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Comment by bitexploder | Hacker News Reader

On the other hand, despite minor quality things, my wife loves our Model 3. For the price and what it achieves it is a great vehicle. I always tell people Tesla is a software company that happens to make cars. In that regard they are a decade ahead of traditional manufacturers in my estimation. Look at how low quality the software ecosystems of most traditional manufacturers are.

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Unfortunately, people keep driving them on roads like cars, not just operating them like software.

> Tesla is a software company that happens to make cars

Probably the scariest statement in this thread, given what we know about the reliability of software.

I didn't really believe this back when I was driving a BMW and Honda daily running CarPlay, but now that I'm on the Model 3 I'm hitting lots of software bugs on the Tesla head unit that would've never passed even the most basic of software QA at my previous job.

The Tesla head unit makes the current automaker's head units look super reliable and as solid as a rock. OTA software updates do have their benefits, but it seems like it leads to compromising quality for pushing features of questionable utility out the door.

I get really disappointed when I see Tesla implementing really unnecessary features like Rainbow Road (the over-done SNL "more cowbell" skit) and fart mode. Focus on the reliability before making these features.

Look at how low quality the software ecosystems of most traditional manufacturers are.

The new in-dash systems in the Subarus and Ford E-Mustangs appear to be on par with Tesla, usability wise, and unlike Tesla can be used with physical controls.

This is telling. The user expects a software experience, but Tesla software is notoriously buggy.

This same experience with a Ford logo would end in a negative review.

I am very ambivalent. I love electric vehicles for the environment, but I grew up with and love sports cars. The Tesla is just too clean and clinical for me. I do have to say, though, I own a high end Ford truck that carries their flagship infotainment system and it is /nothing/ like the Tesla. It actually crashes more often. The only thing it has going for it is CarPlay, but even that can be buggy and not work right at times. Meanwhile the giant infotainment screen on the Tesla generally just works and behaves nicely. It is one thing to read people nitpicking Tesla and another to drive them day to day and be realistic. People love the cars for a reason, they are fun, have really great resale value, are very easy to maintain, and can have very exciting driving performance.

It's not that bad. You get a crappy release once in a while and it gets fixed within a week or a month at the most. And most of those bugs are in new features they continue to add after I've bought the car. Meanwhile, my Chevy has the worst software and infotainment system I've ever experienced and the dealer wants $169 just to check for updates. I've owned a half dozen cars in the last 5 years and none of them had software remotely on par with the Tesla. Toyota and Honda were probably the only others I liked because they didn't really try to do much. They just worked.

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