Model S Software/Firmware wishlist

[Rodolfo Paiz]

Given that our 30 mile-average projected range is apt to be the most useful/most accurate estimate, I agree that it should be displayed on he speedometer. Having the rated or ideal ranges displayed has the potential for disaster if they are relied upon - it would be like driving an ICE with a broken gas gauge!

I wouldn't go that far. Any range estimate will have weaknesses, which is why some people want to have their battery capacity reported to them simply as a percentage. For example, the 30-mile projected range is great, so long as the next 30 or N miles we care about forecasting have a topography and driving style similar to the last 30 miles. But if I'm going from flat Florida into the mountains, or going from a long highway trip to running errands in the city, the projected range is going to be wildly inaccurate. Same goes for rated/ideal range, of course.

However, driving around with rated range displayed on the speedo is not at all like a broken gas gauge in an ICE. Quite the opposite, it's almost exactly the equivalent of the gas gauge: a simple measurement of the energy in the battery, multiplied by a fixed number to arrive at the EPA rated range for a full battery. 85 KWh x 3.12 = 265 miles, or something like that.

And of course, all of this applies just as well to "projected range" calculations in an ICE. The gas gauge is an incredibly rough and primitive indication of remaining range, and the cars that do project range do so based on some fixed algorithm based on the previous X miles... and they can be just as wrong.

I still want to be able to show my projected range in the speedo. For me (Florida being flat as a pancake), that's the best indication of real-world range. And since it's so easy to add as an option, why not give me the choice?

 

[iffatall]

But it seems to me that a big part of the fault for such debacles lies with Tesla for featuring range above all other metrics, as they did with the Roadster (220 miles!) and are continuing to do.

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

[ThosEM]

However, driving around with rated range displayed on the speedo is not at all like a broken gas gauge in an ICE. Quite the opposite, it's almost exactly the equivalent of the gas gauge: a simple measurement of the energy in the battery, multiplied by a fixed number to arrive at the EPA rated range for a full battery. 85 KWh x 3.12 = 265 miles, or something like that.

Except that the newbie driver (viz. John Broder) will likely assume that "miles" actually means *miles* when it actually means remaining energy [kWh] / constant [kWh/mile]. It would be far better to simply show percentage or fractions (1/8, 1/2, etc.). That could not be misconstrued and clearly implies that "your mileage may vary."

And of course, all of this applies just as well to "projected range" calculations in an ICE. The gas gauge is an incredibly rough and primitive indication of remaining range, and the cars that do project range do so based on some fixed algorithm based on the previous X miles... and they can be just as wrong.

I still want to be able to show my projected range in the speedo. For me (Florida being flat as a pancake), that's the best indication of real-world range. And since it's so easy to add as an option, why not give me the choice?

Glad we can agree on that. One doesn't have to be in Florida to have a consistent driving style, which an average over 30 miles or so will correctly characterize in any given driving conditions.

Quite frankly, I'm incredulous that a community this intelligent and well-heeled has to spend time and effort re-establishing what should be a standard operating procedure for any vehicle, ICE or BEV.

 

[ThosEM]

Interesting: I haven't really gotten into hilly country yet, but it used to drive me bonkers that our Lexus RX400h had virtually no regen brake authority for cruise control, so it would coast way up beyond the desired speed on downhill stretches. There was a 'B' gear shift setting to increase the regen, but it disabled cruise control. Maybe we need steering wheel flippers to adjust to individual tastes?

While driving ~200 miles from home to KC this weekend on the hilly Ozarks roads it came to me that the Model S should automatically switch to the "Low" Regen setting while the cruise control is engaged. This would prevent the unnecessary and overly aggressive slowing on the downhill sections.

Evan, Via Tapatalk

 

[brianstorms]

Does anyone know of any Bluetooth-related issues that would *prevent* Tesla's 17" screen Media app from not being able to access, display, play, and otherwise work with artist lists, album lists, playlists, genre lists, song lists, etc.? Seems to me if you can do it in the Music/iPod device you should be able to do it in the Tesla firmware.

I am really surprised that in Jan 2014 one can still not interact with the playlists, artist lists, song lists, albums, etc, within Tesla's Media app. Either there is something technical preventing it, they just haven't gotten around to it yet, or, there is a business reason they don't want people to have access to that functionality yet (say, because that might reduce usage of Slacker etc, and they want people to like those services because they want to charge for them in the future, along with the inevitable AT&T bill).

It's a hassle to have to hunt for music on one's iPhone because one can't navigate it via the buttons on the steering wheel.

 

[brianman]

Does anyone know what the motivation or cited rationale was for making that change at v.4.0? I'm genuinely curious. From my perspective, this was a step backward, but maybe there were considerations of which I are unaware? Can anyone comment?

Officially: They made changes to the energy app to make it better (which they did, on the 17" rendering) but they also replaced the "Projected / Rated" setting with "Rated / Ideal" for the distance listed under the digital speed indicator on the instrument cluster.

I've always assumed they did the latter (the setting change) so that they could show 300 (and near 300) number under the speedometer in the showroom -- since the setting they seem to use most often for the in-store cars is "Ideal" (aka, to me, "Imaginary"). I've always felt it was something slimy like this behind the change, but I don't have any official information to support this understanding.

 

[iffatall]

Does anyone know of any Bluetooth-related issues that would *prevent* Tesla's 17" screen Media app from not being able to access, display, play, and otherwise work with artist lists, album lists, playlists, genre lists, song lists, etc.? Seems to me if you can do it in the Music/iPod device you should be able to do it in the Tesla firmware.

