> Please note also that using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride hailing for friends and family is fine, but doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network, details of which will be released next year.
Why does Tesla get to tell me what to do with my car?
And, if you have a Tesla, you can verify this by disabling its ability to talk to Tesla. After some period of time, your car will no longer run.
Or you can crash it, get it fixed by a non-Tesla service provider, and watch it also fail to run. Not because of a mechanical failure or even a software failure, but because Tesla hasn't OKed it to run.
I'm curious about what happens if/when Tesla goes out of business. What happens to all those Model S and Model 3's out there - do they get OTA patched to no longer phone home, does the data coming out of the Tesla flip over to whoever purchases that capability from Tesla, or do they all just stop? It will be interesting to see.
The clause is probably there because Tesla wants to become the self-driving Uber, and it cannot (even if it wanted to) limit the restriction to corporations because, as we know, Uber does not have drivers or cars.
If you want to drive your car for Uber, you can. If you want Tesla’s software to drive it for Uber for you, that isn’t part of the end user license agreement.
At one time automakers tried to say if you used third party oil filters or other parts, or if anyone other than the dealer did work, then your warranty was void. That didn't hold up.
Publishers tried to say that you could not re-sell books and recordings and software media after you purchased them. That didn't hold up.
Not sure that this will hold up either.
You’re going to need a copyright law overhaul to change this status quo.
For example can my water heater's manufacturer ban me from washing my dog in the bath because they own copyright on the software in the thermostat micro-controller?
If Tesla were going to provide liability insurance, I could absolutely see them having the ability to limit usage (under that insurance). But software copyright is an unusual argument.
Existing law supports this, and I don’t foresee policy changing in this regard.
If there is an operator in the vehicle, they could just enter the destination the old fashioned way.
> Existing law supports this, and I don’t foresee policy changing in this regard.
It really doesn't. I'm not sure which "law" you're even referring to.
Well, probably not, because realistically Tesla's self-driving isn't going to be happening anytime soon.
https://electrek.co/2018/05/19/tesla-releases-softwar-open-s...
My guess:
Because they think it's their car, even after they sold it to you. And, because, more to the point, they expect that (contrary to their claims) that retaining that control and exploiting it is the only way they will be able to be profitable with the cars.