
Tesla just transformed the Model S into a nearly driverless car - prostoalex
http://qz.com/524400/tesla-just-transformed-the-model-s-into-a-nearly-driverless-car/
======
marssaxman
It's kind of a shame, really; I'd be a lot more interested in a Tesla if it
_weren 't_ such a ridiculously over-automated pile of software masquerading as
a car. Is a simple passive electric car really too much to ask for?

~~~
greglindahl
Yes. You're complaining that a car has features that you don't want to use.
Every car I've ever bought has features that I've never used. Cupholders, for
example.

It's a valid complaint if the price of the car is much higher because of a
feature you don't find valuable. But that doesn't appear to be the case, this
time.

~~~
marssaxman
I can opt not to use the cupholders. I could get out my toolbox and remove
them from the car, if they really offended me. So far as I can tell there is
no way to remove the giant touchscreen that controls everything about the car
and still have a working vehicle. Nor am I aware of any way to permanently
disable whatever radio mechanism it is that offers Tesla remote root access to
all of their vehicles, which clearly don't actually belong to the people who
believed that they were buying them.

~~~
greglindahl
Let's see: 17" touchscreen in an $90,000+ car. How much did you pay for it?
And what is the value of Tesla calling me up 2 minutes after I had an accident
to find out if I was OK, or did they need to call 911 on my behalf?

If you don't want monitoring, don't buy the car. If you don't like the
touchscreen, and think it makes the car overly expensive, don't buy the car.
If you don't like the car, don't buy the car.

Where is the problem?

~~~
marssaxman
The problem is that there's no other car to be had - nothing comparable,
anyway.

There is no fundamental reason that a car like Tesla's _must_ be encumbered
with monitoring and complex automation. The same drivetrain and the same body
could be sold as a perfectly reasonable, normal car without all the crap: but
they have chosen not to offer such a vehicle, and they have no competition who
can make up for that gap in the market.

My choice is: burn gas, or put up with a crappy car full of gadgets I don't
want but can't disable.

