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Tesla Makes Improvements To Model S

An anonymous reader writes "In a lull between product launches Tesla intends to keep making improvements to the Model S according to Elon Musk. Tesla will automatically push software to the Model S fleet that will help the car learn the driver's habits and the navigation system will offer directions to avoid traffic jams. 'This year, Tesla is offering only the single model, the Model S that is EPA rated at up to 265 miles on a single charge, the most of any electric car. The company's next model won't come until next year, when the delayed Model X crossover goes on sale. Musk says the holdup has centered on making sure its signature design element, gullwing doors to make it easier to get in the rear, works properly and is leak-proof. "Getting the door right is extremely difficult," he says.'"

136 comments

  1. News at 11 by nadaou · · Score: 2

    In other news, Linus makes a point release!

    --
    ~.~
    I'm a peripheral visionary.
    1. Re:News at 11 by Cryacin · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Improvements? No one could possibly want to have a range of more than 640k.

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    2. Re:News at 11 by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Yep and it's a fair comparison too. Every other car company does this to. No sirree there's nothing unique about a car company releasing point updates to improve customer's vehicles after they bought them right?

    3. Re:News at 11 by neokushan · · Score: 1

      640KM range probably would be enough for anyone.

      --
      +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    4. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really, Because I know for a fact that Honda does not just "push" software updates to my car. I have to take it into the dealer and then sit in a crappy waiting room for 2 hours while they dink around.

    5. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep and it's a fair comparison too. Every other car company does this to. No sirree there's nothing unique about a car company releasing point updates to improve customer's vehicles after they bought them right?

      Care to mention examples of other car companies that push major software updates out to their cars that significantly improves the car for free vs what you bought?

    6. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your sarcasm detector appears to be faulty, maybe you should take it into your dealer and see if they have a software update for it :p

    7. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      True. Adding an SSD to improve startup time is the way to go.

    8. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      With 5 minute recharging?

    9. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not for trans-Atlantic flights.

    10. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Care to mention why you were born with a complete inability to detect sarcasm? The tongue in cheek use of "No sirree" should have given it away.

    11. Re:News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even with the Gullwing doors, I suspect the Tesla is poor for flights anyway.

      Musk should license some technology from Matt Tracker. He had it in the 1980s.

    12. Re:News at 11 by Antonovich · · Score: 2

      While almost impossible to enforce, many studies show that driving for that long without a break is *dangerous*. Sure, you can come up with plenty of scenarios (more than one driver, etc.) but the use cases are rare enough to not be significant. It would still be impossible to have a break exactly where you wanted to (like stopping for gas and then parking by a nice lake for the rest/leg-stretching) but people would get used to it. I use my car so rarely there is no justification for having it but would definitely think about getting an electric one with a 640km range...

    13. Re:News at 11 by Informationman · · Score: 1

      Ah, Matt Tracker. Ive always wanted his car. Especially during heavy traffic or on Fridays after work on my way to the cabin.

    14. Re:News at 11 by Optali · · Score: 1
      OMG!!! OMG!! OMG!!! This will change IT as we know it!!!!

      And almost as newsworthy:

      Tesla runs out of toilet paper in the men's WC's of their factory!!

      --
      -- 29A the number of the Beast
  2. Re:Tesla S is a piece of shit by _merlin · · Score: 2

    The engineers said that I should have put gasoline in it because it was electric and refused to return my money.

    And here's the giveaway...

  3. Learning Nav system? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

    Please tell me it's Waze. Best Nav system in the world - it's saved me from more than one ticket...

    1. Re:Learning Nav system? by BradleyUffner · · Score: 1

      Waze is owned by Google now, but it still uses some strange 3rd party text to speech library instead of Google's superior one. Google needs to start busting some heads and get them using the built functionality that Android has. Other than that minor gripe, I completely agree with you.

    2. Re:Learning Nav system? by viperidaenz · · Score: 5, Informative

      I was going to try it out, but they wanted me to grant "irrevocable, perpetual, sublicensable" permission to any location data gather by the app, which is all associated with a unique identifier.

    3. Re:Learning Nav system? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Welcome my son,

      Welcome to the machine.

      Where have you been?

      It's alright we know where you've been.

    4. Re: Learning Nav system? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only 1 word: OsmAnd. And the data is yours and remains yours. May not be as slick as the commerecial apps. But I use it exclusively on my business trips around Europe. And it works exceptionally well, considering it's open source.

    5. Re:Learning Nav system? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

      Google only purchased this company this past year. Give it some time... I'm rather happy google hasn't swooped in and hanged a bunch of stuff right away.

    6. Re:Learning Nav system? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google has already incorporated data from their Waze users in to Google Maps' navigation. I'm sure they have owned it long enough to fix this issue if they cared enough, but they will most likely incorporate all the stuff they want from Waze into Google Maps and kill Waze off when done, so why improve it.

