2019.8.5: On-the-loop Manoeuvres
The release notes for 2019.8.5 are nearly identical to those of 2019.8.3, and short-term observations have shown it behaving mostly the same as 2019.5.16 as well; with one notable change to AutoNavigation. The latest release of Tesla's vehicle software builds on its existing adds the option to let the vehicle determine when to switch lanes, and then act on that decision, without waiting for confirmation from the vehicle operator. The dialogues to enable the feature make it very clear1 that the driver is still responsible, but effectively this moves the driver form in the loop, requiring the driver to double-tap or signal to effect the manoeuvre, to on the loop, where the driver is informed but takes no action2 to effect the manoeuvre.
I don't know on which roads Tesla tested this feature, but I can't imagine it was on either coast: it's entirely unnatural for either driving in New England or in Tesla's home of California. To be fare, this should have been obvious from its earlier iterations–how often did you not accept its suggestions?–but I tried a couple of trips with it enabled before disabling it3 while driving along the Interstate. It performed exactly as I would expect based on previous experience, although part of me expected that there would have been a major improvement (like AutoSteer between v8 and v9) if Tesla were suddenly adding an automated AutoNavigation option.
What are some of the issues?
Myopic, if not simply ridiculous, lane changes. With a mile before an interchange between highways, it decided to move into the far left lane despite seeing that there was heavy traffic.
Standard AutoSteer limitations. Driving along the Interstate under AutoNavigation, it released AutoPilot without any warning as it came to a moderate right bend in the road.
Scary, if not suicidal, manoeuvre initiation. Even on the lowest aggressiveness, the car will begin a manoeuvre without apparently taking into account all of the data it has. It might begin a lane change, even when the driver's dash shows a crowd, only to swerve back into its original lane; other times it seems to begin its transition only to immediately swerve back as if it's trying to force some extra space by using its aggressive shifting to signal to drivers without fully committing to the new lane.
New in 2019.8.3
2019.8.5 followed 2019.8.3 quite closely, so I hadn't yet posted anything about 2019.8.3. Usually this means that there was some non-critical but widespread issue with the old version which could quickly be fixed by the software developers.
Red Light Warning–a new feature is supposed to "sometimes" warn you if you are on AutoPilot and coming to a red traffic light. I've been unable to trigger this under either 2019.8.3 and some more extensive (controlled) testing on 2019.8.5.
Sentry Mode–this actually sounds cool and is an example of Tesla adding new features in software utilizing the existing hardware (like the dashcam). While I haven't tested this yet, the feature is intended to co-op some of the features aftermarket cameras add. If the car detects disturbances (somebody hitting it, or somebody leaning on it), it's supposed to either alert to scare the person away, and/or upload video to Tesla, which presumably they'll make available to you or your insurance later (which would be a change from their modus operandi of only releasing data if it protects them, rather than their customers)
dashcam updated–speaking of the dashcam, the new features capture video from multiple cameras now, rather than just the single front-facing camera
For whatever reason, since around 2019.8.3 or at least April 1st, my Model X, Pensive, has had trouble configuring the climate controls through the API (specifically iOS app). I've successfully turned-on the climate once from the app, so it doesn't seem like a completely broken feature right now, but every other attempt (and combination of WiFi and LTE between car and app) have resulted in an error.
Tesla One Year In
I've been promising a Year One retrospective, although I'm now planning on doing that closer to 18 months. Instead, what will need to suffice is a short summary of my posts over the past year, and some anecdotes relayed from others.
Pre-Ownership
January Considering the Model X, and verifying that car seats fit; a quick delivery let us confirm that new seats fit, so we placed an order
February The new referral program is actually better than the old one. When I raise this point, the sales associate offers an even better deal, ostensibly as a customer service benefit; but since this was within Tesla's no-obligation cancellation period, it also helped save the sale. I actually received my VIN shortly after the order was confirmed and sent to the factory, although many people online reporting much longer delays before receiving a VIN with no apparent reason.
