Holy. Shit. If this is true (I no reason to doubt you, yet at least), the market cap of Tesla makes even less sense. Who in their right mind would invest in a car company that can't even build a car that work half of the time you're using it? Especially since all controls are depending on the console as well.
Maybe touchpanels for any major control systems without tactile backups is a stupid idea?
I had a similar failure in my Infiniti 2006 G35. The Bose stereo had a cap that would blow, which would cut power to the whole center stack, including climate control and defog. The radio was a $2,000 part, and they never extended the warranty. I ended up replacing the climate control panel with a non-US version of the part that bypassed the radio.
It’s good that Tesla extended the warranty in this case, as they should have. I think there’s one key part that’s even better, and as far as I know totally unique to Tesla;
> So the moment I qualified for an upgrade to their newer MCU, I just went ahead and scheduled that. Sure, it actually costs me money, but in exchange I get a faster UI, better software support, and hopefully fewer issues.
Tesla has actually designed a harness to allow their newest generation of MCU to be retrofitted into their older cars, and will factory support this upgrade. This gives you access to all the latest infotainment and driving visualization features that came out well after the car was made.
I don’t know of any other car manufacturer which supports their late model cars like this.
First, this doesn't affect the parts of the car necessary to actually drive it. (Remember, the dashboard on the Model S is a separate component.) The actual "car" part of the car still works just fine, and you can even reboot this part while driving without causing problems.
Second, most people who actually own these cars tend to be somewhat protective of the company's image. Therefore, while you'll see plenty of ranting on Tesla-specific forums, it rarely leaks out into the greater conversation.
Third, and most importantly, all of the reporters who write articles covering Tesla are doing so from the perspective of an outsider looking in. They jump all over the great features and new easter eggs, but are completely and utterly oblivious to all the "quality of life" issues you'll only ever notice if you actually own the damn car and drive it every day.
Recalls are pretty common across cars manufacturers, even the ones seen as reliable, such as Mercedes or Volvo. As for as anecdotes go, I have rented an almost brand new Toyota that would turn the lights off on 90 degrees turn, that was frightening :)
It's just that painting a car around the battery pack is the sexiest and highest margin way to sell it.
Now if there is a new battery chemistry on the horizion you can start to worry.