I would like to see Tesla's response to this. I was going to pre-order a model X, i won't be now, until I know I won't be tracked and the car won't brick itself.
"It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
11–20 of 284 posts
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#12"In at least one case, Tesla went even further. The Tesla service manager admitted that, unable to contact an owner by phone, Tesla remotely activated a dying vehicle’s GPS to determine its location and then dispatched Tesla staff to go there. It is not clear if Tesla had obtained this owner’s consent to allow this tracking5, or if the owner is even aware that his vehicle had been tracked. Further, the service manage…
Yeah Tesla saved the guy 40k, how rude
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#13What's the issue with the battery tech that makes it not chargable after a full discharge?
It's inherent to any lithium ion battery design which is why every laptop, iphone, etc that uses a lithium ion battery has circuitry that cuts power when the batter reaches 1% to 5% it can occur in your laptop if you discharge the battery entirely and then leave your battery uncharged for months (or less if stored cold). Some kind of chemical change occurs in Li batteries when completely discharged.
Good answer. In case anyone wants more detail, wikipedia is a little vague, but has the basic idea right:
"Overdischarge supersaturates lithium cobalt oxide, leading to the production of lithium oxide...deep discharge may short-circuit the cell, in which case recharging would be unsafe."
and
"Overcharge up to 5.2 Volts leads to the synthesis of cobalt(IV) oxide...if overheated or overcharged, Li-ion batteries may suffer thermal runaway and cell rupture. In extreme cases this can lead to combustion."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery
The possibilitiy of thermal runaway or fire from overcharging is actually fairly likely with Li+ ions, since they will react with any non-inert substance.
The short circuit caused by undercharging can affect other cells in the pack, leading to overheating and combustion.
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#14It seems like it's an inherent in this sort of battery. I'm not sure what Tesla could do to offset this. Computer makers mostly don't offer warranties in the case of negligence or intentional damage. The same seems to apply here.
We're much more accepting of computer and software bugs than vehicle bugs. This, if true, will turn into a PR nightmare for them very fast.
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#15Could this really not be prevented by a $10 microcontroller and a big-ass relay to just disconnect the battery if it reaches a certain discharge state? Even my iPhone can turn turtle to protect its battery when it gets too low. Also how much power does it take to keep the damn thing plugged in? The article indicates that a 100 foot extension cord isn't enough just to break even and the car discharges even when plugge…
The account of the Tesla discharging while plugged in to a 100-foot extension cord strikes me as suspect. It's anecdotal at best. Have a look at the Tesla Roadster "Charging" page:
http://www.teslamotors.com/goelectric/charging
Using 120V @ 15A, you get a charge rate of +5 miles (of range) per hour. Obviously not the optimal solution, but not a net negative either. Adding a 100 foot extension cord isn't going to diminish the available current enough to result in a net negative, so either the owner had additional electrical issues, or simply failed to plug it in and is making up excuses.
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#16"In at least one case, Tesla went even further. The Tesla service manager admitted that, unable to contact an owner by phone, Tesla remotely activated a dying vehicle’s GPS to determine its location and then dispatched Tesla staff to go there. It is not clear if Tesla had obtained this owner’s consent to allow this tracking5, or if the owner is even aware that his vehicle had been tracked. Further, the service manage…
Yeah Tesla saved the guy 40k, how rude
I think it was more the fact that Tesla didn't tell their customers they had GPS tracking equipment fitted to their vehicles.
If a service manager could access the location information I'd imagine quite a few other staff at Tesla could too ...
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#17I've bricked a number of MacBook Pro batteries this way but (A) Scale is obviously different - only $100, and (B) Genius Bar came to the rescue - even though it really was my fault, they covered it under warranty.
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#18I'm much more in favor of hundreds of millions of govt money going towards 50-100MPG+ electric/gas hybrids than all electric at this point.
Limited range, hard to "refuel", and now the very real possibility of bricking. I think we are still a long long ways away from practical all electrics.
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#19Why can't the wheels turn after the battery dies?
The article explains that it doesn't have power to turn on "tow mode" - so the wheels remain engaged to the now dead electrical system, effectively locking them in place.
Why can't you plug the car in, and switch on tow mode?
Even a laptop with a dead battery works fine when plugged in. I'd venture to say that a tow truck's alternator should be enough to disengage the wheels. Sorry, but this is just crappy engineering.
Re: "It's A Brick" - Tesla Motors' Devastating Design Problem
#20[deleted]