You may have heard about Teslas equipped with what is styled “Full Self-Driving” capability bricking – that is, going inert – as a result of a computer failure. “Tesla drivers are reporting computer failures after driving off with their brand-new cars over just the first few tens to hundreds of miles,” says the web site Elektrek, which covers EVs and EV-related issues. “Wide-ranging features powered by the computer, like active safety features, cameras, and even GPS, navigation, and range estimations, fail to work.”
Are these Teslas safe to drive if their safety features aren’t working? They are certainly risky to drive, if their range estimation systems aren’t working – because you might not make it where you were headed. You might end up bricked – by the side of the road – and it’s no easy thing to walk down the road to the closest “fast” charger for a jerry can of kilowatt-hours.
And it’s not easy to push 4,500 lbs. of device down the road, either.
But that’s not the really interesting thing – about bricking Teslas. More finely, about Teslas that brick because they’re working properly. More finely than that, Tesla can brick its cars anytime it likes.
Mark the italics.
Legally, the person whose name is on the title is the “owner” of the device. But is he, really, given that what he considers to be “his” device can be controlled remotely at any time by Tesla? The fact that Tesla doesn’t generally exert this control is immaterial.
What is material is the fact that Tesla could.
An example of this was made public a couple of years ago, when Tesla transmitted an update to its devices that were “owned” – so to speak – by people living in the path of a hurricane that was coming. Tesla very nicely increased the range of these devices, so as to allow the “owners” to have a better chance of driving far enough away to escape the hurricane. But Tesla could just as easily decide to be not-so-nice and send an update to reduce the range or not allow the device to be driven, at all. This is a fact, in terms of what’s possible. That it is not yet actual is merely a kind of privilege or sufferance that can be revoked at will.
Perhaps when there is a “climate emergency.”
Keep in mind that Elon Musk is a proponent of taxing “carbon” – which means taxing energy and also implicitly the idea of restricting energy use since using energy (especially electricity generated by utility plants) generates a great deal of “carbon.” How convenient that Elon’s devices are already capable of serving as the vehicle for implementing a carbon tax – or throttling energy (electricity) usage.
Keep in mind, also, that Elon is already watching you. Noting – and recording – your movements if you “own” (or even just drive) one of Tesla’s devices. This fact – there’s another one! – came to light in the wake of the very strange detonation of a Cybertruck device in front of the Trump International Hotel in La Vegas. The device – which is itself incendiary, like all devices – was apparently packed with incendiary devices such as bottle rockets and pipe bombs.
But that is not what is interesting.
Far more interesting was the public reveal of the pre-detonation tracking of the device’s peregrinations. It was as if the device left a trail of breadcrumbs from its starting point to its ending point in front of Trump’s hotel. Except it was not “as if.”
It was.
The device recorded and probably transmitted in real-time data about its location and movements to the Tesla hive mind. It’s not technically called that, of course. But it gets the point across. Tesla is not merely a seller of devices. It is an aggregator of data – about you and your travels, if you “own” or just drive a device. The Cybertruck device that blew up in front of Trump’s hotel was not “owned’ by Matthew Livelsberger – the man who is said to have rented the device that was detonated in front of Trump’s hotel in Vegas. But it is a distinction without a difference.
“Law enforcement able to confirm (Livelsberger’s) identity in part due to Tesla surveillance along his route,” noted a news report about the attack.
“I have to thank Elon Musk specifically,” said Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. “He gave us quite a bit of additional information.”
Italics added.
Think about that the next time you rent a device – or maybe think of doing that. Not because you plan on detonating the device but because you might drive it faster than the speed limit, fail to stop completely before proceeding at a Stop sign or execute a lane change without signaling first. The device knows – and so does its owner, which isn’t really you. Even if you’re making payments on the thing rather than just renting it for the weekend.
It amounts to the same thing.
That thing being you are not really in control of the device, except to the extent that Tesla allows. Tesla also knows exactly how you use its device, too. And where and when. It’s not just Teslas, either. It’s all new vehicles – which might as well be devices.
It is a kind of virtual reality “ownership” – like driving a car in a video game. You may be behind the wheel. But are you actually in control?
It kind of makes you think of blowing something up, doesn’t it?
. . .
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I wouldn’t be surprised if Tesla is going the direction of 1 of the goals outlined in that creepy video from the World Economic Forum (WEF) several years ago, where we wouldn’t OWN anything but instead RENT whatever we wanted. Of course, given what we’ve come to learn about these sociopaths the past few years, whatever we rented would likely gather all sorts of data on us too that technocrats & sociopaths in government would LOVE to use to control people.
“Wide-ranging features powered by the computer, like active safety features, cameras, and even GPS, navigation, and range estimations, fail to work.” — quoted by Eric
In the predominantly electromechanical vehicles of the 20th century, diversity was a strength. With no central computer controlling everything, a software glitch couldn’t disable multiple independent systems. That’s resilient design. It’s how cars should be designed for reliability.
The features listed in the quote above don’t even exist in my vintage vehicles. Last week I had to replace the struts, power steering pump, and part of the exhaust in my first-gen RAV4 — all mechanical stuff. No nanny chip ‘proactively’ told me so. These failures were diagnosed by getting under the car on a lift and, you know, looking around.
