Understanding the engineering mindset behind a Tesla begins with the windshield wipers. Or rather, the control that makes them automatic. Many cars have automatic wipers, Tesla just has one of the worst systems. It doesn’t work very well and that fact is well documented on Twitter. Solutions exist to upgrade Tesla’s automatic wipers so they would be the same as any other luxury car, but that would involve using a sensor. Another part. A point of failure. And one of the most important differences between a Tesla and any other car, EV or otherwise, is their dedication to simplifying and automating their system by eliminating points of failure. Adding a sensor just introduces one more thing that must be fixed, maintained and eventually replaced. Instead, Tesla chooses to use software wherever possible. Eventually, the windshield wiper software will be upgraded and refined enough that it is equal to whatever performance a sensor can achieve, but until then Tesla will not fix it if the solution requires introducing a new point of failure.
The genius behind a Tesla, and what separates it fundamentally from all other vehicles, is the elimination of buttons, switches and parts that eventually break or require maintenance, and ultimately must be replacement. Controlling everything with software, as Tesla has chosen to do, allows the automaker to upgrade, adjust and improve their cars even after they have left the factory. It truly is a rolling computer or like driving around in a Giant iPad. To achieve this, however, requires that all the cars be wirelessly connected to the internet so improvements, bug fixes and upgrades can be rolled out to every vehicle ever made, over night. That connectivity has a variety of benefits. It allows Tesla to fix any issue almost immediately across every car they have ever made but it also means Tesla owners get free upgrades and improvements long after they purchased their car. It has been famously demonstrated when Tesla extended the range of all their cars in Florida during a hurricane so people could get clear without having to stop to charge. Also when a variety of traditional cars with auto drive features were first hacked into, manufacturers like Jeep were forced to issue a massive recall costing them $1.3 billion dollars. It resulted in a raft of ugly press and a many months process of getting customers’ cars into dealerships for a quick software patch to fix the problem. A Tesla Model S was also hacked around the same time so Tesla engineers wrote the patch and it was downloaded to every car that night. One download and done in 24 hours. No recalls, no service calls, no problem.
An internet connected car also means Tesla is able to gather mountains of data from hundreds of thousands of cars all over the world in every conceivable set of circumstances. That feeds into their ambitious and heavily criticized autonomous driving feature called Autopilot, but that is the subject of another discussion. Just know that the data Tesla collects has already become a valuable asset.
That connectivity also provides a host of benefits to the car owners. I have described it as The Infinitely Up-gradable Auto and indeed it is, but it results in other perks to the car owner. When I bought my Tesla Model S in 2015 I paid $3,500 for the Autopilot option but when the car was delivered it did not have that functionality. I was told in advance. Some four months later I got an update that enabled Generation one Autopilot features like hands free driving (ideal on highways, not so much in crosstown traffic) and self parking. The self parking feature is wonderful and feels so futuristic but the upgrades didn’t stop there. Every few months the car would download an update over the Tesla-paid LTE connection and I would get new features. This has been happening for years since I bought the car and two of my favourites include Dog Mode and the Garage Door Opener.
Dog Mode is such a wonderful headline-grabbing feature it is hard not to designate it as my personal favourite, but it started out as something else. A simple feature Tesla added that enabled the car to maintain its interior temperature while parked, whether it is cold outside or hot. A neat feature I have often used in both winter and summer when at the grocery store or just stopping in somewhere to run an errand. Even more helpful if you want to leave a child (a young adult that wants to be on their phone rather than running an errand with you, not an infant…) or a pet in the car for a brief stint. Simple and useful but it caused a real problem for Tesla when California passed legislation enabling any passerby to break into a car in order to save a pet they saw was left in a sealed car on a hot, sunny day. Not everyone knows a Tesla can maintain its interior temperature to protect a pet left inside, nor was it clear if the owner had even enabled that setting, so Tesla introduced Dog Mode. It is the same feature that maintains a constant interior temperature but in Dog Mode the giant screen on the dash displays the interior temp in big font along with a message that reads “My owner knows I am here and will be back soon. Don’t worry the A/C is on and it’s 21 C.” A brilliant and useful feature I have taken advantage of many times. But far more importantly is the fact that it has garnered the headlines and discussion only Tesla can attract. Line after line, blog upon blog, Tesla gets well promoted simply by inserting just a few lines of code, at virtually no cost to Tesla.