    7. Re: Learning Nav system? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Only 1 word: OsmAnd. And the data is yours and remains yours. May not be as slick as the commerecial apps. But I use it exclusively on my business trips around Europe. And it works exceptionally well, considering it's open source.

      The maps are completely useless where I live and fairly horribly inaccurate in places around where I live. Totally useless. $100 will get you a refurb or last-year's-model garmin with lifetime traffic and maps.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OK if the doors are leak proof, but will they drip water/snow/dust inside when you open them after driving in rain/snow/dusty weather?

    1. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The gullwing doors are going to be his white whale.

      If they wanted to do something cool with the doors, they should have gone with electric sliding doors for all four doors. Front doors slide forward, back doors slide backwards. No worries about clearance above the car, or even next to the car, they seal correctly, they don't stop you from putting a roof-rack on it and because mini-vans have been using electric sliding doors for decades all the bugs have been engineered out years ago.

    2. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seems like sliding is more of a step forward, ya.

    3. Re:gullwing doors by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2, Funny

      OK if the doors are leak proof, but will they drip water/snow/dust inside when you open them after driving in rain/snow/dusty weather?

      Because regular doors don't ever do that?

      Congratulations, your post is the silliest anti-Tesla whine ever.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      and because mini-vans have been using electric sliding doors for decades

      And that right there is the problem. Nobody drives a minivan to look cool. People drive Teslas to look cool. A Tesla that looks like a minivan would not look cool.

    5. Re:gullwing doors by _merlin · · Score: 1

      Regular doors don't do that because they open outwards away from the car's interior, and none of the roof moves away. It could definitely happen on the Toyota Sera.

    6. Re:gullwing doors by Sarten-X · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No worries about clearance above the car

      Because this is a concern for a sports car, when most parking places are designed for vans.

      or even next to the car

      Gull-wing doors require less side clearance than standard doors.

      they seal correctly

      So do gull-wing doors, if closed with a proper path. This is the hard part, because the door system can't interfere with other systems, like the roof's roll supports. It's not an intractable problem, but it makes the overall engineering more difficult.

      they don't stop you from putting a roof-rack on it

      Also a big problem for sports cars, I'm sure.

      mini-vans have been using electric sliding doors for decades

      ...And gull-wing doors have been around for half a century.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    7. Re:gullwing doors by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I don't think it'd be that much of a problem. When you're rolling no snow accumulates on top. Opening doors in a driving rain or snow will cause problems regardless of type of door although it'll be worse with a gull wing. The whole point of gull wing is coolness over practicality anyway. If people want to be practical they can get a mini-van.

    8. Re:gullwing doors by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Regular doors don't do that because they open outwards away from the car's interior, and none of the roof moves away. It could definitely happen on the Toyota Sera.

      Where on earth do you live? I'm in the lower Northeast, and rain and especially snow and dust indeed does get in the car when you open the doors - except the rear hatch - ironically the door most resembling the gullwing door. I mean, if only gullwing doors had this issue, we wouldn't need any other type of doors at all. Only the gullwings would allow anything outside the car, inside the car.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    9. Re:gullwing doors by erice · · Score: 2

      No worries about clearance above the car

      Because this is a concern for a sports car, when most parking places are designed for vans.

      they don't stop you from putting a roof-rack on it

      Also a big problem for sports cars, I'm sure.

      Crossover SUV != sports car. They are bigger, taller and commonly used to carry bicycles, skis, and other sporting equipment on their roofs. Crossover SUV's are highly utilitarian which is very unlike sports cars.

    10. Re:gullwing doors by penguinoid · · Score: 1

      Are you saying no one will be able to copy him?

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    11. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OP here... I posted actually because someone bought a luxury-branded car a while ago that had regular swing-out doors, but the styling lacked the ridges on the roof to channel the rain away so when the doors opened the occupant would get drenched.

      Just wondering how they would be able to make gullwing doors practical for this situation.....

    12. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OP here... I posted actually because someone bought a luxury-branded car a while ago that had regular swing-out doors, but the styling lacked the ridges on the roof to channel the rain away so when the doors opened the occupant would get drenched.

      Just wondering how gullwing doors would be practical in this situation.....

    13. Re:gullwing doors by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2

      I guess you don't live in a snowy place? Opening regular doors does indeed drop snow from the roof into the car. Sometimes I remember to sweep the door seal off with a forearm, sometimes I don't. If I don't I need to remember to brush the seat off.

    14. Re:gullwing doors by Zibodiz · · Score: 1

      If he wants to be cool *and* revolutionary, he needs something more like this: http://www.disappearing-car-door.com.
      Granted, these look like they'd be a nightmare in a blizzard or freezing rain, but I'm sure there's some way to engineer a fix. Or, alternatively, they could just make the doors slide vertically. That would have a similar 'cool factor' to a gullwing, except with the advantage of no clearance space needed, and would avoid the potential issues found with the disappearing door. Only issue would be that they would block the contents of a roof rack while open, but is that really a problem? How many people need the car doors open while retrieving their roof-mounted bicycle?

