Cars that get better with age
Some of the most exciting stuff in a Tesla happens when they’re parked.
This came to me as I was mucking around with the app on the Tesla Model 3 as fellow EV Centraller John Carey was checking out its lines from outside.
A few pops of the bonnet and beeps of the horn swiftly had Carey hopping with anger. He was quietly convinced this advanced car was possessed by electronic gremlins keen to ruin his day.
Adjusting the ventilation and seat heaters while he was driving – with no one else nearby – cemented those suspicions.
It’s just a taste of what can be done with an app connected to a car
My kids also love the lure of a parked Tesla, purely because of the arcade games built into its enormous central touchscreen that is the nerve centre of the car. One of the car games uses the real car’s pedals and steering wheel to control the goings-on in the virtual world.
For a generation fast tuning out of driving it’s a sure-fire way to at least momentarily capture their attention.
It’s indicative of the radically different thinking that goes into a Tesla.
Rather than follow the category norms and tinker around the edges, Tesla rethought the design from the first bits and bytes through to the way air circulates around the cabin and seats are adjusted.
Like the indicator sound that can do away with boring clicking noises and replace them with various fart sounds – or something a tad more palatable for the first date.
Tesla also makes navigating those big screens so much easier than any of the traditional car makers.
Using that pinch, squeeze and zoom functionality that smartphone users are accustomed to makes things easier to navigate than car makers focused on the traditional items.
But perhaps the most radical part of a Tesla is its ability to evolve with its often tech-hungry owners.
While software updates have long been a regular part of modern cars, Tesla was the first manufacturer to allow such updates without having to go back to a dealership.
So-called over-the-air (OTA) updates mean owners can perform a software update in much the same way as they update their phones: set aside some time, ensure there’s an internet connection and sit back and let the 1s and 0s flow.
For Tesla owners it’s often meant new features at no cost. The addition of in-car karaoke and Atari games are some of those fun additions.
It also allows issues with driver assistance systems to be addressed or more advanced functionality to be added, in the process utilising existing hardware.
Of course, as with any new tech there are potential pitfalls.
Allowing a car’s software to be updated remotely gives hackers another potential window to that digital world.
But car makers are fast deciding that the risk of not allowing regular updates and introducing new features is far greater than the challenges of keeping systems safe.
Which is why OTA updates will get more prolific in future.
