Hacker News Reader

Comment by tragictrash | Hacker News Reader

Yes but the display freezing and then him putting it in reverse isn't what he described happening.

There's a big difference, and it's obvious from watching the video once which one happened, even to someone who didn't know how to put a Tesla in reverse (me).

When someone says something incorrect, I always wonder if it's accidental or intentional. This kind of misrepresentation seems intentional, making me question the source's future credibility.

I hate Teslas, their complexity is a design flaw. Can't believe I'm defending them.

View on HN

To defend OP, he probably doesn't even remember putting the car into reverse, and probably hasn't reviewed the video. Yeah it's a weak defense, and I agree with you, if he's making big claims he should've reviewed things more carefully.

OTOH, I wonder if "The car must indicate to the driver visually/audibly that it's been put in reverse." is a clause in a law somewhere...

That I can get behind. These things are dangerous and don't belong on our roads.

Most manual transmissions don't give you any indication whether you're in reverse or the gear next door until you start moving.

The position of the gear selector is an indicator.

It can be in some cars, but with sporty 6-speeds in particular it can be very difficult to tell if you're in reverse or 1st just by looking because the shift gates are so narrow. My VW is even worse, because you get it into reverse by pushing the shift knob down and then basically shifting into 1st.

Of course not knowing which gear you're in when you start the car is less a problem with a manual - interacting with the gear lever is a much more normal and automatic (irony) part of the driving experience so if you start rolling the wrong way you just pop it into a different gear and move on with your life.

I watched the clip a few times and it appears he did bump the stalk upwards but I can't tell if it was accidental or he was trying to perform some function (perhaps unfreeze the display). I can say this much - no single car I have ever driven - manual or automatic - were you ever able to accidentally put into reverse without realizing consciously what you were doing.

I was trying to disengage FSD without feedback. The reverse was accidental.

e) I could definitely have been clearer with my wording but that is how I perceived the situation. “Somehow” I was in reverse.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com