Is here a "gripe thread" for all things Tesla?

[nitrous]

I might be in a particularly bad mood, having recently gotten off a flight from Denver to Toronto....but... The slacker internet audio system is about the dumbest "system" I have ever come across.

Please, don't get me wrong. If you have solutions to these issues, please chime in.

When i I do a search for a song or artist, once found, the song/artist becomes a favourite station. So, search for "hey Jude" and I now have "hey Jude radio station". Are these songs all Beatles songs? "No". Are they all similar to this one? "No". Does selecting this "favorite" result in the preferred song being played? "Sometimes but usually not". Is there a way to create favourites list? "No". Can you rewind and replay the previous song? "Hell no!" For a $100K automobile, this is unacceptable.

There also seems to be to be no relationship between flagged songs as "like" or favorite (ie clicking on the note resulting in its turning blue) and those song played but not flagged. Do they play more frequently? It doesn't seem so.

If there is a system to this miracle called "slacker", please, bring it on. If I take the sales persons words at face value, I won't even think about Sirius XM again. Sadly, this is not the case. I think Sirius does what it claims. I don't really know what slacker does.

If there isn't a specific detailed set of instructions for Slacker Radio, shame on Tesla. These are the details that make or break an end users experience. It's as if Tesla agreed to a stripped down version of Slacker, called it "Premium Audio" and stuck it into the firmware. For a car in this price bracket? Seriously? I don't think so.

Ok "Rant Mode" off.

Thanks
doug

 

[deonb]

They pretty much made it just good enough to demo.

But you can actually put a real Slacker login in there if you want. Not sure how much better it becomes.


Don't go Sirius though - the quality is horrible and if you ever sign up for you make sure you use a burner phone number, disposable credit card and fake ID to sign up for it. It took a threat from a lawyer last time for them to stop calling me 3 times per day. (Yes, the Tesla version of Sirius XM).

 

[MikeC]

Yes there is, here is where everyone goes to complain: teslamotorsclub.com

 

[brianman]

Slacker isn't perfect (and I have a number of feature requests) but it's better than FM radio. I used FM radio in a Tesla for the first time when I got a loaner today.

 

[wayner]

A real Slacker premium account lets you do a lot more, including play albums. If you want to try it is just $10/month.

And what ever happened to Spotify coming to North America? Is that still on the table?

 

[Xenoilphobe]

A real Slacker premium account lets you do a lot more, including play albums. If you want to try it is just $10/month.

And what ever happened to Spotify coming to North America? Is that still on the table?

Thats what I do, but what do you expect from a company called Slacker? Mine does OK. You are in the right place for gripes. I hate FM even more - so Slacker is a good compromise and I don't have to listen to the advertisements or the election garbage.

 

[wayner]

Thats what I do, but what do you expect from a company called Slacker? Mine does OK. You are in the right place for gripes. I hate FM even more - so Slacker is a good compromise and I don't have to listen to the advertisements or the election garbage.

Election? This is the Canadian forum - we don't have another election for four years.

 

[Doug_G]

They pretty much made it just good enough to demo.

But you can actually put a real Slacker login in there if you want. Not sure how much better it becomes.


Don't go Sirius though - the quality is horrible and if you ever sign up for you make sure you use a burner phone number, disposable credit card and fake ID to sign up for it. It took a threat from a lawyer last time for them to stop calling me 3 times per day. (Yes, the Tesla version of Sirius XM).

Slacker is okay, you just need to have reasonable expectations if you're not wanting to pop for a premium account.

As for sirius, I had the same trouble after my previous car's dealership signed me up for a free trial. I figured out how to get rid of them on about the sixth annoying call. You just play along with their script for fifteen minutes, being completely noncommital. "What kind of music do you like?" "All kinds." "Do you like country?" "Nope." "Do you enjoy sports?" "Not really." Drag it out as long as you can. After you frustrate them long enough they get the message and realize that you'll just screw with them if they call again. The calls will stop.

 

[nitrous]

Slacker is okay, you just need to have reasonable expectations if you're not wanting to pop for a premium account.

As for sirius, I had the same trouble after my previous car's dealership signed me up for a free trial. I figured out how to get rid of them on about the sixth annoying call. You just play along with their script for fifteen minutes, being completely noncommital. "What kind of music do you like?" "All kinds." "Do you like country?" "Nope." "Do you enjoy sports?" "Not really." Drag it out as long as you can. After you frustrate them long enough they get the message and realize that you'll just screw with them if they call again. The calls will stop.

Wouldn't it seem reasonable for Tesla to say ""consider upgrading your Slacker service to the premium package to take advantage of all the features (insert current list of features this actually entails) available" rather than pretending this is a premium/pro service Tesla is offering their customers? This is more than a little annoying. Not a deal breaker, but I feel a bit mislead.

first "hack" I'd like to see with my Tesla is the ability to access Sirius XM online!

thanks guys.
Doug

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

Does the upgraded Slacker version get rid of the horrible censorship that has infiltrated many songs on the crappy slacker version?
lots of songs that used to be ok on slacker have been molested ( but I guess it has made me want to purchase a few albums....so that might be good)

 

[beeeerock]

It would be nice if Tesla would add an app to the system that allows you to access Google Play Music... or other cloud music provider. In my case, I've uploaded some of my collection at no cost, which allows me to listen to it on the device of my choice. The car would be a device I'd choose!

The 'radio' options on Google aren't much different to Slacker, really. Tesla could save the monthly Slacker charge they pay on my behalf if they swapped Slacker for Google Play. At least for me. Being able to access my own collection would tip the scales.

 

[wayner]

Does the upgraded Slacker version get rid of the horrible censorship that has infiltrated many songs on the crappy slacker version?

I don't know - I haven't tried to listen to the Violent Femmes recently.:wink:

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Election? This is the Canadian forum - we don't have another election for four years.

Damn - I got lost on the forums -- be glad you aren't having an election - we don't have any options worth picking. If Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is available, we might need him...

 

[wayner]

Damn - I got lost on the forums -- be glad you aren't having an election - we don't have any options worth picking. If Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is available, we might need him...

He's not doing so well these days. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rob-ford-precision-chemotherapy-cancer-treatment-1.3479819