Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

361–370 of 769 posts

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#361

Post by MSFT_Edging »

e136 wrote: post #312
dinom wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> able to get a tow truck capable of transporting my car (turns out you need one that has a full bed because of the regenerative breaking Sounds incredibly short-sighted that the regenerative braking can't be temporarily disabled by the driver... two people can push a "regular" car to a nearby gas station in a pinch. Even one person can push a smaller car around a parking lot if necessary. That said, they often send…

Most cars have one or more clutches to put the car in neutral. This is required so the engine can idle while the car stands still, among other reasons. Electric cars don't need to idle and therefore don't have any clutches in the drivetrain. Adding clutches just for allowing the user to push around the car seems needlessly complicated and over optimizing for a scenario that will not occur for the majority of cars.

> Adding clutches just for allowing the user to push around the car seems needlessly complicated and over optimizing for a scenario that will not occur for the majority of cars.

The ability and need to push a car is incredibly common, especially for emergency or non-optimal scenarios. Cars often stop working, be it dead battery, out of gas, malfunction, broken axle(which teslas have).

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#362

Post by hot_gril »

gizmo wrote: post #314

Many who buy EVs have range anxiety. Easiest solution for Tesla? Lying about the (remaining) range. Many consumers wrongly believe that they need a lot more range than they actually do, and you can't really convince them otherwise because it's an emotional issue rather than a pragmatic one. What Tesla did was immoral but I get why they did it. Tesla doesn't let you get you stranded on the side of the road. You'll sti…

Thanks Tesla, but I'll stick to a car that doesn't try to work around my emotional problems.

> Tesla doesn't let you get you stranded on the side of the road

Unless you don't use their nav, the conditions are bad, or you need to take a detour. To drive 40mi, I want 60mi range to cover my bases, considering the consequences of getting stuck vs just charging a little longer.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#363

Post by reustle »

andykellr wrote: post #353

[flagged]

> There are so many people out to get Tesla right now it's hard to process stories like these: the legacy auto makers, their supply chains, their unions, their dealers, the shorts, the elon haters, the ev haters, and on and on. > There are also a ton of click bait faux outrage articles in general about every subject you can imagine.

I can’t help but be disheartened at the financialization (?) of everything. Can’t tell who’s real and who’s shorting.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#364

Post by e40 »

andykellr wrote: post #353

[flagged]

> There are so many people out to get Tesla right now it's hard to process stories like these

I have no dog in this fight. Never owned or thought about buying a Tesla. The details described in the story, if true, are very serious. Are you suggesting the story is made up?

I'm a firm believer in the idea that people can be brilliant in one way and dumb in many others. Elon seems hellbent on showing us all the ways he's dumb.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#365

Post by k4rli »

andykellr wrote: post #353

[flagged]

Sounds like you're an American who's either a Tesla employee or only owned American cars before. Their quality is mid-tier at best but the software appears to be so dangerous that I avoid driving behind/in front of a Tesla (in Europe).

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#366

Post by lawn »

andykellr wrote: post #353

[flagged]

> Each one of them has been the best car I've ever owned and better than the one before it.

If you buy a new car chances are it will be the best car you've ever owned and better than anything you've driven before.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#367

Post by caconym_ »

dinom wrote: post #356
caconym_ wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly what a clutch does. They show up in all sorts of places besides the third pedal "clutch" drivers of standard transmissions are familiar with, e.g. in part-time AWD systems, traditional automatic transmissions with planetary gears, torque converters and hybrid transmissions with lockup clutches for efficient cruising, and so on.

I understand that... so you're saying something like "unlocking hubs" would not suffice? Or they'd add too much cost to the vehicle?

Locking (wheel) hubs could certainly be used to disconnect the wheels from whatever drivetrain trouble lurks within, but they come with a whole lot of compromises: cost, weight, complexity, space, etc. Standard industry practice for vehicles that can't be towed with only two wheels immobilized is (and has been for decades iiuc) to flatbed tow them, so Tesla isn't really going against the grain here. I think it's a fine choice.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#368

Post by bumby »

dinom wrote: post #350
bumby wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To make matters worse I was in a mountain valley and had no phone signal I read the above as an indication that they were in a valley where mountains were blocking any chance of a signal. Going further "downhill" wouldn't help in that case.

Fair enough, I was thinking back to the time something similar happened to me "mid-mountain". This Tesla must've been in one heck of a stop where "hiking wasn’t an option as it was pretty hot and we had no water", lol. Does Tesla make a motocross bike?

Lack of cell signal is still a problem in some parts of the U.S. I can think of a few places within a couple hundred miles where I can drive 45 minutes or so without any signal. It's also an area where triple digit temperatures are common in the summer.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#370

Post by panick21_ »

HWR_14 wrote: post #327
rootusrootus wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most normal Tesla owners I'm familiar with just come to accept that the website range claim is complete horseshit. They go on with their lives and just don't worry about it. For around town, it'll get somewhat close to rated range anyway, and road trips aren't that common for most people. The supercharger network is pretty good, and if you have to stop every 200 miles instead of the rated 358, then so be it. Personal…

The EPA recommended system is pretty accurate and conservative, according to the article. Mercedes is supposed to use it and has more accurate estimates. Tesla is still using their own math from before the EPA had a plan. Meanwhile, what difference does it make if most Tesla customers do X? Tesla now has enough customers that hurting 10% of them is a major impact.

No. EPA has 2 different processes and the car maker can choice what they want to use.
Post reply on HN