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Comment by minhazm | Hacker News Reader

Tesla has done a decent job of mitigating some of the chip shortages since they are so vertically integrated. Though obviously Tesla produces way less cars than Toyota/Honda/VW. But other manufacturers simply can't do this even if they wanted to since they outsource most of this stuff.

> “We were able to substitute alternative chips, and then write the firmware in a matter of weeks,” Musk said. “It’s not just a matter of swapping out a chip; you also have to rewrite the software.”

https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/26/22595060/tesla-chip-short...

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They also just completely dropped a feature - radar - because they couldn't get parts for it. I'm not sure other manufacturers would be able to do that either due to internal processes or being able to risk their reputation.

Volvo dropped a security package too because of the chip shortage: "Volvo is contacting customers who have specified the Driver Awareness package to ask if they want to continue with their orders without the equipment, or wait until the kit becomes available once more."

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry-news-manufacturi...

I'm expecting them to turn the radar off at some point on the cars with a radar, because in my own experience driving Tesla, the radar was good to trigger phantom breaking.

Tesla dropped radar because they are moving to vision only systems like how the Comma AI/OpenPilot works. Vision models are superior to radar since radar can't detect stopped obstacles.

From their comments about it being a setback, it doesn't sound like it was planned to happen so quickly.

Radar can absolutely detect stationary objects. Your vehicle moving at 50 mph means a stationary object is moving at 50 mph relative to your radar.

Yea but they need to distinguish between the stationary objects that are inconsequential to the car.

Are you telling me that its an unsolved problem in aero industry whose entire tracking mostly dependa on radar and it doesn’t work with non moving objects? That doesnt make any sense to me, I mean how is a static image more superior to, say a metric that has accurate angle and distance.

Indeed - not many manufacturers could get away with Tesla's strategy of charging money for features that are in Alpha state, to put it charitably (e.g. Autopilot).

Many manufacturers had no shame to charge for shitty features in alpha state like the "ping pong" line assist.

Well they aren't going to "ping pong" themselves into a parked emergency vehicle.

Right, because it will just turn off itself randomly and run full speed into vehicle ahead.

Even Tesla's basic autopilot is far ahead of competitors and it's already included in base price.

Many companies will rip you off for far more basic cruise control

> Even Tesla's basic autopilot is far ahead of competitors

Depends on how you define "competitors" I guess. It doesn't seem to be ahead of Waymo.

You can't buy a Waymo car

Probably because they don't deem it safe enough yet. Tesla on the other hand is happy to sell tech that hasn't matured yet.

My Skoda Citygo's line-keeping assist tries to drive me into the barrier every single time I go driving. Only a firm hand on the steering wheel prevents disaster.

> and then write the firmware in a matter of weeks

Well, it doesn't sound very reassuring to read that they just swapped out some chips here and there and then "hacked" the new firmware in a couple of weeks. It may be the chip for the FM radio or it could be part of the breaking system.

Don't worry, they've been hacking the self driving code for a few years now.

> Tesla has done a decent job of mitigating some of the chip shortages since they are so vertically integrated

That and the fact they ten times less vehicles than other manufacturers like VW or Toyota per year.

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