It's an absolute shitstorm that electric vehicles are taking the phone route to near no ownership
Note: Renault's future is a bit dubious, because they had to break up with Nissan, and the merger with FCA failed, so they're mostly going at it alone, and they're IMHO too small for that. However, they already have a few EV models, including the most popular EV in Europe for a few years ( Zoe), so maybe they're not that badly placed, and in any case the French government is unlikely to let them fail.
Not sure where the data came from in the top comment, but also Renault didn't have any talks with Stellantis AFAIK, and not sure such merger would be approved atm.
"In early 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sought a merger with French automaker Renault, and reached a provisional agreement with the company. However, the behaviour of the French government during negotiations led to the abandonment of the deal; The Economist reported that "for FCA this portended future interference." Nissan also had various concerns of the impact of the proposal on its alliance with Renault."
Tesla never offered the rental option for their batteries b/c they trusted their quality and reliability (Renault's batteries were and are quite subpar).
Like how people who don't want a SmartTV buy a computer-monitor and tuner instead.
Some have announced potential features like paying for remote start, but they’ve all walked it back due to negative feedback afaik
As far as I know, there's no feature that they will remotely disable, though since the car can connect to the internet for various things (sometimes using your phone, sometimes with its own modem, depending on trim) it could in theory happen.
However, a lot of the servicing needs VIDA, which is an always-online subscription thing that communicates live with the mothership, and DICE, some proprietary hardware dongle, so it's not easy to do much to it other than the most cursory maintenance if it needs the computer.
Also the service manuals are for a car since 2014, they're in VIDA too and need a subscription (before that there's a hacked version you can use, but it's still a pain).
https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/tesla-enlists-empl...
>Any worker who buys a Tesla and agrees to share 300 to 400 hours of driving feedback with the company’s Autopilot team by the end of next year won’t have to pay for full self-driving -- an $8,000 saving -- or for a premium interior, which normally costs $5,000, Musk wrote.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alistaircharlton/2020/07/02/bmw...
https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/04/bmw-will-no-longer-require-a-...
And I think there's a few others.
Merc: https://www.thedrive.com/tech/41678/full-rear-wheel-steering...
but yeah, almost all carmakers make remote functionality a subscription. Usually with first 3-4y free of charge.
It’s just classic HN FUD that pollutes literally any thread about anything car related. It’s tiring.
Needless to say, we haven't replaced this modem yet, and I am now wanting more than ever to replace that car with another Tesla.
If so, link please.
https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/hi...
In certain situations (eg: the California Fiat 500e leases, where you paid nearly nothing due to tax credits over 3 years) the math can work, but outside of financial engineering from beneficial state and federal tax incentives the upfront cost of the car or the monthly payments plus the increased insurance cost (due to needing to carry full replacement coverage) means the lifetime cost of ownership doesnt pencil out.
Such bullshit.
Good luck with that one buddy. Cars ain't that cheap, significant repairs are often cheaper than the cost of a new vehicle.
I wish I was joking...
Disposable anything is the blight of the modern age, here in Sweden I see a small movement towards buying 2nd hand for most things and... It just makes sense for a lot of items: kitchen appliances, sewing machines, power tools, home theater speakers, etc.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Why have we forgotten the first 2 Rs? I learned this in school during the 90s, it's been 30 years and people still have a "disposable mindset". It's terrifying...
The cost-of-entry should be high, but with a high production rate, aggressive recycling and a consistent user experience, the cost-to-stay should be minimal. Car terminally breaks? Replace it with another one, and recycle the original to make a new one for someone else.
Minimal (ideally zero) waste, minimal impact on the environment, easier for all parties (customer is waiting at-most a few days for a new car; manufacturer spends time servicing lower-impact issues that could be addressed remotely at customer's homes; insurance payouts are less complicated since the resolution matrix is smaller), and significantly safer (new car that's known-good vs a repaired car with unpredictable failure modes due to alteration)
Plastics, leather, cloth, rubber printed circuit boards and such require significant labor to separate from eachother, and even if that labor is already done the cost to recycle it is higher than using virgin materials, and the result is lower quality.
The last car that I had to sell because I could not afford fixing had a $5,000 repair quote. Not because of the ice engine. Not because of the gasoline.
Because the wire harness was corroded.
Stop dreaming that electric cars do not need maintenance. Maybe not as regular maintenance as ice cars, but definitely they will be eoled in the same lifespan as ice cars.
Replacing, and diagnosing, a modern cars harness for 5k is actually quite reasonable if not even cheap. Especially since the harness rebuild means basically disassembling the majority of the car simply to get access.
But wear and tear impacts all cars operated in the real world, not just gasoline cars. An EV is not magical, just another type of vehicle. Its most frequent failure modes are still being discovered as we put more miles on it and gain experience.
Source: work in the automotive manufacturing industry.
If yes, what's the cost of recycling said unit and raw material recovery ratio when compared to changing the said part and continue using it?
Using items for a longer time by maintaining them is better for environment.
It should be criminal when the product has safety inplocation
I think you meant "implication". And no there is no "safety implications" in this case. This is just someone violating their NDA while also badmouthing their employer and being fired for it.
> Yes, personal retaliation against criticism is about as 'proper' behaviour as is pissing in public
There is zero evidence of any "personal retaliation" here.
https://www.tesla.com/support/autopilot
imo the distinction is deliberately obtuse, people pay 10k thinking they're getting FSD, and you do get auto lane change and smart summon, but stop signs and navigating autopilot are behind the safety-scored limited rollout.
It’s clear that many or most people are paying that money thinking they’re going to get the Beta features.
FSD - Tesla’s auto-drive that is anything but “Full” and essentially a live beta, and a $10k option.
FSD Beta - Tesla’s latest FSD software that’s somewhere between alpha and beta status. Free for those who qualify, request access, and have paid for FSD.
* I assume so, based on the first paragraph of the article: "showing how the company’s Full Self Driving Beta system worked in different locations around Silicon Valley"
You say "badmouthed", I say "exposed". Clearly this person was a Tesla fan, he was merely demonstrating (perhaps inadvertently) the inadequacies of a system for which there's am ongoing misleading narrative.