"Tesla triggers upgrade for cars in Irma's path"
This article is about a software update being offered by Tesla to car owners living in southern Florida trying to escape the hurricane. This update would allow their Tesla vehicle to drive an extra 40 miles before needing a recharge. This is great because Tesla is trying to help out their customers and people in general get to safety and away from Hurricane Irma. However, it is highlights an interesting point of, why wasn't Tesla always giving people the maximum driving range capability?
The answer lies in their ability and want for making more money. They are able to use software to restrict the batteries' range. They can sell this less-efficient battery at cheaper price point. With a cheaper price, they can increase their quantity demanded. Whenever they get a high paying customer, they can offer that customer the full range battery package at a premium. And make a little extra money.
Tesla is fully inclined to do what they want in terms of pricing and functionality. I think some customers may be ticked off if they now know that their battery isn't lasting to its fullest capability. Tesla can be charged at home or at one of many supercharging stations positioned in certain states across the country. Their battery is the car's fuel source. The ability to increase the batteries' range will be the driving goal of Tesla and other car manufacturers going into the future. It will be interesting to follow this story and see what it leads to.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/10/technology/tesla-battery-irma-florida-evacuation/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
I remember reading a couple of months ago that Tesla was working on making a more affordable mid size car that would be more enticing to the middle class. Tesla stock has also been rapidly growing over the past year and a half. Their recent success has led to great customer loyalty and support for Tesla. Now that it comes out that the customers weren't getting the best value they could have received for their money could make some people mad. I don't know how much their stock could be effected but to some people this lack of transparency may make them angry.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very relevant topic as the world is constantly looking for more energy efficient vehicles. One thing that could deter people from purchasing a Tesla, is the lack of charging stations throughout the country. As people push for the battery operated cars, it is not as easy as it sounds. Our world relies on fossil fuels as our source of energy. Many would argue that owning a battery operated car is more difficult than a car that runs on oil. And that it is more convenient to drive a car that uses fossil fuel because of the number of gas stations.
ReplyDeleteIf Tesla continues to restrict miles on cars why would an individual be interested in owning a Tesla?
Just like you mentioned it would be interesting to follow the story and see how it goes. The non-renewable energy which is the oil would eventually come to its depletion and new energy sources are drawing more attention from people. The revelation of the control of battery capacity of Tesla would be rather disconcerting for some people who do not like "secrets" but I think at least the company is being helpful in terms of reducing casualties due to the natural disaster that is going on in the US. I always think technology is a bit more advanced and capable of more possibilities, but sometimes the ones in control of such things may be hiding a significant portion of the truth, and taking advantage of it. In my opinion, if Apple did not accelerate the revolution of cell phones via iPhone, we would not even have had so many kinds of smartphones being sold in the market. We might have been able to buy them after a few more years. It's an assumption, but it just came to my mind when I read this article.
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