

iancarroll 13y ago
I'm pretty sure map data is expensive and those companies license it.
- crusso 13y ago
  I realize that they license it. I dispute that it's anything but a cash cow for those companies that charge $100-$300 for map updates that many other companies make available for free. I've purchased licenses for multiple software packages and at the scales that these car distributors work at, it's ridiculous to think that their actual gps data costs aren't nominal (ie, pennies) per vehicle.
- maguay 13y ago
  They license it and give it away with several hundred dollar gadgets. Seems surprising that an auto manufacturer wouldn't do the same with their tens-or-hundreds-of-thousand dollars products.
- twistedpair 13y ago
  The long term contracts with M2M interfaces for OTA updates are generally low bandwidth. Carriers are willing to sell these long term contracts because it consumes very little of their network capacity. If you started pushing out constant multi-gig map updates across them, then the price to operate their OTA infrastructure (their vendor) would massively increase. That's the point we're they'd probably have you download the update online and usb stick it to your car, assuming they were willing to eat the cost of new maps licenses.
blisterpeanuts 13y ago
Yes. My '13 Prius V MP3 player doesn't properly randomize tracks from my flash drives. Apparently no one at Toyota tested their player with a 64 gig thumb drive with ~840 directories. I doubt Toyota will ever retro-fix the obvious software flaws. Tesla however sounds like they get it. Although many of us won't be buying an $80K vehicle any time soon, I expect that these kinds of innovations will trickle down to the mass market as people start to become dimly aware of the benefits. Hey, people might even start to ask why all cars can't be made as survivable as a Tesla S.
- gregpilling 13y ago
  My Dodge Ram has an unworkable turd as a head unit also. Built-in MP3 that is painful to use, navigation that is horrible. It will never change, I am sure of it.
pistle 13y ago
Those maps are paid for in many ways, just not one where you have to swipe your card.
DEinspanjer 13y ago
Tesla provides a Google Maps interface at no additional charge, even to owners who didn't purchase the Tech and/or Nav options. If you purchase Nav though, you get GPS turn-by-turn guidance in an additional heads up display on the dashboard. That option is supposed to eventually cost money to update, I think after 5 or 7 years? And it probably won't be cheap. That said, it is really nice that it doesn't get 5 to 7 years stale before you have to pay for an update. I like the model.

madeofpalk 13y ago

Is someone able to explain this more? "Default ground clearance" means the distance between the ground and underside of the car, yeah? How are they able to control that with software?

codfrantic 13y ago
The Higher spec Model S' has active suspension that will lower the ride height at high speeds to reduce drag. The active suspension's control system was changed to lower it less.
Already__Taken 13y ago
All the suspension is electronically controlled for stability and responsiveness. Most expensive cars to that these days. The software must tell the dampers to ride a bit stiffer stopping the car body being pushed lower at high speeds.
bullsbarry 13y ago
Modern luxury/sports cars have active suspension systems that allow for adjustments in firmness, response, and in this case the ground clearance of the vehicle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_suspension http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_suspension
craigwblake 13y ago
Traditionally with adjustable pneumatic 'springs' (rubber air bags) that inflate or deflate to change ride height, often in response to increased vehicle weight. Not sure if that is approach Tesla takes. EDIT: Looks like Tesla does indeed use air suspension: http://www.teslamotors.com/de_AT/forum/forums/air-suspension-and-ground-clearance http://www.teslamotors.com/de_AT/forum/forums/air-suspension...
jkap 13y ago
The suspension in the Model S is computer controlled, so they just push an update to control it differently!
FleshGordon 13y ago

drpancake 13y ago

I'm sure there are strict security measures and a rigorous testing regime in place, but still the idea of some anonymous engineer being able to push an over-the-air update to my fast moving, two-ton lump of metal makes me a little nervous. (Tin foil hat mode) Imagine the implications of some malicious third party gaining access to that process.

bo1024 13y ago
Agreed, what are the chances that there is no vulnerability (say buffer overflow attack) that allows a black hat to get into the system?
- mason55 13y ago
  Or even an "oops, I pushed that update to production instead of test"
  - norova 13y ago
    Given the extremely dangerous potentials of such a mix-up, I would very much doubt an "Oops" moment would occur. Quite honestly, the way they run the company, I wouldn't be surprised if the process of pushing an OTA update to the automobiles is akin to launching a nuclear missile.
    - jzwinck 13y ago
      Fifteen years ago, NASA lost a Mars orbiter because one of their contractors used Imperial measurements when NASA used metric. Swissair 111 crashed because the operator installed a new entertainment system which overheated. A lot of serious systems made by serious people still end up with stupid problems.
      - jann 13y ago
        While that is true, it also means that the 'serious firmware' developed for the car probably has stupid problems. And it might be safer and cheaper to have the option of fixing problems when you find them, because if you don't have that option, you're forced to weigh the costs of a recall against the risks of the issue for every little thing.