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Elon Musk Promises "Major" Hardware Revisions Each Year For Tesla Cars

Elon Musk has made a surprising announcement on Twitter regarding the update cycle of Tesla cars.
Elon Musk announces new Tesla update plan 4 photos
Photo: Screenshot from Twitter
Elon Musk announces new Tesla update planElon Musk announces new Tesla update planElon Musk announces new Tesla update plan
The CEO of Tesla has explained that the company he runs will continue to innovate, and advised prospective buyers to seek other brands if they want something unchanged for many years at a time. On top of the usual software updates for Tesla models, Elon Musk has promised yearly hardware revisions.

As he explained on his verified Twitter account, which appears to be his principal communication channel, Tesla will offer “major revs” every 12 to 18 months. The word “revs” is short for revisions, which will be of the hardware kind. Tesla’s CEO is sure this is the way to improve the models they sell, and holding out on innovation could be detrimental to the brand.

The most surprising aspect of his tweets is that no retrofits will be made to existing models, because they would be “super complex,” as Musk has explained. In a conversation with another Twitter user, Elon Musk spoke of over 300 components that would have to be replaced to have a car updated to the latest specification, and those changes would come after the vehicle would have to be stripped to its frame.

Elon Musk’s statements lead us to believe that it would be possible to upgrade an existing Model S, for example, to the latest specification that is projected for it, but it could prove too costly to perform. In other words, it is technically achievable to do this, but not even the company wants to do it because it might waste valuable time that would affect “the pace of innovation.”

While other automakers introduce facelifts in their lineups about three or four years after a model is launched, Tesla’s plan for the future would drop that interval to 12 to 18 months, which is less than half of what a typical company does. The change is comparable to the pace of smartphone makers launch new models, which is upsetting to some users, as Tech Crunch notes.

Tesla’s leader has not announced when the revision cycle will begin, which may take some time because of recently implemented changes in the Model S range. Regardless, it may make some people think twice about a long-term lease on a Tesla.


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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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