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Elon Musk Pledges To End "Range Anxiety" For Tesla Model S

Posted by Soulskill on from the update-will-burn-out-your-amygdala-with-lasers dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Elon Musk has used his Twitter account to announce a press conference on Thursday which he claims will end "range anxiety" for Tesla's Model S sedan. Whatever change they're making will be implemented through an over-the-air software update to the cars, affecting the entire fleet. Range anxiety is the term for a fear that your vehicle won't have enough fuel/charge to reach its destination. It's a common reason for people to avoid buying electric cars, given the much smaller infrastructure build-out compared to gas stations. If Tesla is improving the Model S's range through a software update, then it likely involves optimizations to the battery and to the ways in which power is used. Tesla has also talked about developing a feature called "torque sleep," which puts one of the drive units to sleep while not needed. They say it can wake up and begin delivering torque again "so fast that the driver can't perceive it."

4 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Better spin up the FTL drive, just in case by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    an over-the-air software update [...] affecting the entire fleet

    Yeah. That worked really well for the twelve colonies in Battlestar Galactica.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  2. Range Anxiety Anxiety by Zobeid · · Score: 5, Funny

    First of all, "Range Anxiety" is a registered trademark of General Motors. I hope Elon doesn't get in trouble for using it without GM's permission!

    Most people who actually own electric cars experience very little range anxiety. Far more common is "range anxiety anxiety": the fear that if you got an electric car, you might experience range anxiety.

    Also prevalent among car makers is "range anxiety anxiety anxiety": the fear that, if you made an electric car, range anxiety anxiety might prevent people from buying it.

    Remember folks, we have nothing to fear but. . . fear itself!

  3. Torque sleep? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Isn't "torque sleep" a manoeuvre for stealing the covers?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  4. Re:Or, it could be unrelated to actually extending by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Knight Rider : the car automatically drives up a ramp into the back of the truck where an attractive brunette personally sees to your charging needs while the truck continues toward your destination.

    Gay Porno : The attractive brunette is David Hasselhoff.