    15. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      mini-vans have been using electric sliding doors for decades all the bugs have been engineered out years ago

      Tell my Honda Odyssey that. It's spent almost twelve weeks at the dealer since I bought it two years ago with problems with the sliding doors. Like most Hondas, it has some serious electrical problems. The difference is that in one of their cars, you don't have a huge door open for no reason. I have three kids so this Honda problem scares the hell out of me and my wife. The zone manager for Honda says it isn't a safety issue because our state has seatbelt laws. I disagree. Honda should instead start trying to make sliding doors that are safe.

    16. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like most Hondas, it has some serious electrical problems.

      Hyperbole much?

    17. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Frankly your misrepresentation of the model-X as a sports car and all the other intellectually dishonest comparisons scream fanboi.

      Either that or he has enough experience with electric vehicles to know that they will beat the crap out of any combustion engine when it comes to acceleration.

    18. Re:gullwing doors by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 2

      That doesn't happen in a Delorean. In fact if there's no wind you can sit with the doors open and they act as a shelter that prevents rain coming inside. The one thing that does drip is if there's lots of condensation on the inside of the door /window it drips onto the seat when you open the door.

      --
      (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
    19. Re:gullwing doors by Jupix · · Score: 4, Informative

      Have a look at how a properly designed gullwing door is designed.

      When the door is open there is a huge drain to direct water etc. from the roof to the ground (around the actual doorway).

      Also when the door is open, the far end of the door is hovering outside the range where water etc. could drip inside the car.

      In addition (unlike traditional car doors) when the door is open, it's hovering above the gap, acting as a roof, so that the actual rain doesn't get inside the car either.

    20. Re: gullwing doors by therealkevinkretz · · Score: 1

      It's quick but not quicker than "any combustion engine". I don't think it's even in the top ten.

    21. Re:gullwing doors by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Yes they do. Chevy Tahoe owners drive that oversized minivan hoping they look "cool"

      Yes Modern SUV's are all minivans. none of them are capable of real of road anymore.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    22. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will look especially cool when you try to open the door in a garage.

    23. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seeing my $6800 motorcycle has wasted several tesla roadsters, my experience seems to disagree with yours. True, they beat me to 40, but after that it was so long tesla. And the roadster is a hell of a lot quicker than the model S and presumably the model X. And yes, I've also put shame to the model S on my bike.

      And though normally I'd agree that it's an unfair comparison, you did say *any* combustion engine. Also, remember there are also the top fuel dragsters, which will achieve 300+ mph in roughly 4 seconds.

    24. Re:gullwing doors by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      If they wanted to do something cool with the doors, they should have gone with electric sliding doors for all four doors.

      I would like to see doors go sliding, but so far that means a dramatic weight increase. Not worth it. Normal doors aren't that bad.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    25. Re:gullwing doors by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      In addition (unlike traditional car doors)

      ...they had to mount the doors on that SLS AMG on explosive bolts so that you could still get out of the car if you managed to invert it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    26. Re:gullwing doors by haruchai · · Score: 1

      Surprisingly, Tesla appears to be somewhat conservative with their 0-60 times. They claim 4.4s for the P85+ but Motor Trend tested it at 3.9s.
      The Roadster is still slightly quicker but it won't leave the P85+ in the dust and that's an impressive time for a 5,000 lb sport sedan

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    27. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like most Hondas, it has some serious electrical problems.

      Hyperbole much?

      You must be a Honda fanboi.

    28. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Like most Hondas, it has some serious electrical problems.

      Hyperbole much?

      You must be a Honda fanboi.

      Or someone like myself who has driven nothing but Hondas for 17 years and has never experienced any sort of electrical problems whatsoever with them.

      OTOH I hear about plenty of electrical problems in vehicles of all kinds from people that abuse the shit out of their cars.

    29. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regular doors don't do that because they open outwards away from the car's interior,

      The trunk of almost every sedan ever made would like to have a word with you.

      There are water channels built into the trunk door frames so that water/snow/etc. all drain around the trunk and onto the ground instead of creating a small pool in the trunk well.

    30. Re:gullwing doors by Kjella · · Score: 1

      I guess you don't live in a snowy place? Opening regular doors does indeed drop snow from the roof into the car. Sometimes I remember to sweep the door seal off with a forearm, sometimes I don't. If I don't I need to remember to brush the seat off.

