Unpopular Question

[Jkaufm32]

Hey everyone!

I just picked up my 2015 Model S 85D on Friday so I am still in the honeymoon phase with the car. Forgive the question if it seems a bit silly.

Why does everyone seem to have so many issues with the lack of updates on a daily basis and have some (in my opinion) unrealistic outlooks on a company?

I understand Elon has made many many promises over the years and things like what is included with FSD has changed. However, the car is an amazing car and does things that many of the other high end manufacturers just dont do.

I assume I will be getting a whirlwind of people explaining what their problem is with numerous things about the car, Tesla as a company, or Elon.

From where I'm sitting, it seems like these forums are just for people to complain about petty issues that would be disregarded if this were any other manufacturer.

I hope no one takes offense, but I'm sure this will ruffle a few feathers.

 

[Tam]

...ruffle a few feathers.

Complaints could be viewed as petty issues but for others, it's another form to encourage Tesla to reach for a high bar.

 

[DriveMe]

I really hope that the main reason is that we all do care! We care about the company, the product it makes, the company leader and its bold mission. Never in the past with any of my previous cars have I ever followed the company so closely, or even knew who the CEO was. Certainly never bothered reading the company mission statement! This is so different! That's my view anyway...

 

[jerry33]

Complaints are what most car forums are all about (and many other product related forums as well). TMC actually has a pretty good ratio of complaints to praise compared to many other forums. There are also a few trolls and shorts.

 

[Jkaufm32]

Complaints could be viewed as petty issues but for others, it's another form to encourage Tesla to reach for a high bar.

This makes sense. Again, I am obviously new to this, but if the intentions are to move the company forward I get it.

Sorry if I came across as stuck up. I am genuinely loving this car so I was curious why the negativity.

Thanks for explaining!

 

[Shadnic]

I agree, I've seen people on this forum seemingly furious over things as small as not getting an update as quickly as someone else (even if said update only adds minor non-performance related features). I get that these cars are practically more tech products than anything else, and that makes you want them to be the latest and greatest all the time, but they are still amazing. I have never seen a car manufacturer have the type of continued service and updates that Tesla has.

Not only that, but having Elon on twitter answering questions and giving timelines and stuff....I think that is so incredibly valuable. He doesn't have to do that. No other company really does. I would hate to never know what's being worked on at Tesla until it is released. Knowing what's going on behind the scenes gives me the ability to be excited about the future and make good decisions in the present. It feels like on here more people are mad about things Elon says not being 100% accurate than they are glad that he's communicating directly to users. I'm worried we'll see him stop at some point (maybe even soon if the SEC has their way).

I like your perspective DriveMe, that it's just showing that people care, but I don't know if I've seen that to be true in most cases. I've read a lot on here over the last few weeks and it sounds like people are most concerned when something is retired/expired/changed/late and it affects them very specifically, even if the reason that it was retired/expired/etc was to benefit the actual company as a whole.

If we truly just wanted the best for Tesla we'd understand the changes that maybe slightly inconvenience older adopters to make room for quick expansion and growth the company needs in the market to stay alive. Of course a balance between the two is needed in the end, and right now they're just pulling the rope a little more in the direction of their new cars, which I think is very understandable.

 

[jorobsand]

I think a large part of it is the history of updates. For a while, S and X were getting updates every few weeks, even if only minor behind-the-scenes updates. Ever since the rollout of the 3, updates for the S and X fleet have slowed in terms of frequency. And a lot of the publicized features have been rolling out more broadly to the 3 while the S and X haven't seen a wide release since late last year.

The gripe that folks have is that they feel like they were "promised" one thing when they bought the car, and over time, those "promises" aren't held up.

 

[jerry33]

Sometimes you get updates quickly, sometimes not. Just luck of the draw.

 

[PhilDavid]

Have any Model S owners received Sentry Mode yet?

 

[Patrick W]

Maybe some of us are spoiled?

 

[ewoodrick]

The issue is a slight change to the update cadence and a bunch of new users, not being familiar with the process.

We just went through one of the biggest gaps in updates and to a degree, still going through them.

People think that when an update is released, that it is deployed to a half-million cars, all in 2 days. This is far from the case. There's two situations here. The classic situation is that even last year, when an update is released, it will often take 2 months before everyone gets it. So those on the end of the list are always asking "Why don't I have it"

In the current rash of releases, they are being staged to get input on any issues. While closed testing groups give a lot of information, it often takes distribution to larger groups to get better info on any issues. That's what occurring now. Some of the new features are being tested and it will take some time before they even enter the 2 month period for widespread distribution.

Yes, there have been a few updates that got pushed in only a few weeks, but they have bene rare.

Basically, everyone needs to just chill. Your new toy will get a new brain eventually.

 

[freeewilly]

Because you're a newbie, once you own a Tesla, you will get used to have new functions after you purchase the car, and expect more and never soon enough.

It's like a kid wants more candy. No matter how much you give him, it's never enough.

 

[boonedocks]

Hey everyone!