I may be wrong, but I believe the Bluetooth standard does not have a (standardized) way of transmitting "all available audio tracks" info.

I believe contacts, call logs, audio, metadata of track playing (excluding album artwork), call accept/reject signals, volume up/down signals, music play/pause signals, track back/next signals is all it is standardized to transmit. Anything that is not standardized can only be transmitted when you have a custom application running on both ends. For example, in this case, to be able to browse you music collection on the phone, you will need a Tesla Music Player app in the phone that communicates with the car via Bluetooth. Or, it could also work on a particular kind of phone OS, let's say Android, for example, if Android had released an API to browse music on phone via Bluetooth, and Tesla adhered to that API for the same.

 

[widodh]

Did anyone here about this? We Europeans are still limited to 17kW charging (3x26A) instead of 22kW (3x32A) as the Model S should be able to do.

See: Reduced charging current after FW upgrade V5.6

We have a lot of 22kW public charging stations and I'm going on a trip where I really want 3x32A.

Any news on 6.0 yet?

 

[redi]

1. Window lock button (or something similar in the GUI) disables the at least for the right side of the driver's window switch panel. Despite many months of adjusting my left knee and foot position, I am constantly opening the RF or RR window with left leg/knee at the most inopportune times. (UK/AU model probably the LH window buttons?)

2. While it is not software or firmware, reclining/adjustable rear seat angle. Not sure if possible with the MS due to the shell dimensions (other cars do have this feature however) this might provide a bit more space for rear seat passengers. With version 2 of the MS, I would happily trade rear cargo space for rear seat legroom.

Thanks.

 

[pete8314]

I'd like to reiterate what others have said about implementing Waze as part of the navigation/map package...around here at least, Waze is significantly more up to date in terms of traffic flow, and does a great job (better than a detector) of giving a good warning of speed traps further down the road. It also warms of other obstructions and hazards. Because the in-car streaming isn't as good as it used to be (lots of pausing), most of my streaming is via my phone, which means all the Waze announcements are mixed into the audio, which makes for a nice, seamless experience. The thing I don't like about Waze, and that would be MUCH better on the 17" screen, is entering your own Reports. This can be unsafe on a small cellphone screen, but the 17" screen has plenty of room for dedicated buttons, so it would be much easier.

 

[PaulusdB]

I'm with Pete, supporting Waze as the new navigation system in v6 s/w. Elon said in Amsterdam that the v6 navigation will be better than TomTom. That leaves only Waze as a possibility in my book.
Which would be great!

 

[ecarfan]

I agree with Pete. Waze is great. Since Google bought Waze last year, I suspect that V6 could show Waze-derived data on the 17" display with the Google map. The trick could be to then integrate that data with what the Navigon display is showing the driver.

 

[ebbrey]

*12V battery status on screen. (i know tesla can see the battery status in their system, so let us too.) Yes you can buy a 12v checker with usb sockets etc.. But i would like to link some kind of notification to my phone if it falls near critical level to start the car. Would also like this to be available in the app. So VT can have it too. Add other notifications too. if there is a error msg. txt me please. (yellow warning/errors, dont need the green "battery is heating". Thats okay )

*TuneIn buffer size. Not exactly sure how this works. But i guess the audio system streams the broadcast. But for places with "poor reception" its annoying to get 2 seconds then silence for 10, 2 more seconds.. more silence. Even better with Volume on 10. Gets your heart started in the morning. If one could increase the buffer a little. The TuneIn radio would function better. If this isnt limited by the TuneIn service itself.

 

[JoeNe]

Please no Waze!! You don't want to have to tap your screen every 5 seconds to confirm whatever the person 5 cars in front declared, while you're driving your car...

 

[pete8314]

Please no Waze!! You don't want to have to tap your screen every 5 seconds to confirm whatever the person 5 cars in front declared, while you're driving your car...

It's optional though, you don't have to tap anything. I rarely do, unless I'm at a standstill, or if it's a speedtrap.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I notice that Google maps (on iPads, etc.) now includes real-time data from Waze; early fruit from Google's purchase. Getting that info on our touchscreens would be very handy.

 

[JoeNe]

It's optional though, you don't have to tap anything. I rarely do, unless I'm at a standstill, or if it's a speedtrap.

I'd still prefer the implementation of the normal Navigon functionalities (like dealing with traffic info) into our systems. And the Waze fans can still use their Waze, once Tesla implements the functionality to show your Smartphone's screen on the center console (as Elon mentioned in Amsterdam). That way you could 'take over' your smartphone on your Model S. The way he explained, it sounded a bit like a Remote Desktop connection to your smartphone.

 

[InTheShadows]

I'd still prefer the implementation of the normal Navigon functionalities (like dealing with traffic info) into our systems. And the Waze fans can still use their Waze, once Tesla implements the functionality to show your Smartphone's screen on the center console (as Elon mentioned in Amsterdam). That way you could 'take over' your smartphone on your Model S. The way he explained, it sounded a bit like a Remote Desktop connection to your smartphone.

Do you know how many minutes into the video that is? I'd like to listen to it. I missed that when I watched it the first time.

 

[JoeNe]

Do you know how many minutes into the video that is? I'd like to listen to it. I missed that when I watched it the first time.

Elon Musk Townhall meeting Amsterdam (HD): Firmware Version 6.0, SuperCharger Locations Europe, etc. - YouTube

Question starts at 34:25

 

[InTheShadows]

Elon Musk Townhall meeting Amsterdam (HD): Firmware Version 6.0, SuperCharger Locations Europe, etc. - YouTube

Question starts at 34:25

Awesome! Thanks. I didn't want to have to watch the whole thing again.