We don’t need no stinkin’ chips.
Hi im,
You raise an excellent – and important – point. My truck’s interior is partially disassembled. The glovebox and all the ductwork behind it are out. Much of the center console is out, too – and the connections for a number of accessories disconnected. Yet the truck is perfectly drivable (assuming you don’t mind driving without heat). In a new vehicle, removal/disconnection of major systems probably disables the vehicle; or (rather) the vehicle must be disabled in order to remove/disconnect major systems.
My 2020 Audi Q3’s battery died recently, but I couldn’t replace it just anywhere, it needed to be replaced by Audi or a service garage with the proper computer device to reset the car. So not only did I have to purchase an expensive battery, but I needed a garage to install it at an additional cost.
Oh and it’s dumb MMI system won’t let me save separate seat and mirror settings for my wife and I unless we sign-up for Audi account…
All that data collected is used to create a “profile” about you. This profile is then sold to 3rd parties, ostensibly advertising agencies, who then claim to use that profile to target advertising you might be interested in. After all, why should the advertiser waste money showing ads for their product if the viewer isn’t going to ever use or need it?
That’s the idea at least. The reality is that the only people creating ads for the large platforms are pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and very well funded startups. So in my YouTube feed I get ads promoting various “cures” for disorders I don’t have (and almost no one has), flash in the pan products (lately some company called Factor that sends you TV dinners), and adult diapers. I may be getting older, but I can cook a meal and make my way to the toilet. I don’t own a pet yet I get dog food ads. I was getting ads for Mazda EVs but that’s trailed off lately. Mazda must be out of money.
Meanwhile, I continue to search for a nice affordable travel trailer. I watch lots of videos about camping and RV life. How many ads for RVs do I see? I’ve never seen one, at least not one that I didn’t search for.
The ad model doesn’t work. Probably never did, but at least back in the old days you could clip coupons from the Sunday inserts. Now all that “valuable” data that’s been collected just shows that 99.999% of the population is pretty boring and stuck in their ways. The 0.0001% of the “bad dog” population can have their lives rewound and played back after the fact, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any advantage there either. OK so they know the guy drove from CO Springs to Vegas. So what? He could have flown to LV and rented a car too. It would have been more of a struggle, but he could have ridden a bicycle too. The method doesn’t matter, it’s the outcome.
The Cybertruck device used in the Vegas incident was also leased through Turo, just like the Ford device used in the New Orleans attack, another fascinating piece of the puzzle which is a very disturbing glimpse into the future.
I’ve heard stories about Turo brochures being presented in the F&I room equivalent at Tesla delivery center here in Austin.
Can’t afford the vehicle? Lease it out on weekends to like minded Show Ya types. While you’re at it, why not buy/lease a “flock” (Elon’s word) of devices and watch the revenue roll in.
BTW, Elon may not have “dealerships”, but he does have F&I rooms … and his own insurance plan for your flock.
Wonder why Tesla even has dealers? They’d be ahead just to make it a rental service, albeit an expensive one, outright.
OT: I concede my vocabulary is limited, but “peregrinations”? Damn that’s a new one for me!
Elon has “delivery centers” not dealers.
You don’t haggle over the price of the vehicle, but the other negative aspect of the traditional car buying experience, dealing with the F&I weasel’s picthes, still happens at the centers.
Since when does a CEO come out and almost instantly provide product details to law enforcement for their investigation? And how do the cops know if any of this data he provides is true?
I think I know, and it’s because the last thing he wants is a subpoena.
My understanding is that he settles all the FSD (and other product flaw) fatality lawsuits out of court because Tesla doesn’t want them to go to discovery.
This column seems to be one of very few that question Musk’s motives.
His entire act is tiring and nauseating.
All big companies have language in their EULAs that require users to go through arbitration instead of courts. I’m pretty sure that’s been tested over the years too. You want to use MS Paint? You must agree to the EULA. If there’s a bug discovered that lets the baddies gain Administrator rights to your machine? If you want that check (assuming you can prove damages), you’d better not say anything to the press.
The alternative is going FOSS but that’s got no liability at all. It tends to be better only because there’s 0 trust in the community. Unfortunately the majority of FOSS users (myself included) don’t have the programming chops to understand the codes, so I have to trust that someone else has done the analysis.
Car crash-prevention sensors don’t see high-vis clothing
This technology is defective and will kill people….safe and effective….
IIHS study finds some cars with automatic braking didn’t even slow when approaching dummies wearing reflective strips
A remarkable study saw the IIHS test three cars: a Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, and Subaru Forester, all 2023 models and fitted with pedestrian automatic emergency braking systems (AEB).
https://driving.ca/auto-news/awards-surveys/car-crash-prevention-sensors-might-not-see-high-vis-clothing
The Lost Wages attack makes you wonder about the quality of training the Special Forces undergo, heaping random flammable objects into a Cybertruck and setting it on fire looks more like a false flag event show than a real attack.
Either way after two such “events” I believe we should be banning these super heavy and flammable assault vehicles.