Just got my Model S on Friday and it has exceeded all expectations. IMHO, the center console is at least as revolutionary as the fact that it is electric.
The software is world class and feels like it was written by Apple. In fact, it seems eerily similar to how Apple launching the iPhone reset the bar for the "right" way to do smart phone UI. I wonder if Tesla has considered licensing the center console software to other companies.
I almost bought one but it's really more car than we need - almost too wide for our San Francisco garage. Instead I bought $20K of their stock and am waiting for the smaller sedan.
I was shocked to learn the extent of shorting Tesla stock -- Yahoo Finance reports 52% of float (as of Jan 15 2013). That's more than Groupon and Overstock! I suppose it could give the stock some pop if they can pull it off, as those shorts will scramble to cover.
Previously, car controls were designed so that you could find them "by feel" and not take one's eyes off the road. The radio volume and A/C knobs are the prime examples. With a touch screen, this is no longer possible. The benefit of a screen is the reconfigurabilty, but the curse is that the screen can be in any number of different modes, requiring the driver to take time to rescan the screen and reorient. For this reason I expect Tesla's design is less safe. It could be worse, of course--the use of the screen isn't required for more critical functions, like turn signals.
It seems that some of these problems could be solved through voice commands, which the Model S supposedly has. I'm not familiar with the functionality, though.
Congrats on your purchase. By all accounts the Model S seems worthy of the accolades it's receiving.
What I do find interesting, is the apparent failure of the wisdom of crowds in this specific instance. While it has proven to be a useful construct in certain contexts, it's by no means a universal truism.
Searching for Tesla articles circa 2007/2008, one notices a stark contrast. The voice of the majority, as evidenced in the comments, echoes a pessimistic outlook with going so far as to strongly assert arrogance/foolishness on Musk's part.
It's almost too easy to praise a success, looking backwards through time.
I think it's more a matter of most people writing about the Tesla in 2009 were automotive enthusiasts. They could not conceive of somebody wanting something that did not appeal to them, and concentrated only on the negative. This is the foolishness of enthusiasts. The wisdom of crowds was revealed by the purchasers.
"Wisdom of the crowds" is a very specific phenomenon. It specifically depends on people not being able to talk to each other, as one of the four requirements, which is not true in this case. (Another requirement is that it be quantitative.)
I agree with this. If the wisdom of the crowds was always a perfect voice, no stock would ever be mispriced. The stock market is just the wisdom of the crowds where you make money by being right.
Is the center console software and/or hardware easily upgradable? A smartphone has a useable life of a couple years before either being unsupported (no more software updates) or replaced by a new model. An automobile is usually built to last much longer.
They probably won't license it out to other manufacturers, considering it's such a competitive advantage.
The car has permanent cell connection (and WiFi, but thats still lacking software support). Theres even an API [0] you can talk to and have it give you GPS coordinates or turn on the climate control.
It seems really silly to me that all manufacturers don't do this. If amazon can do it on a $189 kindle and google can do it on a $300 laptop, surely ford or Hyundai could do it on a $15000 car. There's no reason a data link should be a premium feature.
The Chevy Volt has a data link and remote apps for IOS and Android. There's a web API that allows sites like Volt Stats to download from thousands of cars. The Chevy is not a $15000 car, but the prices are dropping. The Nissan Leaf can be bought for under $20k after tax rebates in California.
Definitely, but this is not completely new territory. Mercedes can remotely update these days as well. Not sure about the other telematic systems, but it's all definitely going this way.
It's probably got an infinitesimal surface area. At least, it better. More importantly, the servers Tesla uses to do the updating better be equally secure.
Pretty much any car in the same class of the Tesla Model S has remote tracking. It competes against Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc. All provide similar features.
I'd bet that Tesla licensing their center console to other car companies is about as likely as Samsung being able to make iOS devices would have been in 2010.
Arguably, licensing that while not licensing look-and-feel elements would be a smart strategy. Licensing the under-the-hood tech gets them money to fund the really expensive and groundbreaking R&D, while keeping the UI out of competitor's hands lets them effectively differentiate.
I have it in the back of my mind that in fact some of Tesla's Software Engineers are from Apple previously.
A simple Google search isn't returning anything backing that up unfortunately so take it with a grain of salt for now. I think I remember it from a Model S release video I once watched on YouTube which means I can't look it up right now. If I remember when I get home I'll try to dig it up and link it.
I remember hearing that Joe Nuxoll[1] (from the Java Posse[2] podcast, and ex-Apple employee[3]) did start working at Tesla, about near about the time I stopped listening (about a year ago?)
Though I'm not sure what position he had here, but it does line up with your claim.
The software is world class and feels like it was written by Apple. In fact, it seems eerily similar to how Apple launching the iPhone reset the bar for the "right" way to do smart phone UI. I wonder if Tesla has considered licensing the center console software to other companies.