Tesla Model Ys recalled Down Under for overly enthusiastic electric windows Tesla vehicles sold in Australia have been recalled over a window that could "close with excessive force" on a body part of an unwary driver. The affected vehicle is the 2025 Model Y, and 7,301 units within the model range could be afflicted with what the Australian government is delicately calling a "software issue." The …
I don't really see how you save anything hardware-wise by delegating the obstacle detection to software. The glass stops at end of travel because the driver circuit detects a rise in current from the stalled motor and switches it off. The same function is what stops it when it hits an obstacle mid travel.
Or knowing the Rat a more likely explanation is that it uses the internal cameras and an ML model to keep track of your appendages in real time and stops the glass moving if any part of you is outside of the vehicle. Because that would definitely be the simplest and best solution and would never go wrong. A bit like relying on cameras for FSD...
"click on all body parts that should not be trapped in a car window"
The use of word "appendage" in the article perversely brought a zipper to mind. Not sure a pin the tail on the donkey configuration tool would accept the NSFW parts of the anatomy.
But then who cares what fantasies Tesla drivers and their partners indulge in within the privacy of their own garages? Highway patrolman and the speeding nympho?
Due to a software issue, the driver side window's automatic protection system may not operate as intended...
That admission is a true testament of Really Bad DesignTM. When software is your only guarantee that these simple devices do not hurt you, then you know it has been badly designed. There used to be mechanical constraints in the design to prevent run-away processes from hurting or dismembering you.
Oh wait, never mind, this is modern times' design where we need to make all the old errors at least one more time again.
You might be over-thinking the term 'software'
Admittedly, I suspect it's more akin to firmware, but there's not much to differentiate those these days - with flash storage and OTA updates the norm for both.
There will be a device measuring the current draw in the motor. That will need to be calibrated for that particular assembly and conditions - some frames will put more resistance on the glass than others. So the object detection looks for a current higher than normal - and the allowable percentage is adjustable. It will vary because in winter with ice on the windows it will need more power to shift, as an example.
So basically they've set the threshold outside the parameters required in one country. No big deal - simple parameter to adjust. But why would you assume that there should be a hardware intervention involved? The firmware exists already and is reliable, just needs to be configured correctly.
(I'm not defending Musk here, just pointing out that it's a standard implementation)
Upvoted, cause he really should. I learned about that term (and then the device) here in this forum a few month ago, then checked Wikipedia, and holy moly we simply got lucky it got stopped, 'cause "responsible capitalism in USA" is a natural oxymoron. More common here in EU, even though not on the level I want, still much better.
> You might be over-thinking the term 'software'
>
> Admittedly, I suspect it's more akin to firmware,
Same difference. This particular functionality should be embedded in the basic circuitry controlling the motor the way any sane P.Eng would have designed, not delegated through whatever software crapfest the dog left in its bowl.
Sure, it needs to be calibrated. Once for each shape/size of window. Then it's built on the assembly line and only fails when the control circuit melts. Different calibrations for different juisdictions/weather? Yeah, how about NO.
True, your Cybertruck is never going to make it up the country hill and all the way across the unpaved car parking site. Unless you get the wooden blocks out of the back and keep moving them to even out the ground as you go, after which you'll be too tired to enjoy the event.
Eunuch Maker and Bobbitizer
ref: John and Lorena Bobbitt
Become POTUS, unless they pass something like the Arnold Amendment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Amendment
May be the "Musk Amendment" - he could do it, but, it's going to need more than $200 million - lots of palms to be greased, votes to be bought, pork to be supplied, voter districts re-drawn. Whilst some of that that is illegal, who says it can't be done.
"People in Australia are still buying Muskowagens?"
Pure EV sale are apparently tanking while hybrids are increasingly the preferred EV option.
Musk and Trump MAGAry generally, are fairly unpopular here. After Musk's fascist antics earlier Tesla sales dropped precipitously and haven't recovered.
Not that I believe the Tesla Wankenpanzer is available here but I doubt it would be registerable or meet the ADRs.
If this had been any other make of car, it wouldn't have made the news. Tesla have painted two targets on themselves, one because of an industry disruptor and secondly because one of its shareholders is a nazi. That's a real shame because most of their products are great.
Signed,
A happy model 3 owner (who bought before Musk went totally crazy)
I think they were great cars a few years ago, but have actually got worse.
They removed LIDAR because of cost, even though it performs far better. They removed well proven ultrasonic parking sensors and again use the cameras, which simply doesn't work properly.
I don't really have a problem with the fact they are still using the same body shapes (I think the industry convention of brand new generations every 7 years is kind of unnecessary if the old one still works) but it does help give the impression they are not really keeping up.
5 years ago, they were the only established choice if you wanted an EV that could go further than just local, and could charge faster. But now there are many other options that are better, or cheaper, or maybe in the case of Chinese cars, both.
Musk seems incapable of acknowledging mistakes. Other manufacturers are rolling back to physical controls for many features, because customers prefer that. But Musk seems to plough on, convinced of his own genius on everything and just doubling down even when the evidence is clear that he's wrong. It's the kind of vanity that led to the Cybertruck.
I think his extremist views have certainly not helped, especially considering the EV demographic, but I think Tesla would be struggling regardless now at least in Europe. Not only is there a lot more competition, Tesla have actually made their cars worse by removing working tech for cost reasons.
