26 Dec 2021 | Tesla’s Mega Holiday Software Update

Episode 1321,   Dec 26, 2021, 01:00 AM

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Today’s big EV stories:
• Tesla stops drivers playing video games while driving
• Tesla Feature Lets You Turn Your Car Into a Light Show Machine
• Tesla's holiday update includes design-your-own Light Show open to all
• Tesla lets drivers turn their cars into megaphones with new software update
• Tesla's Grant Application Might Spark Non-Tesla Supercharger Pilot In Texas
• Tesla Giga Shanghai Remains an Export Hub, Striking $422M Deal with Hy
• BMW iX and i4 get official EPA ratings
• Volkswagen Teases ID. Buzz and Says That It's Really Close to Public Roads
• Buick Trademarks The Electra Name, Does It Hint At Upcoming Electric Crossover?
• Ford sells direct-to-consumer in China, delivers first Mustang Mach-E

Show #1321

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 26th December. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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TESLA STOPS DRIVERS PLAYING VIDEO GAMES WHILE DRIVING

- Under pressure from US auto safety regulators, Tesla has agreed to stop allowing video games to be played on center touch screens while its vehicles are moving.

- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the company will send out a software update over the internet so the function called “Passenger Play” will be locked and won’t work while vehicles are in motion.

- The move comes one day after the agency announced it would open a formal investigation into distracted driving concerns about Tesla’s video games, some of which could be played while cars are being driven.


TESLA PULLS GAMES ON MOVING CAR SCREENS AFTER U.S. SAFETY PROBE

- "The NHTSA constantly assesses how manufacturers identify and safeguard against distraction hazards that may arise due to faults, misuse, or intended use of convenience technologies, including infotainment screens," the agency said.

- A driver's distraction - likely from a phone game application - was one of the causes of a fatal crash of a Tesla car operating in Autopilot in California in 2018, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.


TESLA TO HALT GAMES ON INFOTAINMENT SCREENS IN MOVING CARS

- The agency says its investigation of Tesla’s feature will continue even with the update. It was not clear whether NHTSA would require Tesla to do a formal recall with the update. In the past the agency has asked Tesla why it should not be required to do recalls with safety-related software updates.

- NHTSA already is investigating why Tesla’s “Autopilot” partially automated driving system keeps crashing into stopped emergency vehicles. It’s also looking into the performance of Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software after getting a complaint that it nearly caused a crash.


TESLA DISABLES GAMING WHILE DRIVING FEATURE

- When it opened its inquiry, the NHTSA noted that the feature "may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash".Its guidelines state that in-car devices have to be disengaged so that they cannot be used by the driver "to perform inherently distracting secondary tasks while driving".This month, it reported that 3,142 road deaths in 2019 were attributed to distracted drivers.


TESLA FEATURE LETS YOU TURN YOUR CAR INTO A LIGHT SHOW MACHINE

- Here comes Tesla with the gift you never knew you wanted (or don’t really want but hey, you know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth). Last Christmas, it gave its cars the ability to fart and bleat like goats. Apparently feeling more generous this year, Tesla decided that everyone needed a feature to turn their cars into light show machines.

- As part of its latest holiday update released on Christmas Eve, Tesla debuted “Tesla Light Show,” which allows users to create their own light shows to any music of their choice. To create a light show, which can last up to five minutes, users must download xLights, a free open-source software. After finishing their light show in xLights, users can put it on a USB and upload it to their car.

- Light Show works with 2021 Tesla Model S and Model X cars as well as any Model 3 or Model Y. However, you don’t have to own a Tesla car to use the light show feature or xLights, the company explained, although it didn’t specify what other vehicles would be able to take advantage of the feature.


TESLA'S HOLIDAY UPDATE INCLUDES DESIGN-YOUR-OWN LIGHT SHOW OPEN TO ALL

- (Note: It's worth pointing out that the idea of an automaker actively encouraging users to upload a personalized version of any software to their vehicles is unusual. Even within XLights' presumably limited parameters, most car companies' cybersecurity teams would frown upon the idea of opening up any part of their vehicle's electronic architecture to outside programming. It's tempting to view this as a sign of Tesla's confidence in the hack-resistance of its software, but even if you don't, it's further proof that Tesla marches to the beat of its own drummer.


TESLA LETS DRIVERS TURN THEIR CARS INTO MEGAPHONES WITH NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE

- Tesla has released a new software update that lets drivers use their Tesla vehicles as actual megaphones to communicate with their surroundings – don’t be shocked if people start talking to you through their Tesla on the road.

- Now with this year’s update, the automaker is updating the ‘Boombox’ feature to add a ‘megaphone’ option that lets drivers literally use the feature as if it’s a megaphone.

- The feature builds on Tesla also releasing remote live view via Sentry Mode that lets you broadcast your voice to the car using the Tesla mobile app.

- In all seriousness, it’s pretty amazing how Tesla managed to take a mandated feature that was forced on them by regulators and something that many Tesla owners were upset about, and then turned it into a feature that people are actually excited to try.


TESLA'S GRANT APPLICATION MIGHT SPARK NON-TESLA SUPERCHARGER PILOT IN TEXAS


TESLA GIGA SHANGHAI REMAINS AN EXPORT HUB, STRIKING $422M DEAL WITH HY


BMW IX AND I4 GET OFFICIAL EPA RATINGS


VOLKSWAGEN TEASES ID. BUZZ AND SAYS THAT IT'S REALLY CLOSE TO PUBLIC ROADS


BUICK TRADEMARKS THE ELECTRA NAME, DOES IT HINT AT UPCOMING ELECTRIC CROSSOVER?


FORD SELLS DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER IN CHINA, DELIVERS FIRST MUSTANG MACH-E


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