      As long as it has regular front doors it's not that big a deal, open it the traditional way, grab snow brush/ice scrape, wipe off rest of car and then open the gull wings. If it was all gull wing, it'd be different as you could get a lot of snow blowing into the opening as it falls off the opening door or from the rest of the roof. It's not a good winter feature, but it's not a killer problem either assuming they can keep the seals closed and the doors don't freeze in the winter.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    31. Re:gullwing doors by JonBoy47 · · Score: 1

      .Yes, but (this is crucial) SUV's and crossovers do not have sliding doors. The lack of sliding doors was a conscious, functional decision, where the function in question is "Get people to actually buy it."

    32. Re:gullwing doors by therealkevinkretz · · Score: 1

      Manufacturers are often (usually?) conservative with their performance claims. Still, the " will beat the crap out of any combustion engine" is ignorant and easily shown to be false, even when narrowing "combustion engines" to production automobiles.

    33. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Top Fuel dragsters do 0-60 in something like their own length...

    34. Re:gullwing doors by PIBM · · Score: 1

      That`s a rocket engine not a combustion engine.. still he should have used most 4 wheeled combustion engine vehicules rather than a simple `combustion engine` shortcut while referring to those.

    35. Re:gullwing doors by PIBM · · Score: 1

      I remember hitting the rear window defrost and have the hatch open on a less than 5 years old car.. And yes that was reproductible (and fixable..) but still showed a very bad design.

    36. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regular doors don't do that...

      So why is it that whenever I open my car door when there's snow on the roof of the car, I get snow on the seat? Even when it's not actively snowing out.

    37. Re:gullwing doors by swillden · · Score: 1

      Comparing motorcyles and dragsters to heavy four-door sedans seems a bit disingenuous. There are electric motorcycles and dragsters. On the motorcycle front, how would your machine compare to the Mission RS (0-60 in less than 3 seconds)? Granted that the Mission costs a wee bit more than $6800.

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    38. Re:gullwing doors by swillden · · Score: 1

      That`s a rocket engine not a combustion engine.. still he should have used most 4 wheeled combustion engine vehicules rather than a simple `combustion engine` shortcut while referring to those.

      Top Fuel dragsters are internal combustion, not rocket engines, though they do burn "rocket fuel" (nitromethane).

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Fuel

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VF0JwxQqcA

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    39. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This SUV still has standard doors on the front.

      so do minivans. what's your point?

    40. Re:gullwing doors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A rocket engine mixes fuel and oxidizer together instead of fuel and air. A top fuel dragster is an air breather, and you can tell by the huge air intakes on top of the engine (with the pretty butterfly valves), and the superchargers they attach to. They wouldn't bother to expend 500hp blowing air into the engine if they didn't need to!

      dom

    41. Re:gullwing doors by swillden · · Score: 1

      Oh, one more cool Top Fuel video. This shows the fuel pump for a single cylinder. The pumps can flow ~100 gallons per minute.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGTbQuhhluY

      Crazy stuff.

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    42. Re:gullwing doors by PIBM · · Score: 1

      That`s quite an interesting read :) He still should have limited his scope though, and I don`t think we will see production road cars using nitromethane to that extent for sale anytime soon.

    43. Re:gullwing doors by Sedated2000 · · Score: 1

      And on Deloreans, the windshield is designed to be kicked out. At that point though, I don't care if my doors are in poor condition, the car is totalled.

    44. Re:gullwing doors by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 1

      Rocket engines very typically ARE internal combustion engines.

      The definition of 'internal combustion' is that the pressures from the combustion gases cause the motion. (In external combustion engines, such as steam engines, the heat from the combustion goes through a heat exchanger and the working fluid on the other side of that does the work.)

      In a rocket the exhaust gases push directly on the exhaust nozzle, and the interior of the combustion chamber and causes the motion, making it an internal combustion engine.

      Some rockets (such as nuclear-thermal or solar-thermal rockets) do have a heat exchanger, and are not internal combustion engines, but not the common ones.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    45. Re:gullwing doors by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 1

      Actually, the fastest dragster, albeit unofficial, ever was a rocket car powered by peroxide.

      Rocket dragsters were basically banned for being too fast/dangerous.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    46. Re:gullwing doors by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      So it's not quite as fast as an Audi S6 which sells for about the same price as the Tesla, and is just as luxuriously appointed. And weighs about the same as well.

      --
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    47. Re:gullwing doors by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Actually, most rockets would lose in acceleration to 60 MPH compared to a top fuel dragster. A top fuel dragster will do 0 to 100 MPH (160 kph) in 0.8 seconds, average somewhere between 4 and 5 Gs of acceleration for the entire run (the first quarter of the run at over 8 Gs of acceleration), and will cover the quarter mile in around 3.7 to 3.8 seconds. When you have upwards of 10,000 horsepower on-tap, and suck nitromethane (4 times the energy density of kerosene) at rates equivalent to a fuelly loaded 747, you can produce some stunning results...

