Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints • Hacker News Board

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

#501

Post by suction » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:11 PM UTC

capableweb wrote: post #463

tehwebguy wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We rented one on a trip recently, super annoying to realize the dozen or so chargers in this beach town were actually incompatible or just too slow for real life. On the way back to the drop off autopilot tried to slam us into the Bentley next us! It had been traveling the same direction as us for like 20 minutes and when we passed through an intersection it just jerked hard left and I had to correct it manually. Pos…

> It had been traveling the same direction as us for like 20 minutes and when we passed through an intersection it just jerked hard left and I had to correct it manually. Even if this and many other stories are just anecdotes, I could never imagine myself even testing this "auto-but-not-really-pilot" feature outside of a testing environment. How do you folks dare to even try to use it? The risk is so big and the rewa…

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

#502

Post by ulfw » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:11 PM UTC

javajosh wrote: post #69

HWR_14 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just hope some car manufacturers continue to not hire UX designers and have everything not related to the actual operation of the car (controlled by physical switches) just be a dumb screen for my phone to control.

That would be great. I'd go further: I want mechanical linkages for throttle, breaks, and steering. No more "drive by wire". I cannot, will not trust my families safety to a smartphone with wheels.

So you only fly old Boeings (not new ones like the 787 or even the 777) and no Airbusses?

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

#503

Post by hot_gril » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:12 PM UTC

smsm42 wrote: post #372

andykellr wrote: post #353

[flagged]

"I like X, therefore any negative information about X is lies propagated by their enemies" is a dangerous position to take.

The danger is that he buys a bad Tesla one day. Oh well.

This was the position I took with the iPhone 4 long ago because of the nonsense "antennagate" thing. I said forget Consumer Reports, the phone works fine. The tech magazines were (and still are?) also touting the latest "iPhone killer" random Android phone, and I said nah they're paid. If I listened to them, I'd have like a Motorola DROID EpiC XX2.

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

#504

Post by lowbloodsugar » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:13 PM UTC

pests wrote: post #472

jodrellblank wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"unless you chart a specific trip"

He did chart a trip.

Using the trip counter isn't the same as entering the destination in navigation. If you tell navigation your destination it will tell you if you're going to make it or not. If you start driving like a madman halfway through it will reevaluate and start navigating you to a charger. I rented one for a week and took it up into the mountains, far from a charger. It was scary, but we made it back with 17% charge once I stopped passing everyone every time there was a dotted line.

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

#505

Post by 01100011 » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:15 PM UTC

jvanderbot wrote: post #8

I have a model Y. I hate almost everything about it. But most germane, The "Battery meter" at the top of the display is total bunk. That's got to be "rosy" numbers. It'll display a the battery in miles, but it's at least 25% inflated. However if you punch in a destination, you'll get exact numbers, and those are insanely reliable. It claims (and I don't believe any claims coming from tesla) that it'll factor wind, el…

Rented a MY a couple months ago and was surprised how much I, and more surprisingly, my wife, hated it. Now, I despise Elon and the risky safety decisions of Tesla engineers, so I'm biased, but I wanted to give them a shot.

Range was horrible. We drove about 100 miles and spent a couple hours over several sessions at superchargers. The handling and turning radius sucked. The controls were frighteningly distracting and confusing. Sound in the cabin seemed very weird, probably due to the glass roof and noise cancelling system. Finally, for a dual motor, I expected a lot more acceleration. I drove a Chevy Bolt for a year and was surprised how heavy and sluggish the MY felt.

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

#506

Post by theFletch » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:16 PM UTC

stetrain wrote: post #148

cevn wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah I see. I will check on that but you would think that as soon as you get on the highway that estimator would change. It is also the first place someone would look for range, not inside navigation so I would call that false advertising…

I leave the battery meter set to percentage, the “miles” option is really just percentage dumbly mapped to miles. The golden number in a Tesla Is absolutely the navigation route estimate. While navigating you can open the Energy app as well to see more detail, how you are doing compared to the estimate, and specific factors affecting consumption.

Percentage seems to be the general consensus amongst Tesla owners. The real numbers are in the navigation. We've been looking at percentage based range on gas cars forever. I would argue that gas cars with "mile" range estimates are not that accurate either. At least, that's my experience.

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

#507

Post by square_usual » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:16 PM UTC

jodrellblank wrote: post #455

malwrar wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually got stranded once for some hours because of the mileage indicator! Was driving back from a campsite that I turned out to not have charging compatibility with, but thought I had plenty of margin to get to the nearest charger. As I drove through the mountains however, I began noticing that a.) my battery was depleting much faster than expected and b.) I wasn’t seeing any houses and very few motorists. I watc…

Slightly off topic, but how come you were going on a multi-hour drive anywhere with no water, let alone into a remote mountainous area on a hot day? I'm uncomfortably aware how quickly vehicles take me to inconvenient, if not dangerous, distances. 10 miles away is a short distance to drive but three hours to walk. Even fifteen minutes on a bike is a tedious walking distance back if it breaks down. For how easy it is…

You need vastly different amounts of water for going on a road trip vs hiking, so reading charitably I assume GP didn't have enough water, especially for a hike of unknown length.

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

#508

Post by yolovoe » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:17 PM UTC

I have a 2019 Model 3 dual motors long range. I would not expect to get more than 180 miles on a good day. If it’s raining or snowing, even less than that.

I still like the car and use it for city driving and even road trips with proper planning. Do not trust Tesla numbers.

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

#509

Post by tehwebguy » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:17 PM UTC

capableweb wrote: post #463

tehwebguy wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We rented one on a trip recently, super annoying to realize the dozen or so chargers in this beach town were actually incompatible or just too slow for real life. On the way back to the drop off autopilot tried to slam us into the Bentley next us! It had been traveling the same direction as us for like 20 minutes and when we passed through an intersection it just jerked hard left and I had to correct it manually. Pos…

> It had been traveling the same direction as us for like 20 minutes and when we passed through an intersection it just jerked hard left and I had to correct it manually. Even if this and many other stories are just anecdotes, I could never imagine myself even testing this "auto-but-not-really-pilot" feature outside of a testing environment. How do you folks dare to even try to use it? The risk is so big and the rewa…

With hands still on the wheel so I knew it couldn’t override me. Until that moment it just felt like the car drove “video game straight” with it on, instead of me making never ending micro corrections to account for things like the road, wind, tires.

But after that no thanks.

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

#510

Post by waffletower » Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 5:19 PM UTC

I have owned a Model Y for a bit more than 2 1/2 years, having driven a Nissan Leaf for 8 1/2 years prior. Factoring away the obvious battery capacity difference, I have found the Tesla range estimates to be far more accurate and consistent when compared to the Leaf. While I found the "secret team" headline to be comedic, given my experience with electric cars, I do have other serious concerns (phantom braking #1). Estimating vehicle range using map data is not a simple problem, even if Tesla is utilizing high-resolution GIS data and/or on board accelerometers in their estimating. Weight of passengers, cargo weight, trailer utilization (I just completed a trip through the Cascades pulling a trailer on my Model Y) all factor in, and have larger effects as road grades increase. I think that mileage estimating is a case where Tesla has actually provided reasonable value, but these cars are fallible and far from all-knowing. I recommend developing a cautious range intuition when driving electric cars which may take some time to develop. Honest empathy to those who have been stranded in them.