Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Transportation AI

Elon Musk Wants Teslas to Automatically Call a Tow Truck When Something Breaks (techcrunch.com) 95

Posted by EditorDavid 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.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Elon Musk Wants Teslas to Automatically Call a Tow Truck When Something Breaks More

Elon Musk Wants Teslas to Automatically Call a Tow Truck When Something Breaks

Comments Filter:

  • Why? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ReneR ( 1057034 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @05:44AM (#58063310)
    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? :-/
    • Of course the tow-truck-company will move 30% towards mr. Elon Musk's company. And the customer that's soo stupid to buy a Tesla will be robbed in a lawful way. Where's consumer protection when someone needs it? There's no need to tell you i'll put Tesla on the unwanted black-list i'm keeping (after 2 years i'm already boycotting + 1000 company's - isn't that a shame i've to write this?).

    • 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

      • "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. "

        The car knows beforehand that it will break down and will come to a stop behind a real estate sign, Marty McFly style.

    • To prevent people going to independent repair shops

      Huh? Since when has a tow-truck ever forced you to go to one and only one repair shop? Normally they ask you where you want to be towed to.

      • but with the auto call it's go to be.

        Trip change for saying no on site = $75
        Your Shop = $75 + $2mile
        Tesla's shop = Free

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Mashiki ( 184564 )

          Delivery to a garage like that has been illegal in north america for the last 20 years. It was banned because of predatory towing companies in big cities. Similar laws were passed to stop tow truck companies from circling like vultures and showing up when someone has an issue. Again that's illegal nearly everywhere, either by state/provincial law or enforced via bylaws.

        • Trip change for saying no on site = $75

          Is this a thing that they do? I mean I've never called a tow truck in the USA, but certainly that isn't a charge in any other country.

          Your Shop = $75 + $2mile

          If I have a nice new car the answer to that equation is $0 + $0mile for the first 50miles all nicely covered while the vehicle is under warranty.

    • "To prevent people going to independent repair shops (like Rich's elecrified-garage)?"

      It's to avoid calling Bubba from the repair-shop around the corner who has a torture-chamber in his basement.

    • Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @11:25AM (#58064118) Homepage Journal

      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.

      • It's worse than that. Telsa's profit is from selling GHG/EV credits* and dropping the warranty reserve on their cars to $2,000. If they have to properly account for shit like that, warranty reserves go up and profit goes away.

        Tesla owners talk about the "Tesla stretch" -- buying a car that's twice as much as you can afford. Well, Tesla has a Tesla stretch too -- it's stretching out payments to suppliers and stretching out time to get parts and stretching out repair times.

        * no disrespect. Tesla sel

    • After spending all my savings on a Tesla, that last thing I need is another $50/mo for a cellular account for my car...

  • Horrible idea (Score:3)

    by sinij ( 911942 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @07:58AM (#58063522)
    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.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by PolygamousRanchKid ( 1290638 )

      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.

      • Or just prevent you from going over the speed limit. Because if we're going to speculate about what should/will happen, this is what it should do.

        • Only after the US makes speed limits on freeways reasonable, not designed for cops to be revenue collection agents. 25-30 mph in populated areas is fine, anything below 70 mph on rural freeways is idiotic.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mspohr ( 589790 )

          I find my Tesla does a much better job of keeping me from speeding than I do on my own. I just set the autopilot for speed limit + 5 MPH and I never have to worry about picking up too much speed on a downhill. Also, it reads speed limit signs and adjusts the speed of the car. This is very useful as the main road around the lake has frequent speed limit changes between 25, 35 and 45 so it always adjusts.

          (The +5MPH adjusts for the fact that all speedometers are calibrated to show a few miles greater than actu

    • It might not be as bad as you think. Tesla would have the ability to choose who to contract with and could as a result bargain for set rates that may be cheaper for the end user. It might be more like AAA because it is a service that Tesla offers alongside their core business.

      This is no guarantee of quality, but it sounds as though you can disable it if you don’t want it, false alarm or not. Even if it’s no better for the consumer than calling a tow truck on their own, it still affords the co

    • Also, good luck getting a tow truck in any kind of weather emergency (like a polar vortex).