I just picked up my 2015 Model S 85D on Friday so I am still in the honeymoon phase with the car. Forgive the question if it seems a bit silly.

Why does everyone seem to have so many issues with the lack of updates on a daily basis and have some (in my opinion) unrealistic outlooks on a company?

I understand Elon has made many many promises over the years and things like what is included with FSD has changed. However, the car is an amazing car and does things that many of the other high end manufacturers just dont do.

I assume I will be getting a whirlwind of people explaining what their problem is with numerous things about the car, Tesla as a company, or Elon.

From where I'm sitting, it seems like these forums are just for people to complain about petty issues that would be disregarded if this were any other manufacturer.

I hope no one takes offense, but I'm sure this will ruffle a few feathers.

If you were positing in the 3 forum you wouldn’t get the same response. Many of us are on a three month old software version. Over the past two months Elon has tweeted a myriad of updates and features that the model has gotten most of. In fact several major model 3 updates have happened recently according to teslafi. Most of us complaining are coming from a “where are the updates Elon”? Several if not most were sold as “next week” “this Friday” the now infamous “soon”. All we want is what we have been told.....nothing more. Elon / Tesla set those expectations for us,,,,not us setting those expectations. That’s why I rated the OP as a funny....it won’t be funny once you aren’t a newbie any more.

 

[mrbulk]

Complaints are what most car forums are all about (and many other product related forums as well). TMC actually has a pretty good ratio of complaints to praise compared to many other forums. There are also a few trolls and shorts.

I owned a few Beemers and Benzes in the past and belong(ed) to their forums, most posts there seemed to be about blown turbo bearings or trans issues or any number of other things all related to one or more of the 2,000+ moving parts in their cars. Lexus was mostly okay though, talked a lot about new wheels or paint wraps and such.

But this forum is not just about Tesla cars, it's about a whole different transportation product and a revolutionarily disruptive overall concept. So from how I see it, the posts here are going to be different just by that same difference in their natures.

 

[P100D_Me]

Because you're a newbie, once you own a Tesla, you will get used to have new functions after you purchase the car, and expect more and never soon enough.

It's a nice theory but unfortunately there is the downside of some updates rendering functions that used to work inoperable, nobody likes that happening.

 

[Big Toys]

Hey everyone!

I just picked up my 2015 Model S 85D on Friday so I am still in the honeymoon phase with the car. Forgive the question if it seems a bit silly.

Why does everyone seem to have so many issues with the lack of updates on a daily basis and have some (in my opinion) unrealistic outlooks on a company?

I understand Elon has made many many promises over the years and things like what is included with FSD has changed. However, the car is an amazing car and does things that many of the other high end manufacturers just dont do.

I assume I will be getting a whirlwind of people explaining what their problem is with numerous things about the car, Tesla as a company, or Elon.

From where I'm sitting, it seems like these forums are just for people to complain about petty issues that would be disregarded if this were any other manufacturer.

I hope no one takes offense, but I'm sure this will ruffle a few feathers.

You are going to run into 2 major types of posters here: fanbois who are literal Musk devotees who are enamored with a faulty product and with non-existent features they paid for, and those of us not impressed with faulty products that perform worse than a $25K Civic. Both groups want the company to succeed, yet one is wholly blind to realize that poor customer service, service scheduled months out, and the faulty product itself will drive away non-devotees once viable alternatives are locally available. Yes, the cars ride great. Tesla sold 500K cars (?) last year. Wait till they require service at the same time.

 

[Chaserr]

I think what they're really complaining about is a shift in company attention to the Model 3 that still gets an update every 3 weeks, where the S hasn't had much new beyond farts and games besides the AP stuff that got carried over from the 3. It's probably a side effect of v9 being a Model 3 interface badly reskinned to fit the S and people hoping it gets better soon.

 

[DCEV]

I think software updates are a big reason we are about to buy a Model S now rather than wait for the Taycan.

Regular software updates with new and exciting features is partly what sets Tesla apart from the competition...

 

[maximizese]

The way I see it there are many different factors that drew each one of use to drive a Tesla and we each have different sets of experiences and expectations. There were those who were early adopters who knew they were paying up for an innovative company that could turn the corner in the EV market by building an extremely technical car with a fast-charging network. There are those who feel less environmentally guilty by driving an EV. Some are more technologists and love aspects like OTA updates, software patches, and hardware improvements (some folks are on their 4th Tesla). Finally there are some pragmatists out there who bought the car for economic and personal benefits.

As you can imagine there will be a wide range of reactions towards updates, glitches, or being excluded from improvements. There are some who want the latest and greatest, some are curious and anxious to try new features, some hate the feeling of missing out, and others are perfectly content with what they have. I for one am fine with just about anything...just don't brick my car with code software please.

I use this forum to gain as much information as I can to efficiently operate and maintain the car.

 

[whitex]

All forums have complaints as well as positive content. The ratio of negative to positive content has been increasing on TMC over the years, even more so over the last year. Interpret it any way you wish.