March Construction of the car seemed to go according to plan, with the vehicle leaving the factory on-time. Several attempts at contacting the delivery specialist failed to get a response. What contact I did have seemed to ignore any previous inquiries I'd made. Even something as simple as finding out how to hand-over money was overly complicated, with online help sending me back to my delivery specialist. A co-worker has since relayed the story of her sister's attempt at buying a Model X to compliment her Model 3: they'd gotten to the point where they had already taken delivery without having been provided a way of transferring the remainder of the payment (a bit worried about the situation, they had a lawyer void the contract, returned the car, and walked away). I finally scheduled a date and took delivery on the last business day of the month.
There was quite a bit of news coverage of Tesla vehicles during this time frame. Some of it was positive, like that from Jeremy Clarkson and the Grand Tour, but most involved crashes. Several different Tesla drivers hit parked vehicles, notably fire-trucks, and there was an eerie crash not far from Tesla's headquarters.
Life with my Model X, Pensive
April Day 1 was disappointing as I couldn't figure out how to get it onto my WiFi; a year later they would clarify in their marketing literature that WPA-Enterprise networks weren't supported. Day 2 was startling when sound ceased to work, which would plague the car until its second service appointment in November. The car dropped audio while I was talking to my wife on the phone over Bluetooth, apparently this was/is a known incompatibility with Tesla software and Apple media devices connected to Apple Watches. There was a weird Theramin-like noise which the service depot said they'd heard before, but didn't have any idea what caused it; they also knew that the audio player sometimes switched settings arbitrarily, and that supposedly that was being fixed, but a year later it still happens. They had no record of my due bill, so I needed to fax the copy I received at delivery.
May Despite some initial issues scheduling issues, we were able to schedule and take a tour of the Tesla Factory. We extended that into a visit to Nappa and ate at several of Thomas Keller's restaurants, which was an unequivocally wonderful experience. Having gone through the same motions cycle of applications and data gathering with Tesla Home Charging, I eventually gave-up when they never got back to me to schedule, and months later would hire a local contractor.
June The first software update which updated the changenotes. It advertised being able to take exit ramps on its own, but this feature wasn't activated until V9 was released and then didn't even work well until the next year. We took our first road trip to the Berkshires, staying at a bed and breakfast with a slow destination charger. We Supercharged to get enough juice to get back home.
July My Model X, Pensive, had its first service appointment. They fixed the charge port door which had been catching. The Tesla Network went down.
August AutoSteer updates made it more annoying, requiring constant focus on the dashboard when on highways. My car tried to ram a cyclist, and there's nothing you can do to avoid it in the future; short of not driving a Tesla.
September The trim along the front passenger wheel just popped-off, and I began to get annoyed at the frequent reboots. Tesla essentially said I should expect it to reboot, because all computers do that.
October My Model X, Pensive, updates to version 9 which brings much improved (more natural) AutoSteering, at the cost of regressions and disappointing UI changes. Many problems continue to plague my Model X, Pensive.
November/December Tesla now pushes you to schedule service via a new self-service tool on their Web site. I explain the lock-ups and my observations, and theory about clock synchronization being related once the service center finally makes contact, but their sole attempt at remediation is to do yet another factory reset. This, not surprisingly, didn't fix the issue. They did replace the windshield during this visit; the company they used left marks along the headliner and did not leave the inside of the A-pillar flush against the body on the passenger side. They indicated they wanted to hold the car a little longer to run in through the car wash, but when I picked it up, they said they weren't doing car washes on account of a combination of it being cold and too busy.
2019
January We made our first road trip as a family of five, and verified some earlier transient observations that the Falcon Wing Doors would sometimes not open as expected, even when there were no obstructions. Automatic control of the garage door was also inconsistent, although more predictable when the range was set to about 20ft or less.
February We took a day trip to see the Dr. Seuss museum. The car had an incident where it acted-up when I got in, followed by turning-on its emergency flashers of its own accord.
March The rear right tire developed a leak, shortly before our Model X's first out-of-state trip as we went as a family to Brooklyn. The car finally updated its software, such that I no longer had a local modification to work around the clock-syncing bug. A week later, the car locked-up again.
in case you thought you could side step them by enabling AutoNavigation before updating, your preference is cleared by the update
the car claims, and appears, to check that the driver's hands are on the wheel
while awkwardly navigating menus in manual-drive mode