
Tesla's software lead is so big it should worry other automakers, AI expert says - evo_9
https://electrek.co/2019/05/08/tesla-software-lead-big-worry-automakers-ai-expert/
======
m463
I think he's right. They copied apple in this respect - they support old
products, and update them continuously.

If you'd like to see the kinds of things that have changed over the years,
this thread documents them:

[https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-s-software-
fir...](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-s-software-firmware-
changelog.10820/)

Some changes are significant improvements.

Just try and find the UI to one of the original model S cars from 2012 and
compare it to the current one. Sort of like looking at old 90's websites and
then modern ones.

That said, Tesla collects a lot of data from it's users, and the latest round
of UI changes have annoyed a great deal of people...

------
ljw1001
does anyone think the constant stream of tesla "news" is more than tesla-
orchestrated promotion? This is company with a seemingly endless series of
difficulties and a seemingly endless series of puff-pieces. Sorry. I meant
independent, objective, spontaneously occurring flattering press.

~~~
rasz
Hard to be impartial when you have been promised $500K worth of free cars
[https://electrek.co/2019/01/17/tesla-roadster-free-killed-
re...](https://electrek.co/2019/01/17/tesla-roadster-free-killed-referral-
program/)

~~~
rcMgD2BwE72F
Do you realize that the automotive is the #1 spender on advertising, with a
$50 _billions_ yearly budget according to Publicis[0]. It spent $9 _billions_
in 2018 just for digital ads – a minor channel for auto brands, up 17.3% year
over year[1].

Note that car reviewers often accept to review new cars only when the
manufacturing company has signed an deal for advertising campaigns with a
sister company of the media organization. Also, media generates far more
clicks with scandal-mongering headlines > clicks > ads views/impressions for
auto advertisers > revenue for the publisher > exclusive car reviews > clicks
> etc.

Tesla's marketing activities are just a drop in the ocean: no ad budget, a few
official social media account, a referral program limited to Tesla owners, and
a few product reveals.

[0] [https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/tv-networks-beware-
au...](https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/tv-networks-beware-auto-ad-
spending-slow-a-crawl/316850) (calc: 35.5/.76)

[1] [https://www.emarketer.com/Article/US-Auto-Industry-Middle-
of...](https://www.emarketer.com/Article/US-Auto-Industry-Middle-of-Robust-
Digital-Ad-Spending-Growth/1014049)

~~~
rasz
Doesnt change the fact _this_ particular blogger personally holds a paper
promising him $500K worth of supercars .. if, and only if Tesla doesnt bo
under before releasing Roadster somewhere in 2021-2022. Id say half a million
dollars is enough to make you strongly biased.

------
S_A_P
I parsed that headline as Tesla's AI software expertise far exceeds other
automakers, but after reading seems he was talking about their devops/CI
model, which I would say is accurate when qualified against other automakers.
The one point that I think would be debatable is if he meant their self
driving/AI software being far ahead of automakers. If you limited to
automobile manufacturers that again could be true, but its my understanding
that alphabet seems to be have the self driving software advantage.

~~~
DeonPenny
Nope if you look at Lexs omplete talks even his talks on AI at MIT. He runs
their AV research center they believe Tesla is much much farther along. Waymo
even kind of admitted it at MIT. Their strategy is to use LIDAR a crutch until
they can collect enough data to make camera only work.

------
Someone
_”He went on to explain how most cars can’t do over-the-air software updates
other than to the infotainment system.”_

Can’t or don’t want to? Other car manufacturers have dealer networks that they
want to stay friends with (that may be a bad choice, but it isn’t a software
lead for Tesla)

 _”Tesla also introduced software update signatures to protect its vehicles
against hacking not that long ago.”_

IMO, not signing software updates is a huge no-no, and has been for at least
since 2010 (and that’s being generous)

So, only starting to do that “Not that long ago”, for me, is not a sign of
having a big lead.

~~~
jillesvangurp
There's a bit more to this. E.g. German manufacturers work with hundreds of
suppliers for components that go into cars and share some of those suppliers
with other manufacturers. These components often include software. E.g. Bosch
produces engine components that comes with all sorts of complicated software.
So, a car you buy from e.g. BMW comes with all sorts of software that BMW does
not control directly. Updating the in car software means updating dozens of
different systems from all sorts of suppliers and quite a big project to
coordinate. Also these suppliers consider this software to be their core asset
and it might appear in several cars from competing vendors.

In practice updates do not happen unless absolutely unavoidable. Once a car
reaches market, the software is basically frozen in time. There may be minor
patches when suppliers provide critical updates that require the car to be
serviced but that's about the scope of it. And even those may never reach most
customers. There's also the issue of certification and safety regulations that
makes things more complicated.

Tesla does as much as possible in house. They are emulating Apple by
controlling hardware and software and are able to move faster this way than
other manufacturers and they can support older models as long as they want.