      I wasted a week waiting for a tow from my insurance-provided roadside assistance program.

      I finally had to secure service on my own and it wasn't easy to find a place that didn't just drop my call or tell me to call back later.

      I am thinking that towing is a business that runs near or at capacity normally (you probably don't want extra trucks sitting idle) and any kind of weather that causes an increase in volume breaks

      • I wasted a week waiting for a tow from my insurance-provided roadside assistance program.

        Damn. So we can assume you're one of those #VanLife people? I don't see how else you could have survived for a week stuck on the highway.

    • Tow operators are largely predatory businesses that are absolutely against consumer's interests. Only AAA is half-decent,

      1) AAA is not a tow operator. They own zero of their own trucks. They're a tow dispatcher. Except...
      2) AAA is a fucking fraud. Here's how they work. You're a customer for over 20 years, and you have AAA plus which includes a 100 mile tow. They claim to have dispatched a tow when they actually haven't. Then you call them back 20 minutes after the tow truck was supposed to be there according to the texts they send you, and they tell you that they can't find anyone to tow you more than 5 miles, so IF you can f

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by paiute ( 550198 )
        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.

        • My grandparents used to have AAA and it would take hours for a guy to show up. I usually call a local company and they show up within a half hour or so. The one time I needed a tow out of state (before smart phones) I dialed information and asked for a tow company. They showed up quickly and took me to a decent garage. My timing belt had broken and a few hours later I was on my way.

        • 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.

          I've used them successfully for many short tows, and they have literally never been prompt. They have literally always taken longer to get someone to me than claimed, and it has never been less than 30 additional minutes. But in this last event, which was the reason we cancelled our AAA membership, I was stranded on the side of the highway for hours and they never dispatched a truck.

          AAA is a scam, and the way they do business is deliberately fraudulent. Now that they've cancelled most of their maps and you

    • Tow operators are largely predatory businesses that are absolutely against consumer's interests.

      Huh? Can someone clue me in on this? I thought tow trucks were just independent operators and that all new cars are sold with road-side assistance as standard included packages which among other things includes a certain towing distance regardless of which truck picks you up?

      Is this not the case in America?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Mashiki ( 184564 )

        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

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mspohr ( 589790 )

      I have news for you. Every new car today tracks you. Best to get a 30 year old beater if you don't want to be tracked.

      Also, you want to drive an unsafe car?

    • Only AAA is half-decent, and this is because their core business is insurance product that also happen to have in-house tow operation.

      Eh, AAA is inanely expensive compared to Geico -- which isn't in-house, they negotiate whoever's cheapest and least busy at the moment of your call. $40 a year gives me as many free tows, jumpstarts, lockouts etc as my 1998 car can cause me.

    • Tesla Towing and Bail Bonds Inc.

      Will the car call the cops if you try to pick up a hooker? Watch out for the breathalyzer!

  • I have had two instances of needing service for my Tesla Model 3. One was a defective windshield wiper (replaced free), the second, minor damage from road debris (reasonable cost). In both cases a Tesla Service van was dispatched to my home and repairs done on my premises. So I think they "get" service. I think of it as "You don't go to the garage, the garage comes to you", which is typical of Musk's out-of-the-box thinking. Fanboi? You bet!
    • Your car should not have authority to spend your money (hire tow truck) without your consent.

      • Exactly! That's your wife's job!

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

        Clue me in here, do cars get sold in America without free roadside assistance included as a standard up until the warranty expires?

  • A New Musk Business (Score:3)

    by biggaijin ( 126513 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @11:02AM (#58064048)

    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.

  • You want a tow? I can get you a tow, believe me. There are ways Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me.
    Hell, I can get you a tow by 3 o'clock this afternoon... with nail polish.

  • Seriously? I've been changing tires on my family's vehicles since I was 12 (aka more than 4 decades). Why would I need a tow truck to change a tire?

  • 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.

    Why not just WAIT till it comes to a halt, and then have a prompt come up, "Would you like to summon a tow truck? Y/N" I can't fathom why he would waste any time on such a dumb feature... and then make the feature prone to calling a tow truck at the wrong time to save 20 seconds.

Slashdot Top Deals

Avoid strange women and temporary variables.

Close