Live data from Hacker News

Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

techdirt.com

31–40 of 219 posts

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#31
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small nit: I can 'jump' (read: charge the battery of) other cars with my model X, as long as the other car is an ICE car. In the frunk there is a panel that pops off and underneath there are (unlabeled) 12V and ground terminals that I can put jumper cables on. However, I have had to get my car towed a mile to a charging station before, I really deeply wish I could have received a jump then.

I would be cautious doing that. The analogous (I think) terminals hiding under the old Model S nosecone are not particularly thick, and you might fry something. Also, if they are fused (I don’t know whether they are) and you blow the fuse, then merely opening the doors of the car if anything else goes wrong with the 12V system becomes quite complicated.

Oh yeah, I take caution, but believe me, I'm no stranger to being locked out by an inoperable 12v system.

Regarding the topic of the original post, it is infuriating to try to figure out which fuses do what in this car. It is information that is simply not provided.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#32
No normal person can repair a Tesla, it’s basically a trade secret. My brother is a mechanic and servicing Teslas are a non starter due to the complexity. The notion that I can just download a manual, buy some parts and DIY my own repairs is absolutey ludicrous.

The only reason for Tesla to support right to repair is to increase regulatory burden on competitors, stunt innovation and raise costs for their competition. Shame on this anticompetitive behaviour.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#33
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is the exact use case where solar roofs on EV’s become very useful. However you can “jump” EV’s, supply power to their 12v system and then charge off of another cars 120v plug, or a portable generator etc.

Similarly, I've always thought it's a no brainer for any ICE car to have a solar roof. At a minimum it can keep a 12v battery from dying over long parking durations or high parasitic drain, and at best it could like, keep a container refrigerated or something.

I’d rather pay $2,000 less for my Honda HR-V than get a solar roof. But I agree it seems like a very nice option for those willing to pay more for their vehicles.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#34
post #4

Since EVs are mechanically simpler, I'd really like to see a return to kit cars. Perhaps you could buy the preassembled chassis and modify the rest of the car as you'd like. Maybe you could tear down the whole thing and rebuild it. In theory this should be super accessible. You might see a whole community spring up over it. It's potentially a huge market ranging from teenagers to retirees. Lots of people love cars an…

[deleted]

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#35
post #4

Since EVs are mechanically simpler, I'd really like to see a return to kit cars. Perhaps you could buy the preassembled chassis and modify the rest of the car as you'd like. Maybe you could tear down the whole thing and rebuild it. In theory this should be super accessible. You might see a whole community spring up over it. It's potentially a huge market ranging from teenagers to retirees. Lots of people love cars an…

this is the ignorance that drives these silly headlines. building these things is very hard. theres all kinds of crazy solvents and adhesives. the pack is structural. the product that tesla builds is fundamentally not well suited to repair or modification and tesla isnt under any obligation, on any level, to prioritize people who like to imagine they could repair or build a tesla over building the most excellent and sophisticated product possible. tesla is singlehandedly responsible for the EV explosion and they have earned the right to do what they want.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#36
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small nit: I can 'jump' (read: charge the battery of) other cars with my model X, as long as the other car is an ICE car. In the frunk there is a panel that pops off and underneath there are (unlabeled) 12V and ground terminals that I can put jumper cables on. However, I have had to get my car towed a mile to a charging station before, I really deeply wish I could have received a jump then.

That's not normally what people mean by "jump": jumping an ICE car is using the battery of one car to power the starter motor of another to get it running (after which it doesn't need a battery to keep running).

For me it means "no longer stranded" but I get the point. To explain the semantic ambiguity in my head, I find that ICE vehicles needing a jump often have a voltage so low (or that the battery pack or donor vehicle I'm using is anemic enough) that they need to be charged the same way, or the dead battery disconnected to allow the other battery to turn the starter motor.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#37

No normal person can repair a Tesla, it’s basically a trade secret. My brother is a mechanic and servicing Teslas are a non starter due to the complexity. The notion that I can just download a manual, buy some parts and DIY my own repairs is absolutey ludicrous. The only reason for Tesla to support right to repair is to increase regulatory burden on competitors, stunt innovation and raise costs for their competition.…

No normal person can cast an ICE header.

Same logic.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#38

I'm sorry I have seen the thread leads, and I cannot agree with them and think the replies do not get enough notice. Right to repair should be a full set of instructions for "everything" are available. That's it. Give the full specs for everything. If it's code reliant(which wtf), what does it require to work? That's. Fucking. It. We give you rules to say peeps cannot sell what you made, you make it so we can repair…

I think the biggest problem with Tesla is access to parts, much of the process (minus the computer bits) are easy to reverse engineer.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#39
post #4

Since EVs are mechanically simpler, I'd really like to see a return to kit cars. Perhaps you could buy the preassembled chassis and modify the rest of the car as you'd like. Maybe you could tear down the whole thing and rebuild it. In theory this should be super accessible. You might see a whole community spring up over it. It's potentially a huge market ranging from teenagers to retirees. Lots of people love cars an…

I found the JerryRigEverything project converting an ex-military hummer to an EV interesting despite not really being into cars/evs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxkPuEmIX4U&list=PL0vZL9uwyf...

Despite the untold expense and full on car workshop... it felt very accessible and possible. Ridiculous hubris on my part obviously hah! I doubt I could change a tire on humvee without help.

Re: Tesla, Rivian Put on Fake Show of Support for ‘Right to Repair’

#40

You can’t even jump another car with your Tesla, let alone do repairs.

Well, most EVs have weak 12V batteries to power computers, lights etc. They are not designed to output the amps needed to turn an engine. That makes sense for the EV since it saves a lot of weight. And the main batteries are usually 400V to 800V, which you can't use to jump another car (or you can use it once, at most).
Post reply on HN