It’s the reason the volume in the car goes to 11. That’s right, not 10. The fan does too. I figured that one out myself. It’s easier to demonstrate with the fan because you are not cranking the sound system to its maximum level. Programmers call those Easter eggs. Little known quirks the programmers have inserted only for those in the know. And with software accompanied by a 17” screen you can do plenty. Stream Netflix of course, but only when you are parked. Asteroids, Moon Lander and Space Invaders for the nostalgic amongst us not to mention a Romantic Mode which displays a wood fire. It’s the sound that really sells it. A personal favourite is Fart Mode which delivers one of 10(?) fart sounds on command or when you use the turn signal. Always a crowd pleaser when you can make it sound as if the person in the back opposite corner let rip a Nuclear Fart. If you are charging the car, even at a Super Charger Station, which always seem to be right next to a Starbucks, you can chill in the most comfortable, temp-controlled seat with plenty to do and the climate controlled for you. If you spend the night under those circumstances it is called Tesla Camping. And if you have the all glass roof as I do, you can stargaze any time you wake in the middle of the night. Best room in the house. When introducing the unanimously over-engineered Model X, with the spectacular Falcon Wing Doors, Elon Musk was quoted as saying …
Service too is managed with software. When regular maintenance is required on a Tesla, which does happen but clearly not as often as a regular car when oil changes, seasonal fluid changes or tuneups are not needed. Tesla sells cars directly to its customers unlike the major auto companies that all work through dealerships. But that means Tesla has to set up “stores” to provide service to their vehicles when required. The minimal number of Tesla Service Centres is an often criticized point amongst Tesla-haters but they rarely take into account the fact that some Tesla service is done out in the field. I had a minor issue that needed attention so instead of taking my car into the nearby Tesla service centre they arranged a time to come to me, in the garage at my office building during a work day in fact, so I didn’t have to take the car in. I unlocked the car remotely when the arrived, the service was performed and they were gone. Amazingly efficient for Tesla and for me as a customer since I didn’t even have to leave my desk. I have had so many zero dollar service, repair, upgrade and replace appointments that I am almost wanting to pay for something, just so this company doesn’t go bankrupt. It’s clear, even to a Tesla fan, that the operating burden is painful and prolonged for investors in $TSLA. But it might just work because the User experience is unmatched.
Service is just one of many innovations Tesla has introduced to car owners that make the car feel more futuristic. Most other cars in a Tesla’s price range have the same feature that enables you to program a button in the car to open your garage door once you have trained it so you don’t need that clunky garage door opener clipped to the visor. On a Tesla, however, it is done on that big screen not with a physical button. One less point of failure again, but after using it a few times the screen pops up to ask me “Do you want me to open the garage door every time in this location?”. Uh, yes. So the software drops a geo-pin in that location and every time I approach my garage it automatically pops the door open before I get there. Closes it for me when I leave too. No buttons, no need to reach for a button, just a ping, and I never forget to close it when I leave. Surprisingly simple but it feels notably futuristic. And if you choose the air-ride suspension as an option the car can be raised as you approach a steep driveway or go over a speed bump in the same location everyday. A pin dropped on the map and the car adjusts automatically every time you approach that location. Folding the mirrors always in that location? It goes on. But its automation honestly makes it feel futuristic.
Interestingly, Tesla does not advertise. Doesn’t have to spend millions on advertising or marketing. No TV ads or billboards, virtually nothing in an industry that spent almost $50 billion in 2015, more than any other industry category and fully 20% of the top 100 companies’ spend of almost $250 billion. So how does the world already know so much about Tesla and its cars? It comes down in part to the Tesla devotees and also the haters. Both sides contribute bandwidth to the digital blogosphere while traditional media do their part to keep Tesla top of mind. Interviews, analysis and discussion on CNBC. But it is all the crazy antics of the company’s CEO mixed with crowd pleasing features like Dog Mode or demonstrations of raw power in a drag race or on the Nurburgring that truly shape the Tesla brand. The polarizing recent launch of the much anticipated Cyber Truck is as good an example as one could get. Especially when the steel ball bearing cracked the side window. Twice. Some even speculated Elon planned that in order to garner more coverage but it was clearly an unanticipated failure. And it most definitely enhanced what would have been a well covered launch ensuring it was seen by a far, far wider audience.
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