Hacker News Reader

Comment by diebeforei485 | Hacker News Reader

A lot of car owners don't have reliable internet at home and live outside of cell tower coverage (mountainous areas, especially).

Statistically these are not likely to be Tesla owners, but it's about making sure people know about the issue and how to fix it.

View on HN

When GP says "the update could be displayed on-screen," they are referring to the car's user interface, and not a secondary device like a computer or cell phone.

Incidentally, when you point out the issue of missing a theoretical electronic version of the notice because of spotty Internet connectivity, in such a scenario, they wouldn't be able to receive the OTA update either.

When they get the letter in the mail, they'll know to take their car to the nearest library or Starbucks or wherever with wi-fi to install the update.

So Tesla vehicles dont ping notices to other tesla vehicles passing out update info, in much the same way like the covid smartphone bluetooth vicinity checks worked. Thats surprises me, I think even Windows now lets an updated computer notify and update other windows pc's that are more off grid, its called delivery optimisation, but should work for local hotspots in the wild.

Cars driving past each other rarely are in range for long enough to communicate meaningfully.

Locations where multiple Tesla vehicles are likely to congregate - Superchargers and Tesla retail/service locations - already have good internet connectivity.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com