Photo: original photo by autoevolution
Have you ever imagined that a car worth $121,000 can't do satellite navigation in the Republic of China? Neither did we, but it seems like Tesla didn't thought this through with the Model S in this market...
If you think that $81,070 is a lot of dough for a Tesla Model S P85, think again. The Chinese customer has to pay that price and several other things on top: $3,600 shipping and handling, $19,000 customs duties and taxes, $17,700 VAT and the dealership premium. That's why the luxury electric sedan is so expensive in the world's largest new car market.
So how come the Model S can't do sat-nav? Well, it seems like the Google Maps app installed on the Tesla's infotainment system lacks a Chinese map database, text and voice recognition features as well. If I were a Chinese customer, I would deem this unacceptable. However, there's a glimmer of hope for affected owners. A spokesperson declared for Alysha Webb's ChinaEV that Tesla is "currently working on a solution with Chinese text and voice recognition. We plan to introduce navigation to Chinese cars later this year (as already communicated to our customers)."
The official informs that these updates will be pushed into customers' Tesla Model S vehicles through software updates via the manufacturer's backend system. "Remote over-the-air software updates are not yet supported in Chinese Model S." Thus, affected owners should just wait patiently for an update notification to pop up on the touchscreen sometime later in the year.
So how come the Model S can't do sat-nav? Well, it seems like the Google Maps app installed on the Tesla's infotainment system lacks a Chinese map database, text and voice recognition features as well. If I were a Chinese customer, I would deem this unacceptable. However, there's a glimmer of hope for affected owners. A spokesperson declared for Alysha Webb's ChinaEV that Tesla is "currently working on a solution with Chinese text and voice recognition. We plan to introduce navigation to Chinese cars later this year (as already communicated to our customers)."
The official informs that these updates will be pushed into customers' Tesla Model S vehicles through software updates via the manufacturer's backend system. "Remote over-the-air software updates are not yet supported in Chinese Model S." Thus, affected owners should just wait patiently for an update notification to pop up on the touchscreen sometime later in the year.
Google News