Tesla Model S Electric Car: Software Changes Since 2012 (UPDATED)

2015 Tesla Model S 70D in new Ocean Blue colorEven though the Tesla Model S has retained its same basic shape since it went on sale in 2012, what's going on under the hood has been anything but stagnant. The automaker's over-the-air updates for the electric car have put the old guard on notice: People expect their cars to act like the computers and phones sitting on their desks and in their...

Tesla P100D ‘Ludicrous Plus’ mode makes electric car even faster

2017 Tesla Model SAs well as software updates to add back Autopilot functionality in its latest cars, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted on Twitter at an update to improve performance even further. Musk recently teased a software update that would allow the latest Model S P100D to do 0 to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds—shaving 0.1 second off the time previously...

Tesla quietly limits lifetime full-speed launches via over-the-air update

Tesla Model X vs Tesla Model S drag race screencapTesla uses over-the-air software updates to quickly add new features to its electric cars, or to correct problems without the need for customers to bring their cars to service centers. But one apparent software update has rankled a few Tesla owners. The software in question is said to limit the number of times Launch Mode can be used with specific...

Tesla to roll out Autopilot self-driving capabilities ‘very soon’

2016 Tesla Model STesla Motors will soon begin rolling out software to restore lost Autopilot driver-assistance features, its CEO says, as a prelude to what the company claims will be the launch of genuine self-driving capabilities. Last month, Tesla announced that it was equipping new Model S and Model X electric cars with a more elaborate suite of sensors, known...

Tesla to roll out Autopilot self-driving capabilities ‘very soon’

2016 Tesla Model STesla Motors will soon begin rolling out software to restore lost Autopilot driver-assistance features, its CEO says, as a prelude to what the company claims will be the launch of genuine self-driving capabilities. Last month, Tesla announced that it was equipping new Model S and Model X electric cars with a more elaborate suite of sensors, known...

Why Tesla Model 3 should use standard model-year changes: opinion

Tesla Motors production line for Tesla Model S, Fremont, CaliforniaElectric-car maker Tesla Motors has always followed a different path than the rest of the automobile industry. Among the ways it has violated industry convention is ignoring annual model changes and simply updating its cars whenever changes were ready for production. This has occasionally made for some very frustrated high-end customers already...

Tesla software update fixes flaw found by Chinese white-hat hackers

2016 Tesla Model SModern cars' increased reliance on software to control vital functions opens up new technological possibilities, but also poses the potential of hacking. That risk now requires automakers to think like tech companies, and keep to updating software to close weak points that could allow hackers to access vehicle systems. Electric-car maker Tesla...