Tesla warns Model S hacks could injure drivers and its brand

[dalekphalm]

What!? So I can't overclock my cat? /s

@rmac52

SHIT, I better reset her BIOS to defaults...

[FakezZ]

@rmac52

SHIT, I better reset her BIOS to defaults...

Damn I updated it and everything broke.. Now my cat is barking... Thanks Obama.

[Thony]

The logo is ugly as fuck... I hope you can mod that out...

Ugly to you, good looking to me

[Snadzies]

I understand where they are coming from but once the car is in my hands it is mine to do what I want so long as it is with in the confines of the law.

[Lord Baal]

What!? So I can't overclock my cat? /s

Huh but if I can't overclock my cat how's she meant to keep up with my overclocked lizard... Or escape my neighbours overclocked liquid cooled dogs?

 

I meant that normal people shouldn't be able to modify their cars like their Computers

Again I hope you mean Tesla only(in Australia we already have laws in place to limit modifications pretty heavily on all cars) but you're still going to run into problems with how do they know you're a normal person unless you have to apply for some kind of approval from Tesla which right away would limit the amount of locations able to repair or service the vehicle, Even if it's free I don't see even a single mechanic in my area of Australia applying for it until they've had a few customers ask if they're able to then you also have to potentially have them come to your home to fix some minor issues or have your car towed to them all costing you extra $ and well I'd hate to be one of their first customers in the area and have a problem because you'd be shit out of luck and stuck with a broken car until a few others in the area bought and broke them.

It's not a horrible Idea it's just one too easy to exploit.

[Memphaestus]

Oh so you mean the computer does exactly what the ESC in a modern electric remote controlled car does. Gee wiz I've been building those from scratch since I was 10 I don't understand how that technology works at all must be some kind of magic. Granted the average idiot may not but the average idiot can cause all sorts of issues in a modern computer controlled petrol/gas car.

I don't know if you're trolling or not. The software in a Tesla is going to be a tiny bit more complicated than an RC ESC. For one, it is probably a proprietary programming language that you wouldn't even understand how to start to decode. I mean look at how long it takes car tune programing companies to crack a regular Chevy ECM, and even then they are usually buggy for the first year. Tons of people buy the tuning software, tweak their timing and mixture, and then take immediately out on the street, and a couple months later they burn up some rings.

Imagine on the Tesla someone forgetting a decimal or putting one digit where it isn't supposed to be. Yeah that is just asking for trouble. I totally don't blame Tesla for wanting to protect themselves.

[Lord Baal]

I don't know if you're trolling or not. The software in a Tesla is going to be a tiny bit more complicated than an RC ESC. For one, it is probably a proprietary programming language that you wouldn't even understand how to start to decode. I mean look at how long it takes car tune programing companies to crack a regular Chevy ECM, and even then they are usually buggy for the first year. Tons of people buy the tuning software, tweak their timing and mixture, and then take immediately out on the street, and a couple months later they burn up some rings.

Imagine on the Tesla someone forgetting a decimal or putting one digit where it isn't supposed to be. Yeah that is just asking for trouble. I totally don't blame Tesla for wanting to protect themselves.

Sure it maybe mildly more complicated then a RC ESC but its doing the exact same thing thus making it much easier to "Tune" then a regular ECU it's much easier to regulated voltage and amps then it is fuel mixture and timing. The motor is also much simpler then a modern fuel injected engine with one single moving part.  I think you're drastically over estimating the complexity of it this is far from a new technology in fact the only thing that's made it more viable now then it previously was is the battery tech. Any hybrid car would be more complicated then a electric only car and we do just fine with those we've also built a electric motorbike able to do 300kmph.  I have no problem with them providing a warning the same as all manufacturers do.

 

[Skrizzles]

Meh...I just saw one - for sheer sexiness I'd rather  a Jag.

[spartaman64]

This isn't a new thing. All cat companies want nothing to do with you modifying there cars. If you change the settings in the computer for a Toyota good luck getting any warranty coverage if somthing goes wrong.

cat companies? i guess modding your car is every dangerous for your cat on drives to the vet

[spartaman64]

What!? So I can't overclock my cat? /s

i dont think my cat needs overclocking she can run from the first floor to the third in 1.2 seconds

[euniqe]

Fair enough. 

 

But you can't change the fucking seat position? What piece of shit is this? It's not a sports car, the centre of gravity is not really that important and i'm sorry - but a big cushion of air is still a big cushion of air. No matter which angle you hit it, the airbag is always going to "work". Manufacturers have been doing this with five-star cars for years and suddenly it's dangerous? What a load of rubbish. They just wanted an "example".

