Elon says Tesla needs to improve the car's software

June 27, 2022

By Kevin Armstrong

Elon Musk thinks Tesla needs to improve their software

NATA

Tesla’s software needs work. That’s according to Elon Musk, who was highly critical of the interface, the browser and other programs in a video posted to the Tesla Owners Silicon Valley YouTube channel.

“We have a lot of work to do actually with the basic software in the car,” said Musk. “We definitely need to do work on the overall interface in the car.”

It was revolutionary when Tesla started putting large tablets in its vehicles in 2012. The huge touchscreen replaced most of the knobs and switches on the dashboard, giving Tesla yet another way to stand out in the automotive world.

However, touchscreens are relatively standard in most vehicles now, and there may be a few automakers doing it as well as Tesla soon, especially given the upcoming improvements to Apple's CarPlay.

Musk has heard the criticism, “there are a lot of complaints about the interface; you can do better on the interface.”

Musk doesn’t stop with his self-critiquing, “our web browser sucks. If you try to use the web browser in the car, it takes a long time to load, and then it is a trash browser. It’s worse than some iPad from five years ago, like by a lot.”

Tesla's browser is based on Google's open-source browser, Chromium. While the same engine powers Google Chrome, the browser in a Tesla lacks the speed and efficiency Musk expects.

Tesla has been working to improve the browser. Update 2022.12 came with a newer version of Chromium and introduced elements like autocomplete, changes to favorites and the ability to clear your browser cache.

However, this interview was conducted almost three months after that update was first released. Musk is clearly not impressed with the improvements.

He also says the rear screens in the Model S and Model X need a lot of work (rear screens may also come to Model 3 and Model Y).

The CEO points out that the rear screen is helpful to entertain people in the backseat, but the fact that the same audio plays throughout the cabin is less than ideal.

“We could, we should have separate audio for the back. Like, what is the point? We are currently playing the same audio level for the back screen as we do in the front.”

The first minivans with DVD players offered headphone jacks to provide an experience that wouldn't distract the driver.

“The back should play that audio; it should route to a Bluetooth that is keyed off of the rear screen, and then you give them headphones. So people can listen to music in the front and not get blasted by YouTube kids shows in the front, which is currently the situation.”

It's possible Tesla could offer the ability to stream the rear audio to Bluetooth headphones in a future update.

Musk added that "there's a bunch of stuff like that that we need to fix."

Musk did not commit to a timeline on making improvements or even if the changes he suggested will be made. Nevertheless, when a CEO says elements of the product “suck” and are “trash,” employees responsible for those aspects may want to get to work.

Tesla does not currently support CarPlay for a variety of reasons.

Video

Elon talks about Tesla's software at the 37 minute mark below.

Tesla Vehicles Spotted With LiDAR: What Do They Use It For?

July 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently hit the news for purchasing approximately $2M in LiDAR sensors from Luminar, one of Tesla’s long-term suppliers. You’ve probably seen photos of Tesla’s Semi and various Tesla models, including the Model 3 and Model Y sporting LIDAR equipment on the roof. These cars drive around with manufacturer plates scanning streets and highways.

However, many people confuse Tesla’s purpose in purchasing LiDAR equipment with using it for FSD versus testing. So, let’s look at what LiDAR is, and why Tesla uses it on its Fleet Validation Vehicles.

What is LiDAR?

LiDAR stands for Light Detecting and Ranging – essentially using lasers to measure distances. A laser pulse is sent out, and the time it takes to return is measured – providing extremely accurate distance measurements.

Some companies working on self-driving vehicles, including Waymo and BYD, use LiDAR as part of their self-driving suites, but Tesla is one of the few stand-outs that does not. Even Rimac’s “Verne” Robotaxi – which uses self-driving technology from Mobileye, also uses LiDAR.

While LiDAR can produce extremely accurate and high-quality 3D environments, it comes with its downsides as well. Not only is LiDAR costly and requires large gear strapped to a vehicle, but it also can not be used in bad weather and can have interference issues if there are other strong light sources present.

Why Does Tesla Use LiDAR?

A LiDAR rig mounted on a Tesla Semi for testing FSD.

Not a Tesla App

At Autonomy Day in 2019, Elon Musk mentioned that LiDAR isn’t the solution for self-driving cars – it's just a crutch. Thus, Tesla hasn’t used LiDAR for any production self-driving software.

Instead, Tesla uses it exactly how it's described – they use it to gather ground-truth data. This data is then used to feed Tesla’s Full Self Driving system – which helps validate its vision-only system's accuracy. LiDAR provides very accurate measurements to help ensure that FSD’s perception of space is accurate – and is only used by Tesla to ensure that its AI technology which is the brains of FSD is capable of accurately interpreting depth from just visual data.

Tesla’s vision-only system has been seen to be extremely accurate, with Vision-only Autopark being able to park in even narrower and tighter spaces faster than the previous version that relied on ultrasonic sensors.

We’ll likely continue to see Tesla purchase LiDAR systems, as well as use them for validation well into the future.

Tesla's Upcoming Robotaxi Event in August Delayed, According to Bloomberg

July 12, 2024

By Karan Singh

Sugar Design

In a report from Bloomberg, it is claimed that Tesla will be delaying its much-anticipated 8/8 Robotaxi event by two months to October 2024.

While sources other than Bloomberg haven't confirmed this report, Bloomberg has a positive track record of reporting on financial decisions. We’ll be sure to update the article if there is confirmation on X from Elon Musk or another Tesla senior official.

Tesla’s stock has dropped nearly 8.5% over the day, ending back-to-back gains over the last two weeks. It closed yesterday at $ 241 after hitting a peak of $270 earlier in the day before the news broke.

Why the Delay?

The delay – of approximately two months – has been communicated internally, but not publicly announced just yet. Bloomberg goes on to mention that the design team was told to rework certain elements of the Cybercab, necessitating the delay.

If Bloomberg’s report is correct, it sounds like Tesla’s unveil event will be largely focused on showing off the vehicle, instead of demoing how it will work. Of course, it could still be both, but given past events, Tesla has always shown off the vehicle years before it hits production.

Rimac recently showed off their version of robotaxi vehicle named Verne, and surprisingly, it could almost pass for Tesla’s own robotaxi. A lot of design cues in Rimac’s version are elements we have already seen or expect to see in Tesla’s autonomous taxi.

A recent Tesla patent revealed that Tesla is incorporating a sanitation system into their robotaxi that will be responsible for analyzing and cleaning the vehicle’s interior, although the delay itself is likely tied more to a physical feature rather than software.

Another element we know almost nothing about is how Tesla plans to charge these robotic taxis. Will they rely on the existing charge port and adapt a solution like the robotic charging arm (video below) we saw almost eight years ago, or will wireless charging or a dock finally become realized?

While the delay for Tesla’s event appears to be related to the vehicle’s design itself and not further development of FSD, Tesla is wasting no time in getting FSD working for the upcoming vehicle. Model 3 vehicles have already been spotted with camera locations that resemble a robotaxi.

Is the Delay Accurate?

We expect that this delay might actually be true – Elon Musk usually takes to X within hours of such news breaking if it's false to refute it and hasn’t done so yet.

Tesla has delayed several of their events in the past, and a delay of a couple of months seems plausible. We should hear from Musk himself soon on whether this report is accurate.