      --
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    48. Re:gullwing doors by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      There are quite a few sub-3 second motorcycles on the market, and most can be had for less than $15,000. For the price of the Mission, one could purchase one of these faster motorcycles, and a nice Jetta TDI sedan as well - and still have enough left to buy a few years of gas and service.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    49. Re:gullwing doors by swillden · · Score: 1

      Yeah, introducing nitromethane-burning vehicles (I use the term loosely) whose fuel consumption is measured in gallons per second into a conversation about mass-produced consumer automobiles is pretty silly.

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    50. Re:gullwing doors by swillden · · Score: 1

      I'm sure you can find a much faster electric motorcycle than the Mission RS, and probably for less money. It was just the first one that came up in a Google search.

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    51. Re:gullwing doors by swillden · · Score: 2

      Doing a bit more Googling, the current fastest production motorcycle in the world is the Lightning LS-128 -- an electric, and the bike, by the way that ran away with the Pike's Peak challenge last year (granted that air-breathing bikes are at a disadvantage at 14,000 feet). Top speed is 218 mph, 0-60 time is below two seconds.

      However that's #1 for top speed. For raw acceleration the current champion (also electric) is the Killacycle. 0-60 in 0.97 seconds.

      Cost is an issue on these bikes, obviously, but for raw performance electric is unbeatable.

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    52. Re:gullwing doors by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 0

      Gasoline motorcycle drag racing, well into the 5 second range. Electric motorcycle drag racing, more than a second behind and 40+ MPH slower. Electrics have quite a ways to go to be competitive - performance-wise - with gasoline powered vehicles. For production bikes, the Suzuki Hayabusa has several 200+ MPH (and a top speed of 245 MPH) runs, but Suzuki officially doesn't acknowledge them - for insurability reasons (here's one guy doing a 278+ MPH run).

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    53. Re:gullwing doors by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      A Chevy Tahoe is one of the few modern SUVs that don't fit what you are saying. They are still made on a full size truck chassis. So unless you're going to tell me Chevy Silverado Trucks have no off road capabilities, the Tahoe doesn't fit your rant.

      The majority of other SUVs don't have the same kind of truck based chassis and are basically minivans.

    54. Re:gullwing doors by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      unless some guys says a propulsion system is faster than "any combustion" engine. That makes this side thread germane.

    55. Re:gullwing doors by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 1

      So then you literally believe that most Hondas, as in more than half, have serious electrical problems?

    56. Re:gullwing doors by greenzrx · · Score: 1

      My $8,000 Yamaha FZ-09 does 0-60 in 2.7 seconds...

    57. Re:gullwing doors by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      Gull-wing doors require less side clearance than standard doors.

      What about height clearance? In a sports car that already has a low roof it wouldn't be a problem, but I can't imagine the same is true for a high riding SUV type vehicle.

  5. Re:Tesla S is a piece of shit by mmell · · Score: 2
    I'm sorry - who are you again?

    It's not that I actually believe your story - but you tell it well.

  6. Hard problems are hard? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And that's somehow news?

    Well, at least we got it straight from the horse's mouth.

    But it's not like gullwing doors are new or anything.

    Some Tesla fanboi will probably mod this -1 for saying something negative about Tesla. Go ahead, you won't hurt my anonymous coward feelings.

    1. Re:Hard problems are hard? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some Tesla fanboi will probably mod this -1 for saying something negative about Tesla.

      Any time you try to preemptively shame potential downmodders, you just prove that they're right to downmod you.

  7. Smart! That was one of the key... by stox · · Score: 3, Interesting

    mistakes in the Delorean. Really bad in northern climes where the seals would freeze, locking you in the car. Notice I said "one of", the Delorean had a lot of other issues, too.

    --
    "To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
    1. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Those were mostly solved by the third movie, though...

    2. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It had a hard time getting to 88MPH, yet when hit by lightning while stationary it would timeshift to a random era?

    3. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 1

      All car doors have seals. Wouldn't this be a problem on any car?

      --
      (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
    4. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by peragrin · · Score: 2

      true they replaced the motor with a steam engine.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    5. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      All car doors have seals. Wouldn't this be a problem on any car?

      It should only be this much of a problem on vehicles with complex hinges that open all at once, instead of from one end to the other like normal doors.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by clifffton · · Score: 0

      Not that it would have made the car great, but it was designed with a different motor. GM had a Wankel in development and DeLorean (and AMC in the Pacer) was going to use that. Sadly it never got out of development and JD went with the PRV V6 (not know for much of anything other than being in a lot of Volvos) DeLorean went with the "cocaine rebate" instead. If nothing else you have to admit John had some grande cojones trying to pull that one off.

    7. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "normal" car doors open all at once too. Not quite at the same rate, and the seal is much shorter, but the problem is still the same.

    8. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      "normal" car doors open all at once too. Not quite at the same rate, and the seal is much shorter, but the problem is still the same.

