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Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

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Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> no, they can't lock it down to 3080 level 3 years later with a software update I think the problem is that there are 2 different types of "can't": can't as in technologically impossible, and can't as in legally disallowed. In the past, the former was usually the case. Vendors literally could not technologically take away features because things either were not controlled by software or software could not tell the h…

>Yeah, morally, but we need to start working to make this guaranteed legally. Good luck with that. The main reason it isn't illegal is the people who have been in charge of the Federal government are too old to understand computers. They've never updated most laws for the computer age, which is why it's legal to eavesdrop on someone's e-mail but not their paper mail, why corporations aggregating huge amounts of data…

> The main reason it isn't illegal is the people who have been in charge of the Federal government are too old to understand computers.

But this is a self-resolving problem. Eventually the older generation will just... you know... die off...

The more problematic thing is the whole lobbying situation where money is doing the talking. Consumers in general don't have nearly enough money to be viable as political pressure.

What really needs to happen is for consumers to be on comparable footing with industry lobbies in terms of political say, and clearly just relying on voting is not cutting it, since you often have cases where all the candidates are different kinds of bad just backed by different lobbies...

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#492

This seems good. Yes, good. No one complains when Tesla gives free software upgrades to car owners. So to be consistent, Tesla should have the ability to also enforce software limitations.

Who says that nobody complains about this? I for one hate when a software update comes along and completely changes the UI layout, even if may come with additional new features. I don't want anything I didn't ask for or confirm, regardless of whether it's in good faith.

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> (I'm assuming that Tesla only made the owner pay the cost of the 60 battery swap even though they replaced it with a 90) It says right there that it was done under warranty. If my RTX3080 breaks, and Nvidia sends me a 3080Ti as a replacement(because maybe they don't have any 3080 in stock) then no, they can't lock it down to 3080 level 3 years later with a software update. And yes, I'm allowed to sell it on as a 3…

Imagine Apple replacing your broken Macbook Pro M1 base model with the upgraded model because they didn't have any exact replacements in stock, and then years later deciding to disable two of the CPU cores, two of the GPU cores, and half the SSD space (1 TB to 512 GB). People, especially on HN, would lose their freaking minds. They would also lose their minds if Apple only sold the highest-end model but firmware-lock…

Intel has occasionally done this: https://www.zdnet.com/article/facepalm-of-the-day-intel-char...

It tends not to go down well.

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> (I'm assuming that Tesla only made the owner pay the cost of the 60 battery swap even though they replaced it with a 90) It says right there that it was done under warranty. If my RTX3080 breaks, and Nvidia sends me a 3080Ti as a replacement(because maybe they don't have any 3080 in stock) then no, they can't lock it down to 3080 level 3 years later with a software update. And yes, I'm allowed to sell it on as a 3…

Imagine Apple replacing your broken Macbook Pro M1 base model with the upgraded model because they didn't have any exact replacements in stock, and then years later deciding to disable two of the CPU cores, two of the GPU cores, and half the SSD space (1 TB to 512 GB). People, especially on HN, would lose their freaking minds. They would also lose their minds if Apple only sold the highest-end model but firmware-lock…

Please, don't give them ideas.

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#495
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this is a controversial opinion here, but I think software locks aren't inherently bad in a car that can be driven by software. I don't really trust Tesla's self-driving software as is, I certainly don't trust some random person's hack of already questionable Tesla code. This isn't an iPhone. Someone mucking about in the software can kill people.

Random person's hack maybe not but what about say Shelby, or Saleen? I would be all over a Saleen Model S.

https://www.saleen.com/gtx/

Now I kind of want to see what Shelby would do.

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#496

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> (I'm assuming that Tesla only made the owner pay the cost of the 60 battery swap even though they replaced it with a 90) It says right there that it was done under warranty. If my RTX3080 breaks, and Nvidia sends me a 3080Ti as a replacement(because maybe they don't have any 3080 in stock) then no, they can't lock it down to 3080 level 3 years later with a software update. And yes, I'm allowed to sell it on as a 3…

> If my RTX3080 breaks, and Nvidia sends me a 3080Ti as a replacement(because maybe they don't have any 3080 in stock) then no, they can't lock it down to 3080 level 3 years later with a software update. And yes, I'm allowed to sell it on as a 3080Ti, because....that's what it is. What if it's a 3080Ti PCB but inside a RTX3080 card? Is it ethical to sell it as a 3080Ti? What about an RTX3080 Card that Nvidia drivers…

This is not relevant, but this statement is all kinds of weird:

> What if it's a 3080Ti PCB but inside a RTX3080 card? Is it ethical to sell it as a 3080Ti?

The PCB (with the components on it) IS the card, what do you mean they would swap? The cooler? The plastic bit in front? Do you mean a 3080 card with a 3080TI Chip?

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> no, they can't lock it down to 3080 level 3 years later with a software update I think the problem is that there are 2 different types of "can't": can't as in technologically impossible, and can't as in legally disallowed. In the past, the former was usually the case. Vendors literally could not technologically take away features because things either were not controlled by software or software could not tell the h…

>Yeah, morally, but we need to start working to make this guaranteed legally. Good luck with that. The main reason it isn't illegal is the people who have been in charge of the Federal government are too old to understand computers. They've never updated most laws for the computer age, which is why it's legal to eavesdrop on someone's e-mail but not their paper mail, why corporations aggregating huge amounts of data…

Even still, who in their right mind is going to pay a lawyer $10k+ to present a case over a $2k GFX card? Or even do a class action suit just to be mailed a $3 check after the legal fees are worked out... It's all impossibly far from functional.

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#498
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same, though there were about a dozen previous reasons, starting with "pedo guy". This won't help, but I was pretty much long gone as a customer.

Tesla is also thousands of brilliant engineers that transformed the industry, and not just one guy who tweets a lot.

Which is why more and more auto companies are opening offices in SV to poach them.

Hell, when was the last time Tesla released a new car? The Big Auto companies are rolling out new models every other week. Fact is, Tesla blew a lead and aren’t impressing.

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What consumer software actually sells with that kind of long-term support commitment? I doubt Microsoft will ever lose a lawsuit from someone seeking security updates for a copy of Windows 95 they inherited from their grandfather.

None, sure, right now. But what happens when a judge eventually rules that putting 'actually, this is just a temporary license' in the fine print isn't sufficient? It's likely to happen eventually.

I think it is a stretch to go from "EULAs that declare software licenses to be temporary are invalid" to "software products must be actively supported with patches indefinitely".

Re: Tesla remotely converts battery pack, cutting 1/3 of range

#500

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla is also thousands of brilliant engineers that transformed the industry, and not just one guy who tweets a lot.

Is it my fault they hitched their wagon to a person who turned out to be crazy? If Tesla somehow folded overnight I'm sure all the other car companies making BEVs would be ecstatic to scoop up that newly available talent.

Yeah like the RTO mandate that turned into a Fire(d) Sale of top talent. Lol.
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