Photo: Tesla
It’s been a while since Tesla’s “deliver now, fix later” policy has been exposed. When the company was developing the Model S, Elon Musk told his vice president for quality he would not have time to test the EV for just a fraction of what other carmakers usually submit their prototypes. Any changes would come through over-the-air (OTA) updates or recalls. Now that people are learning more about that, the company tweeted alleged “extreme heat and durability” tests in Dubai. Apart from those that take anything from the company for face value, no one with a minimal understanding of the automotive industry will buy this.
The first element that shows this is only a poor attempt to say that it did the test is that the vehicles present no disguise. They look as if they were just taken from a Tesla Service Center for a photo shoot in the desert. There are no visible pieces of testing equipment, no engineering teams around the cars evaluating anything, and no images of anyone doing credible testing whatsoever. The people who appear in the pictures are wearing black clothes in the desert, which is the perfect recipe for applying to dehydration and heat issues.
The second and most obvious proof that this is just a lousy PR stunt is that none of Tesla’s future cars is being tested. Where is the Cybertruck, the Roadster, or the Semi? All that can be seen are the vehicles that are already in production: Model X, Model S, Model 3, and Model Y, in that order. The Model Y is even facing a dune. Why? To check if its rear bumper collects enough sand to rip off, as it happens with the Model 3 when crossing puddles? I have no idea.
One could argue that these vehicles present new parts. Which ones? The tweet does not share that. Would they be testing new computer screens to see if the new ones deserve automotive grades? The first ones didn’t have that and were famous for turning yellow and releasing a goo after some time. That would have been avoided if the vehicles had been adequately tested before they reached consumers.
Tesla desperately needs to test its heat pumps, which are failing in extremely cold weather. In 2019, the company took some media outlets to Alaska to show where they performed extreme cold evaluations. If these tests were effective, the heat pumps would be working perfectly, not being corrected by OTA updates when there is evidence of mechanical failures. Why isn’t Tesla sharing images of cold weather testing? They do not have to be recent.
If Tesla wants so badly to prove that the “deliver now, fix later” policy is not valid, it should prove that with better products, with cars that start in cold or warm weather. Norwegian customers are apparently threatening to go on a hunger strike, claiming that their EVs do not turn on in these two situations. It makes you wonder if they start at all. If they had been tested, that would not happen.
Evaluating a vehicle that is already under production is something all automakers do to check quality control. When they have new components, these parts are protected by camo so that customers will be surprised when they are presented. The prototypes are dusty and show they have worked for quite some time under challenging conditions. That is not the case with these brand new Teslas photographed in Dubai.
Instead of proving its point, Tesla put itself in a shameful situation. Either it shows the company thinks all its customers are gullible enough to believe these pictures present accurate testing, or it really believes what it is doing is part of a serious program to improve its cars. Honestly, I don’t know which of these alternatives is worse.
The second and most obvious proof that this is just a lousy PR stunt is that none of Tesla’s future cars is being tested. Where is the Cybertruck, the Roadster, or the Semi? All that can be seen are the vehicles that are already in production: Model X, Model S, Model 3, and Model Y, in that order. The Model Y is even facing a dune. Why? To check if its rear bumper collects enough sand to rip off, as it happens with the Model 3 when crossing puddles? I have no idea.
One could argue that these vehicles present new parts. Which ones? The tweet does not share that. Would they be testing new computer screens to see if the new ones deserve automotive grades? The first ones didn’t have that and were famous for turning yellow and releasing a goo after some time. That would have been avoided if the vehicles had been adequately tested before they reached consumers.
Tesla desperately needs to test its heat pumps, which are failing in extremely cold weather. In 2019, the company took some media outlets to Alaska to show where they performed extreme cold evaluations. If these tests were effective, the heat pumps would be working perfectly, not being corrected by OTA updates when there is evidence of mechanical failures. Why isn’t Tesla sharing images of cold weather testing? They do not have to be recent.
If Tesla wants so badly to prove that the “deliver now, fix later” policy is not valid, it should prove that with better products, with cars that start in cold or warm weather. Norwegian customers are apparently threatening to go on a hunger strike, claiming that their EVs do not turn on in these two situations. It makes you wonder if they start at all. If they had been tested, that would not happen.
Evaluating a vehicle that is already under production is something all automakers do to check quality control. When they have new components, these parts are protected by camo so that customers will be surprised when they are presented. The prototypes are dusty and show they have worked for quite some time under challenging conditions. That is not the case with these brand new Teslas photographed in Dubai.
Instead of proving its point, Tesla put itself in a shameful situation. Either it shows the company thinks all its customers are gullible enough to believe these pictures present accurate testing, or it really believes what it is doing is part of a serious program to improve its cars. Honestly, I don’t know which of these alternatives is worse.
Extreme heat and durability testing in Dubai ???? pic.twitter.com/xOmt7G9seh
— Tesla (@Tesla) August 30, 2022
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