      SOME of them do that. Most of them clearly do not. Look at the hinge to determine which your vehicle is, but most of them have just one pivot point. And so, in fact, the force being exerted to break the seal is extremely uneven.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by swb · · Score: 1

      Is the problem more of leverage and gravity? A normal door is basically balanced with respect to gravity and most of the opening force is away from the hinge. A gullwing door has to fight gravity and the opening force is closer to the hinge. I'm sure the gullwing has struts but the door would have to be open at least a little for them to work.

      If my wife had let me buy that SLS Mercedes instead of a house I'd have more first hand experience.

    10. Re:Smart! That was one of the key... by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 1

      Deloreans have a really strong torsion bar along the hinges of each door that do the majority of the work. The gas struts mostly just hold the doors up once they're open. The torsion bars are strong enough that if you unlatch the door, it just glides up on its own. I've handled one of those doors when detached from the car, and they are seriously heavy.

      --
      (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
  8. Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by Lohrno · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it me or is this a really stupid idea? Just making the doors gull wing prevents you from putting: luggage on top, ski racks, bike racks on roof, etc. You know, the kind of things people would do with an SUV or crossover...

    1. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I bet 90% of SUVs are driven around town only and never have those things on their roofs.

    2. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      Is it me or is this a really stupid idea? Just making the doors gull wing prevents you from putting: luggage on top, ski racks, bike racks on roof, etc. You know, the kind of things people would do with an SUV or crossover...

      All those things would reduce the mileage on the vehicle. Maybe the gullwing doors are a clever plot to prevent people from ruining the aerodynamics, and thus the mileage, of the vehicle. Being electric this is a very important factor.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    3. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you're probably right that they never do put those things on their roof, but 90% of them have the racks *just in case*.

    4. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Their target market is the school run and people who like to be higher up while driving, not people who actually use an SUV for it's original purpose. There are lots of luxury SUVs like that on the market, which focus more on comfort and luxury than the utility aspect. The only time those people go off road is when they get a wheel on the pavement while trying to park.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by Lumpy · · Score: 2

      Those are called minivans. I dont care how they want to twist it... It's a minivan without sliding doors.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    6. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Skis go inside (my A8 has a bag which can be made to protrude into the rear seat area and hold skis) and bikes go on the back, where the air is already turbulent and they will cause less drag.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    7. Re:Gull-wing doors on an SUV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So its a good idea to tell 10% of the market to go fuck themselves?

  9. Automatic software updates by John.Banister · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "automatically push software to the Model S fleet" So, either my car does a software update while I'm doing 50mph or the home office needs to know at any given moment whether I'm driving or not. For a car I own, I'd prefer the option to do manual updates.

    1. Re:Automatic software updates by dlgeek · · Score: 5, Informative

      Or the car gets pushed an update file while you're doing 50mph, stores it for later, and installs it at some point when it's stopped and charging.

      (Other options also include a polling mechanism where the car phones home for updated periodically when stopped, or a combination of the two where they push an "update is availible" flag, which signals the car to phone home and download/install it once it's stopped/charging).

    2. Re:Automatic software updates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > For a car I own, I'd prefer the option to do manual updates.

      It's easier for everyone if you get all of the updates when Tesla needs you to get them. There would be no worse outcome than for you to have not applied an update that later turns out to be a key factor in preventing a serious failure. Moreover, I'm not certain, but I *strongly* suspect that their software development process is very carefully controlled.

      I mean, you are aware that Musk's *other* hobby is building cargo-rated (and soon, man-rated) reusable space launch vehicles, right?

    3. Re:Automatic software updates by zwede · · Score: 1

      The Tesla SW update works like this:

      The updates are batched by Tesla so not all cars are updated at once. In case there's a problem with the new SW, that limits the number of affected vehicles.

      Once the VIN has been tagged for update, the car downloads the new SW (over 3G or WIFI if available) and stores it locally. A prompt is shown on the main screen that new SW is available. Options are "install now" or "schedule install" (midnight is pre-selected), or "do not install now".

    4. Re:Automatic software updates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They way it works in reality is the update gets pushed to the car whenver. The next time you get in the car it tells you that an update is available and warns you that you cannot use the car while the update is being installed. It then suggests that you update the car the next time it's plugged in at 2am (or something like that). You let it know if that's okay, or if you want to schedule for another time, or bug you later, or if you just don't want the update at all.

      I've had a couple updates in my Model S so far, and that's how it worked for me.

    5. Re:Automatic software updates by John.Banister · · Score: 1

      If you pick "do not install now," can you go back and install it in a couple of days?

  10. Re:Tesla S is a piece of shit by Jade_Wayfarer · · Score: 2

    Maybe it's some 13 y.o. Ukrainian boy?

    --
    Absence of proof != proof of absence.
  11. All the improvements could want except... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ....making any of it affordable. I don't understand why we keep following elon around like lost puppies when he really doesn't do anything for the average person. The only people who benefit from what he does are the rich.

