Posted on 09/10/2017 10:42:47 AM PDT by TigerClaws
Tesla has pushed an over-the-air update to some of its vehicles in Florida that lets those cars go just a liiiittle bit farther, thus helping their owners get that much farther away from the devastation of Hurricane Irma.
Wondering how that's even possible?
Up until a few months ago, Tesla sold a 60kWh version of its Model S and Model X vehicles — but the battery in those cars was actually rated at 75kWh. The thinking: Tesla could offer a more affordable 60kWh version to those who didn't need the full range of the 75kWh battery — but to keep things simple, they'd just use the same 75kWh battery and lock it on the software side. If 60kWh buyers found they needed more range and wanted to upgrade later, they could... or if Tesla wanted to suddenly bestow owners with some extra range in case of an emergency, they could.
And that's what's happening here.
As first noticed by Tesla owners on Reddit, the company has pushed a "temporary update" to vehicles within the evacuation zones that bumps the 60kWh models up to 75kWh.
On the road, according to Elektrek, this battery bump works out to about 30 miles of additional range on a full charge. If that little bit of range helps even one person avoid injury or get their loved ones out safely, I'd say its worth whatever work this required.
Alas, the upgrade won't stick around forever — Tesla generally charges at least $5,000 for the permanent equivalent. Members on the Tesla Motors Club fan forum report that the temporary update will be reversed on September 16th.
(Meanwhile, in case any gas-powered vehicle owners in the path of the hurricane end up on this page: GasBuddy has rolled out a tool meant to help Floridians find gas stations near them that still have fuel. And if you can get out, please do.) View Reactions (563) Stephen Todd Hoover
It’s common practice for car manufacturers to “de-tune” the engines they put in less expensive models.
The engine in my car produces 10 hp more that the lower tier model, and 15 hp less that the model a tier above mine.
The engines are exactly the same, aside from the ECU programming. It helps manufactures sell the more expensive models, while also being able to meet efficiency requirements across their lineup as a whole.
“very software I work on ships fully capable and whether you get feature set X or Y depends on how much money you give us and the license key we generate”
Yeah, I have seen that even in the avionics sector. Pay a bit more and we will give you a SW key that unlocks extra features.
In the long run it’s a better model. Fewer deliverables, less needed testing, faster and easier upgrades. It’s much easier for everybody. It’s just the first time this has hit the automotive market, so it’s got people confused. It’ll be interesting to see how far this goes. I wonder if someday we’ll see the low end version of cars actually having all the hardware (instead of those hole covers) and just not enabling them, and then you can “upgrade” your car with a quick call to the manufacturer.
Tesla is further proof that P.T. Barnum was right.
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