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Elon Musk Wants Teslas to Automatically Call a Tow Truck When Something Breaks (techcrunch.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the self-dialing-cars dept.

An anonymous reader quotes TechCrunch: In September of last year, Elon Musk promised to make fixing service times a priority. On an earnings call, he outlined two ways they're working on it: more spare parts at service centers, and giving Tesla cars the ability to automatically get the process started by calling a tow truck as soon as it detects an issue. Said Elon on the call:

The next thing we want to add is if a car detects something wrong -- like a flat tire or a drive unit failure -- that before the car has even come to a halt, there's a tow truck and service loaner on the way.

False alarm? Don't want a tow truck to show up? You'll be able to cancel it through the in-dash display.
Musk didn't provide a time frame for when this feature would become available.

10 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by ReneR · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To prevent people going to independent repair shops (like Rich's elecrified-garage)? Also how often does this really happen. This like never happened with the 6 or so Volkswagen of my parents (I'm not into cars). Or are Tesla's simply so unreliable? :-/

    1. Re:Why? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2

      Also how often does this really happen.

      A broken down Tesla on the side of the road is bad publicity. It's better to tow it away and out of sight as quickly as possible.

      Tesla gets more scrutiny than other car brands. A broken down Ford on the side of the road? Not news: Fix Or Repair Daily. A broken down Tesla on the side of the road? Big news!

      Tesla could expand this "E.T. phone home" feature. If the car detects an accident collision, it can call a sleazy lawyer. If there's no more coke on the dashboard, it can call your drug dealer. If there hasn't been anyone matching your sexual preference sitting in the passenger's seat for a while, it can call your "escort agency".

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    2. Re:Why? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Or are Tesla's simply so unreliable?

      Yes. Especially the older ones, but even the new Model 3 isn't that great and is causing massive delays at service centres.

      A guy in Norway recently booked his X in for 200k km service. It's already had IIRC two new drive units, a new battery and many, many other things fixed on it. First there was a 3 month wait to get a service done. Then they took it in but had no loaners, and a month later started work on it. I don't think he has it back yet.

      This is causing knock-on problems for Tesla. They stopped selling certified pre-owned (CPO) cars and now just sell used cars. Don't even clean them, just hand them to you in whatever state the previous owner left them with a promise to fix any mechanical problems that arise, because they don't have the service capacity to fix all the stuff wrong with them or even hoover them out.

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  2. Horrible idea by sinij · · Score: 2

    Tow operators are largely predatory businesses that are absolutely against consumer's interests. Only AAA is half-decent, and this is because their core business is insurance product that also happen to have in-house tow operation.

    I really like the idea of Tesla, but lack of privacy and control over platform is why I would never buy one. I would be very unhappy if my car decided it may be unsafe to drive, pull over on its own, and call tow operator.

    1. Re:Horrible idea by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2, Informative

      I would be very unhappy if my car decided it may be unsafe to drive, pull over on its own, and call tow operator.

      How about if your car decided that you are too drunk to drive, pulled over, and called the police . . . ?

      Hmmm . . . also . . . your Tesla knows exactly where you are driving, and the speed limit on that road. If Tesla built in an on-board printer, it could print out speeding tickets for you.

      Or just send an SMS to the local or state police.

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    2. Re:Horrible idea by paiute · · Score: 2

      Or there are the other anecdotes, such as that we have been with AAA for over 30 years, had multiple tows/dead batteries, and never had anything but prompt and reliable service.

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    3. Re:Horrible idea by Mashiki · · Score: 2

      No that's how they are in north america. There were a lot of laws passed back in the early 00's that changed how tow drivers were allowed to operate, such as "vulturing" on a vehicle needed in a tow, or following police/EMS on the highway to an accident. In general, tow companies are independents. If they want to become part of an association they pay into it by the month by the number of vehicles they have.

      So, you own a fleet of 20 tow trucks you usually pay $1k/month per truck for example. The benefit to this system is that there's thousands of independent fleets and CAA/AAA uses the size to cut discounts on fuel/maintenance/safety inspection costs/insurance rates/etc. Since you're on AAA/CAA's priority list, they dispatch the tow as a first pick. The payout from the tow is more then it would cost to dispatch a truck if you simply called on your own. Basically this allows new guys to cut their teeth into the business without the high startup costs too. Since a tow truck will run you around $100k+permits. Around here it's $138+first 20km free for a tow. In the end they point more business to you, so they cover the initial tow cost and if the customer wants a tow outside the free range the tow company keeps the extra. In some cases where there are multiple independents, the system is fully randomized based on where the call is made from.

      As for free coverage under warranty service that comes with new vehicles and such. Usually the automaker buys their service directly from CAA/AAA/etc, or in big cities will cut a preferential rate with the largest tow company. For transport trucks and whatnot, since the outlay for one of those tow trucks is $400k-$1.2m/pop they're owned by either a group of shops, or a fleet shop(i.e. peterbuilt/kensworth/etc dealership), a independent shop that operates on a fleet contract/etc. In the case where a bunch of small independent shops(tire/engine/transmission/trailer/etc) have bought in for one of those trucks, they also each get a cut of the service call, usually 5-10%.

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  3. Re:Tesla Service - Great! by currently_awake · · Score: 2

    Your car should not have authority to spend your money (hire tow truck) without your consent.

  4. Re:Tesla Service - Great! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

    Exactly! That's your wife's job!

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  5. A New Musk Business by biggaijin · · Score: 2

    This will (1) incapacitate the car when something goes wrong, and (2) call TeslaTow(r), the approved repair center for all Tesla automobiles. TeslaTow, conveniently enough, will also be owned by Musk. The Right to Repair people should be alerted about this.