    1. Re:All the improvements could want except... by itsdapead · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I don't understand why we keep following elon around like lost puppies when he really doesn't do anything for the average person.

      Well, he's making a lot of advances in electric car technology and is dropping strong hints that he plans to share those with the rest of the industry on a fairly generous basis. Selling premium-priced cars to the rich is a good way to bankroll that - in 5-10 years time the rest of us may well be benefitting from this work. I can respect that.

      What he hasn't done yet is created a compelling alternative to the gas-powered car. The Tesla has a very clear niche where it might be practical if cash were no object: private garages and long, regular commutes of 50-100 miles: long enough to make you want to travel in a luxurious car, short enough to fall comfortably within the Tesla's range, home-based so you can recharge overnight.

      I'd be OK with that if the Tesla website didn't try and push things like economy (no, you're not going to save money unless you conveniently ignore the extra cost of the car - but if you have that sort of money why would you care?) and how easy it was to make a road trip (...just start driving, then have lunch at a supercharger! On the newly-localised British site this advice is followed by a map that shows no superchargers in the UK)

      I think they're on the verge of getting there: make that mileage '250 miles minimum)' rather than 'up to 265 miles (unless you get stuck in slow traffic and need lights, heat or air con)' and have supercharger stations every 50 miles or so (otherwise your useful range gets reduced because you have to recharge early or detour to charge) and you might have a viable care replacement.

      There's also a scaling issue with chargers: I was looking at (non-Tesla) chargers in the UK and, superficially, its not too bad. Look closer, however, and most of those stations only have 1 or 2 bays - often one slow and one fast (with different connectors). Arrive there and find the bay in use (with the owners off having lunch somewhere), or out-of-order, and you'd be stuffed. You'd have to be so cautious about how soon to recharge that it would decimate the useful range of an EV.

      --
      In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
    2. Re:All the improvements could want except... by SIGBUS · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What he hasn't done yet is created a compelling alternative to the gas-powered car. The Tesla has a very clear niche where it might be practical if cash were no object: private garages and long, regular commutes of 50-100 miles: long enough to make you want to travel in a luxurious car, short enough to fall comfortably within the Tesla's range, home-based so you can recharge overnight.

      Exactly. It's an executive car - but that's a good place to start. Advance the technology and make it available to the early adopters to get the ball rolling. The biggest single obstacle to making long-range electric cars available to the masses is the price of the battery pack. The reason a Nissan Leaf is relatively affordable is that it doesn't have the huge battery pack needed for long range.

      Now that Tesla has taken care of building the cars, and the charger network is expanding, it's on to scaling up the battery production, and that's where the upcoming Tesla/Panasonic battery factories step in. Aside from reducing battery costs and increasing production for the cars, they should be useful as storage for charging stations as well.

      I know there's a lot of impatience (I want my electric car NOW, and Superchargers on every corner!), but starting a car company from the ground up isn't easy, especially when you're taking over a century of auto industry tradition and standing it on its head. I'm glad to see the progress that's already been made, even if it's still a long time before I could afford to go electric.

      America needs more businessmen like Elon Musk and fewer like Donald Trump.

      --
      Oh, no! You have walked into the slavering fangs of a lurking grue!
    3. Re:All the improvements could want except... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (no, you're not going to save money unless you conveniently ignore the extra cost of the car - but if you have that sort of money why would you care?)

      "Why would you care?" There's a fine point you are missing here...

      My income has stabilized in the mid 6 figures, and so has my wife's. I'm wealthy enough to buy a Model S without thinking about the cost...not a dozen of them, but one or two. I'm Elon's target demographic, but I didn't get there by ignoring prices. Of course I care how much it costs. If I just bought things because I have some money, I wouldn't have money anymore. Maybe my next car will be a Tesla; maybe it won't. When I buy my next car, however, I do know it will probably cost between $50K-$100K, and involve several weekends worth of Excel and making Pugh charts, because I don't drop that cash on a whim.

    4. Re:All the improvements could want except... by itsdapead · · Score: 1

      When I buy my next car, however, I do know it will probably cost between $50K-$100K, and involve several weekends worth of Excel and making Pugh charts, because I don't drop that cash on a whim.

      Strange. Although my annual income has less digits in it than yours, I've put by enough savings to easily drop ~$70k on a car without needing finance, yet I would only worry about running costs if it ran on single malt and was lubricated with white truffle oil, because it is completely bloody obvious that the running costs are trivial when you could get a pretty nice car for half the price, and insignificant c.f. the value a new car uses when it rolls of the forecourt (...actually the BMW i3 range extender sounds more suited to my needs, although I'd probably need to rent a long-range car from time to time).

