Consumer Reports says older cars will not be compatible w/ version 7

I doubt it. That would imply that Tesla would be maintaining two versions of the software going forward. It would also imply (as alluded to by the CR guy) that there was an upgrade to the processor when the autopilot hardware was added. Do we know if that is the case?

Get your tin foil hat off! LOL

AmpedRealtor said:

I don't think he would have said something like this if he wasn't provided that information by Tesla. He seems to be the nerd in the group.

Click to expand...

And we know that information provided by individuals at Tesla is always 100% reliable. :wink:

This was a very interesting discussion by a group of plugged-in (you'll pardon the expression) car guys. The bombshell they dropped regarding the incompatibility of version 7 firmware with older Model S (assuming it turns out to be true) is just the logical progression of what we've already seen: that updates to hardware can't necessarily be retrofitted to older cars. Every week that passes means that there is less commonality between cars coming off the assembly line in Fremont and my early Sig S85. It's inevitable that at some point, the display and processing capability built into my Sig S won't have the horsepower to run the latest and greatest firmware.

That said, I'll be really disappointed if that point has been reached already with version 7. It hasn't even been three years since the first Model S rolled out of the factory and into customers' hands.

stevezzzz said:

It's inevitable that at some point, the display and processing capability built into my Sig S won't have the horsepower to run the latest and greatest firmware.

That said, I'll be really disappointed if that point has been reached already with version 7. It hasn't even been three years since the first Model S rolled out of the factory and into customers' hands.

Click to expand...

Do we know whether the processor or memory differs between autopilot cars and earlier ones?

Yes, autopilot stuff won't go to 2012/2013/most 2014 cars. But torque sleep isn't coming to my P85 either. As always, updates will apply to cars whose hardware supports them. If they improve the media app (like adding playlists), it's not like those updates won't apply to 2012 cars.

It's in Tesla's best interest for software improvements to apply to as wide a cross-section of the fleet as possible.

Obviously the older cars can't have a number of the core features being added in version 7 because they don't have the hardware.

That said, I'd be shocked if Tesla doesn't continue to update the firmware on them and keep it in line for the features that aren't dependent on the new hardware. It would be contrary to their expressed philosophy of continuous improvement, and give them bad publicity from a number of their current biggest fans without reducing the work they have to do by any meaningful amount.

I'm hoping that he was just being more vague and really meant to say that an older Model S wouldn't be compatible with all the features of version 7. Drawing comparisons to an iPhone 4s, Apple allowed users to install iOS8, which debuted ~3 years after the 4s was introduced. I would be very disappointed if Tesla doesn't at least continue to provide some aspect of the updates for at least the first 5 years of the car's life (but honestly, I think it should be 8).

I think everyone here should know by now not to believe what someone says someone at Tesla told them.

tenstringer009 said:

I'm hoping that he was just being more vague and really meant to say that an older Model S wouldn't be compatible with all the features of version 7. Drawing comparisons to an iPhone 4s, Apple allowed users to install iOS8, which debuted ~3 years after the 4s was introduced. I would be very disappointed if Tesla doesn't at least continue to provide some aspect of the updates for at least the first 5 years of the car's life (but honestly, I think it should be 8).

Click to expand...

There would only be some separation with significantly different computer hardware. But separation can be in the sense of "we compiled a different version and used some different drivers" rather than "We wrote a different interface".

TexasEV said:

I think everyone here should know by now not to believe what someone says someone at Tesla told them.

Click to expand...

:biggrin: Cracked me up.

The original assertion seems pretty suspect to me. There are substantial reasons to have the entire model on the same firmware version (even if some parts of the SW don't apply to that actual vehicle). Further, it's hard to point to the fact that you can update the cars and add new features as a major selling point if, after 2 years, the cars no longer get updated. They're cars, not cell phones people turn in every two years.

A few things are certain-
(1) processors and processing capability will improve and it is likely Tesla will migrate capability into their dashes much faster than any previous OEM
(2) the software capability will not be constrained by "backward compatibility" so you can bet, at some point in the future, there will be more than one code base to support the fleet
(3) Tesla will not do as Apple did and allow you to upgrade your phone to a firmware that literally stops the phone in its tracks

It is not a matter of if but when..........

While the Tegra 3 in the Tesla is already getting long in the tooth (it was already outdated within a year of its release, as do most SoCs), I remember Tesla saying they plan to stick to a 7 year design cycle for the Model S. It may not necessarily be inclusive of the the processing hardware, but it certainly can be.

- - - Updated - - -

tenstringer009 said:

I'm hoping that he was just being more vague and really meant to say that an older Model S wouldn't be compatible with all the features of version 7. Drawing comparisons to an iPhone 4s, Apple allowed users to install iOS8, which debuted ~3 years after the 4s was introduced. I would be very disappointed if Tesla doesn't at least continue to provide some aspect of the updates for at least the first 5 years of the car's life (but honestly, I think it should be 8).

Click to expand...

100% agree.

stopcrazypp said:

While the Tegra 3 in the Tesla is already getting long in the tooth (it was already outdated within a year of its release, as do most SoCs), I remember Tesla saying they plan to stick to a 7 year design cycle for the Model S. It may not necessarily be inclusive of the the processing hardware, but it certainly can be.

Click to expand...

If the autopilot and non-autopilot cars share the same processing hardware I can't think of any reason Tesla would create a new incompatible version of the software.

AmpedRealtor said:

I don't think he would have said something like this if he wasn't provided that information by Tesla. He seems to be the nerd in the group. This is concerning because I don't believe Tesla will want to maintain two code bases. If this is true, the most likely scenario is that Tesla will stop updating the old cars and will basically freeze the feature set that we have. That means the updates we had been hoping for in navigation and other areas may never come, and may only be available to those who recently purchased their cars.

Click to expand...

You don't think journalists get things wrong? How about the 400 mile battery upgrade for the Roadster that was delivered last year via an OTA update according to CNN? Might be worth waiting until Tesla actually announces this. Seems to me if this is true and a processor upgrade is all that it is required then providing the upgrade for free would be cheaper than maintaining two selected software lines.

lolachampcar said:

...(3) Tesla will not do as Apple did and allow you to upgrade your phone to a firmware that literally stops the phone in its tracks...

Click to expand...

And that's what I'm hoping for. At some point, stop upgrading my firmware with features that will bog down response time. I just hope they're not at that point yet. Although I don't remember the exact words, I simply took CR's comments to mean that not all features in v7 would be implemented on the classic Model S which should not be a surprise.