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

Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 295 posts

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#181

Post by oaktowner »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #109
WillPostForFood wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really that different from the performance parts divisions of the major auto makers? Like Toyota uses TRD to build and sell aftermarket parts that you can get installed at the Toyota dealer. Mercedes does it with AMG, Ford with Ford Performance, etc...

It is 100% different. This isn't aftermarket performance parts (which is an incredibly narrow field of upgrades), this is updates and new features actively being provided to everyone who has purchased the vehicle. Hell, most cars require you to go into a dealer for a software update in the first place, don't even think about going in to get a new feature like cruise control installed unless you got it as a shoddy aft…

Absolutely agreed.

This car gets better after you have bought it. For free! They are continually adding features that just "magically" appear. Kind of amazing.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#182

Post by Retric »

arprocter wrote: post #169
Retric wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People used to buy aftermarket stereos fairly frequently and I don’t see any reason why the infotainment system can’t have that kind up upgradeability. Worst case strap an iPad over the old system. PS: I can see the argument for a highly limited system when they can distract the driver, but if I am effectively a passenger that's a non-issue.

I'm not a fan of screens simply because operating a button or a knob uses less of my attention

I agree with you right now, but is that still an issue for self-driving cars? Ideally I want to get in, say drive to work, and then take a nap. If I still need to pay attention then it's not really a self-driving car just an upgraded form of cruise control.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#183

Post by myth_buster »

rjusher wrote: post #62
myth_buster wrote: post #27

Tesla's seems to be beating a dead horse! Don't get me wrong; I love what Tesla does but making a faster production car seems to be an answer to the critics who I think have already taken home the message that the electric car is as fast as the best IC car! I think what they should address is getting out the affordable Model 3 as fast to the market as they can. They may loose the game if the incumbents beat them to i…

This is like saying that the Formula 1, exists for nothing. This is the way to test all the engineering efforts, it also leaves that knowledge in the company for future and further improvements, which directly influences the design and execution of the Model 3. But I have to agree that waiting for an affordable Tesla car is getting anoying, and they do need to create an income stream from a lower priced model for cre…

As a fellow F1 buff, the upgrades takes years to roll down to production cars. And in software parlance, they shouldn't be focusing on the MVP at this point.

  they have also innovated in other areas like the house batteries
That right and that may be more profitable and they may pivot and leave the car manufacturing to the incumbents.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#184

Post by tthayer »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #139
j-b wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, did you end up buying a different vehicle? If so, which one?

With the OP's requirements I'd recommend a '94 Volvo 240 Turbo. (If we ever need a second car I'm getting one; my first car was one). New enough to be safe (airbags etc), some tinkering will get you 300 bhp, it's rear-wheel drive and has a perfect 50-50 weight distribution if you move the battery to the trunk (standard rally trick). Stereo still has a cassette player, so a $5 adapter lets you plug in your phone for m…

I regularly get 40+ MPG(US) on road trips in this little car. The info system being stupid is way overshadowed by how nice it is to drive, given the price. It's still a loud econobox with paper-thin sheet metal, but it drives a lot better than I expected.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#185

Post by tthayer »

coldpie wrote: post #105
tthayer wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. The 2015 Mazda3 we just bought has a horrible info/nav system that crashes and frequently stops responding. I'm guessing the actual chance of it ever being fixed at 0%. Tesla's get an automatic OTA update that would fix that kind of thing and it wouldn't be something you'd have to 'deal' with for the rest of your ownership of the vehicle.

I will never buy a vehicle with both an infotainment system and a steering wheel. Subaru lost a sale of a brand new car when the dealer sat down, turned the key, and the radio showed.... a loading bar. Fuck that. I deal with shitty software enough everywhere else in my life. I'm not going to put up with that in a 4000lb piece of metal going 70 MPH.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't enough to make me hate the rest of the car. It drives great. About the only thing I use the infotainment system for is the neat fuel consumption statistics screen.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#186

Post by tthayer »

gonehome wrote: post #128
tthayer wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. The 2015 Mazda3 we just bought has a horrible info/nav system that crashes and frequently stops responding. I'm guessing the actual chance of it ever being fixed at 0%. Tesla's get an automatic OTA update that would fix that kind of thing and it wouldn't be something you'd have to 'deal' with for the rest of your ownership of the vehicle.

My friend has a Mazda3 and we hacked on it over the weekend to make the infotainment system a little bit better. Check this out: http://www.mazda3hacks.com/doku.php You can turn off the annoying restrictions, change the ordering of some menus and drastically reduce the time of the starting confirmation dialogue box. All you need is a USB to Ethernet adaptor. Also make sure to disable watchdog or you can get into a re…

Thanks for pointing me to that. I had no idea that stuff existed!

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#187

Post by jpiasetz »

nicboobees wrote: post #117
stefanobernardi wrote: post #9

Even if not a software update, I still find Tesla's way of thinking of a car as an actual (continuously update/upgrade-able) product fascinating. Very rare for hardware. It gives an amazing user experience, "Hey restart your car and it's now got X and Y". Respect. Edit: clarifying the term "product".

This is an awful user experience though. Look at mobile phones. An old Nokia 3210 or something, just works. It does everything fine. It works as a phone. It was designed from start to finish, and built. Compare that with Android. Every update they seem to break or remove some functionality. Endless software updates, restarting, etc. It was shipped with bugs, it'll always have bugs. I'm not convinced this is an improv…

What type of phone do you use? If it's an Android phone and not a Nokia 3210 I would suggest that you examine whether you actually value just working at the expense of lots of new features.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#188

Post by Merad »

CydeWeys wrote: post #97
bravo22 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The batteries in a Tesla aren't very green and sadly they are quite large. Big automakers think in volumes of millions of cars, Tesla delivers about 25K (EDIT: looks like 40K projected for this year[1]) cars a year. http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/05/12/tes...

Isn't it an overstatement that the batteries aren't green? Yes, there are environmental impacts from the production, but still a lot less than the environmental impacts of all the oil that would otherwise be produced and burnt to fuel the car over its lifetime, no?

But, isn't the lifetime of the battery pack significantly lower than the (presumed) lifetime of the actual car? If your Model S stays on the road 20 years but requires 3-4 battery replacements, that's several big hits against its environmental friendliness.

Re: Tesla’s Model S Gets “Ludicrous” Mode, Will Do 0-60 in 2.8 Seconds

#190

Post by rn222 »

stefanobernardi wrote: post #9

Even if not a software update, I still find Tesla's way of thinking of a car as an actual (continuously update/upgrade-able) product fascinating. Very rare for hardware. It gives an amazing user experience, "Hey restart your car and it's now got X and Y". Respect. Edit: clarifying the term "product".

The entire automotive industry sees automobiles as upgradeable, it's called the "aftermarket". Conventional automobiles can be tuned and upgraded and have been for generations, except, us non Tesla owners can do it without the manufacturers say so. With Tesla you are forced to buy your upgrades from them, this is less flexible IMO.
Post reply on HN