      I'll save you at least one Excel weekend, though: buying the $50k car rather than the $100k car will save you $50k. $50k will get you 10k gallons of gas. 10k gallons of petrol will take you 400,000 miles - or 100 miles every day for 10 years (by which time I'm pretty sure you'll have fried a Tesla battery or two). The only way you're going to save money with the Tesla is if you like it better than the $100k car (and don't end up needing a second car for long journeys). No Pugh charts (whatever the hell they are) required.

      The question I'd be asking is not "how much am I going to save on fuel" but "how much is a 3 year old Tesla going to be worth". I'd put my money on depreciation making fuel cost savings look like chump change... and the more fuel costs you save, the higher the mileage and the worse the depreciation...

      --
      In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
    5. Re:All the improvements could want except... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keep watching - http://www.teslamotors.com/blo...

      I'd say he didn't quite reach the goal of delivering the Model S at 1/2 the price of the Roadster and I expect the Gen III might be higher priced than his target as well.
      Which will be a problem for him since Mercedes, BMW are delivering at $40k and the Chevy Volt will have a new model before then.

    6. Re:All the improvements could want except... by cthulhu11 · · Score: 1

      but starting a car company from the ground up isn't easy, especially when you're taking over a century of auto industry tradition and standing it on its head.

      I'm sure Preston Tucker would agree with that thought.

  12. Not only... by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

    Not only a Slashvertisement that links to an article with practically zero content... but largely a dupe to boot.

  13. Horrible in a rollover by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gullwing doors are horrible in a rollover (unless there is some kind of explosive bolt to blow the hinges off), are terrible for clearance in tight garages, are notoriously prone to leaks, have generally poor ergonomics, and are - other than looking snazzy (because we associate them, along with scissor doors, with supercars) - just a flat out crap idea. There is a good reason why there has *never* been any mainstream adoption of the technology.

    1. Re: Horrible in a rollover by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      They're a bad idea until they're not - just like everything else Elon has done. The man has super powers.

  14. design constraints by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it me or is this a really stupid idea? Just making the doors gull wing prevents you from putting: luggage on top, ski racks, bike racks on roof, etc. You know, the kind of things people would do with an SUV or crossover...

    Presumably they're trying to design them so as to not prevent these thigs, and that's one of the challenges they're facing.

  15. Lots of updates coming by mknewman · · Score: 2

    Elon Musk has said there will be a roof rack for skiis and other things (bikes, canoe?) not sure how he's going to pull that off. He's also promised 400m batteries, self driving (entrance ramp to exit ramp), better seats, 4wd and of course the megafactory and a sub $40k car capable of 200m range. Oh and Mars missions. Got to hand it to him, he doesn't think small.

    1. Re:Lots of updates coming by Ozymandias_KoK · · Score: 2

      You know that "m" has a fairly specific meaning WRT distance, right? :)

    2. Re:Lots of updates coming by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Like this.

      http://www.teslamotorsclub.com...

      When you have a roof rack, you lose the ability to park in tight spaces.

  16. This is not news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If they had stop making improvements to their car, which is not actually finished yet(it's basically a "beta" version of the car right now), that would have been news...

  17. talkies, phonographs, and electric chairs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thinking big isn't a problem; Elon's at least *doing* and not just *talking* or building *concept cars* for auto shows. And Elon is better than Tom , I think, for how he treats his engineering workforce. At least he's not electrocuting circus elephants to knock his competition.

  18. Fins and chrome all over again. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

    It smacks of the big three in the 60s adding more and more chrome and fins to the same damned platform year after year. Model S is great. Now get cracking and sell me a 45K family sedan. Otherwise all the goodwill you have earned will evaporate like a gasoline spilled on the road in Mohave desert.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  19. Musk has his priorities straight. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And married men, and some women, should thank him for it ... since he is so adamant about designing the doors in such a way it would make it "easier to get in the rear" for everybody.

  20. Re:Tesla S is a piece of shit by Barsteward · · Score: 1

    the engineers probably meant you to drink the gasoline, not put in a non-existent tank

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  21. this is slashdot, motherfucker! by Thud457 · · Score: 1
    get you trolling proper canonical form:

    No wireless. Less space than a Chevy Nomad. Lame

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  22. number of ski pairs by DrYak · · Score: 1

    When you travel as a group of several skier/snowboarder in the same car, the equippement don't necessarily all fit in the back's ski trap.
    You either have to pushdown one of the back seats (and lose one place for one gang member), or you put all the skis and snowboards on the roof (at a small mileage cost but you still have enough room for the whole team).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:number of ski pairs by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      When you travel as a group of several skier/snowboarder in the same car, the equippement don't necessarily all fit in the back's ski trap.

      If it doesn't fit four pairs, then it's shit. The car fits four people, the bag should fit four pairs of skis. Bikes are harder. You can't get more than two bicycles on the back of a car gracefully. If you manage to get four back there they'll stick out like a shopping cart.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"