[Real_PhillBert]

This is no different from other car companies. No one wants the customers messing with their designs.

 

The actual drive train is much simpler in a car like Tesla than that of a comparable internal combustion powered car, just different in a way that is more dangerous to the unfamiliar. 

 

The average auto shop has years of experience with internal combustion engines, they know what the dangerous bits are and (generally) how to keep things together. However the general populous is much less educated about electric motors, batteries and motor controllers. Therefor your local auto shop has a much higher chance of turning your new Tesla into a 4000lb garage decoration.

[Lord Baal]

Fair enough. 

 

But you can't change the fucking seat position? What piece of shit is this? It's not a sports car, the centre of gravity is not really that important and i'm sorry - but a big cushion of air is still a big cushion of air. No matter which angle you hit it, the airbag is always going to "work". Manufacturers have been doing this with five-star cars for years and suddenly it's dangerous? What a load of rubbish. They just wanted an "example".

Yep not to mention say a short guy modifying his seating position to be a little higher would be no different to a taller man driving the car in the first place as far as the air bags concerned.  

[popman]

Yep not to mention say a short guy modifying his seating position to be a little higher would be no different to a taller man driving the car in the first place as far as the air bags concerned.  

 

If changing the seating position involved taking the sear out or messing with how it's attached to the floor it may have made the car less safe.

Car seats have weaker welds at the rear, so that they will break under incredibly heavy deceleration, which will help in slowing you down more gradually.

 

 

That said, if tesla is making a serious effort to stop people from modifying their own cars, I don't think I'd ever buy one.

[Lord Baal]

If changing the seating position involved taking the sear out or messing with how it's attached to the floor it may have made the car less safe.

Car seats have weaker welds at the rear, so that they will break under incredibly heavy deceleration, which will help in slowing you down more gradually.

 

 

That said, if tesla is making a serious effort to stop people from modifying their own cars, I don't think I'd ever buy one.

Well if it involved removing the seats one would think the easiest way to alter the seating position would be to replace the seats which is perfectly legal and for the most part safe in any car so long as you use correctly built seats(Australia has a higher safety standard then most places so seats sold here legally probably meet a higher standard then those used by Tesla) . I agree entirely with your last line. 

[wpirobotbuilder]

I understand where they are coming from but once the car is in my hands it is mine to do what I want so long as it is with in the confines of the law.

 

Under most laws (in the US at least) you are not allowed to make modifications to the engine, frame/suspension, or lighting except in some very specific circumstances (like lowering/raising your car a little, or changing out the headlights). You're mostly limited to aesthetic modifications if you want your car to be street-legal, which you could probably do with the Tesla without worrying.

 

In addition, modification of the car means all the federal safety testing that was done to qualify the car isn't valid anymore. Rest assured, some law will be brought up if the issue of car tweaking becomes a prominent one.

[MRL]

Fair enough. 

 

But you can't change the fucking seat position? What piece of shit is this? It's not a sports car, the centre of gravity is not really that important and i'm sorry - but a big cushion of air is still a big cushion of air. No matter which angle you hit it, the airbag is always going to "work". Manufacturers have been doing this with five-star cars for years and suddenly it's dangerous? What a load of rubbish. They just wanted an "example".

 

Sure the airbag still explode but the position of the airbag to guarantee you not hitting the steering wheel was tested and optimized with the bundled seat. You adjust the seat to lower or higher seating height than the original range will remove that guarantee and if in an accident you happen to die because you knock the steering wheel you can't blame Tesla for it not working. As far as I can remember, even 1-star car manufacturer Proton (if you happen to know one, I won't blame you if you don't know) even raise this concern on the effectiveness of the airbag once you modify the seat. So, yeah... adjusting seat parameters does change the airbag effectiveness.

 

but if you choose not to believe what I said, go ahead... I would say that's the reason why Tesla wants to lock down their car from unauthorized mods. Not because they will guarantee you to be dead, but they don't want to be blamed in case if you dieded...

[popman]

-Snip-

I agree entirely with your last line. 

 

I also remember a few months ago when tesla pushed out an update over the air. (I assume the cars have GSM radios in them, like I've seen in some in-dash GPS solutions)

It lowered the ride height of the car to make it more stable and less prone to crashing.

 

My issue with this is that nobody got a choice in the matter, and I have no idea how these updates are secured. I'm really hoping someone's trying to break the security right now too, because that would make the threat model public, if it's not done by someone maliciously.

 

So, you can either have one of the best defcon talks of all time, or crash every tesla car in an 11 mile radius.