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Tesla remotely extends the range of some cars to help with Irma
As Floridians in the path of Hurricane Irma rushed to evacuate last week, Tesla pushed out a software update that made it a bit easier for certain Model S and Model X owners to get out of the state.
Tesla sometimes sells cars with more hardware battery capacity than is initially available for use by customers, offering the additional capacity as a subsequent software update. For example, Tesla has sold Model S cars rated 60D—the 60 stands for 60kWh of energy storage—that actually have 75kWh batteries. Owners of these vehicles can pay Tesla $9,000 to unlock the extra 15kWh of storage capacity.
But last week, Tesla decided to temporarily make this extra capacity available even to Floridians who hadn't paid for the upgrade to ensure they had enough range to get out of Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed the change to Electrek. The extra 15kWh should give the vehicles an additional 30 to 40 miles of range.
Pay to unlock the full potential of your battery.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Thursday September 14 2017, @11:55AM
Absolutely.
1. There's more to life than simplicity. I am not afraid to learn stuff, like how to open the case or what's compatible with what.
2. Physical memory can be redeployed in the future as circumstances change... because it's mine.
3. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread and a thousand other places, when the owner (not you) of the device can change its capacity through software, the owner (not you) can also take away functionality capriciously or maliciously. You should not be giving that kind of power to the owners (not you) of your life for a spoonful of convenience.