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Will You Upgrade Your Car Just Like Your Smartphone and Computer? Mind the Hardware

The era of “computers on wheels” is being praised by tech fans as something extremely positive. After all, over-the-air (OTA) updates will allow a vehicle to be constantly perfected, getting new features in the blink of an eye. The future is digital, they say. However, have you ever thought about how often you have to buy a new smartphone or computer because the current one does not cope with new software? Yes: you’ll have to worry about hardware too.
If you want a computer on wheels, you may have to buy them as often as you buy smartphones 12 photos
Photo: Roelof Reineman/Creative Commons
GreenTheOnly discovered Tesla added an ANCAP support in its code. It already has Euro NCAP, I VISTA, and Korean NCAP support as wellGreenTheOnly discovered Tesla added an ANCAP support in its code. It already has Euro NCAP, I VISTA, and Korean NCAP support as wellTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top classTesla Model Y Euro NCAP results show Dan O’Dowd and the world that FSD is top class
Most people had not paid attention when MCUv1s started to fail in the Model S and Model X. If you have not followed this story, what happened was that Tesla put an 8-Gb eMMC flash memory card in these early computers. After around four years, these cards failed, requiring the entire MCUv1 to be replaced because Tesla had not thought about servicing these components. Although that was possible, it was cheaper (for Tesla) to just get rid of the whole thing.

Several Model S and Model X owners had to replace more than one computer until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the computer failure was a safety issue and that Tesla had to replace them in a recall. Al Prescott, Tesla’s vice president of legal affairs at the time, tried to frame the MCUv1 as wear parts, which would make replacing them as necessary as changing the wiper blades or brake pads.

NHTSA did not buy that story and said the computer should last as much as the entire car. The recall ensued. When Tesla was officially in charge of paying to fix the defective computers, it found a way to replace only the Visual Compute Module (VCM) daughterboard where the eMMC flash memory card is installed. Before that, it charged up to $4,000 for the entire computer from those out of warranty.

Think about all the carmakers that want their cars to be digital and follow what Tesla proposed before them. Hyundai said today it wants all its cars to be Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV). Volkswagen created CARIAD to offer OTA updates and digital subscriptions. Everyone going electric is talking about similar services as a new revenue stream. Now, remember what NHTSA said about the MCUv1: the computer hardware has to last as much as the car. Considering how fast computers and software evolve, that is almost impossible.

Anything carmakers put inside a vehicle will become obsolete in a matter of five years, if not even less. Software gets increasingly more sophisticated and longer, which may make vehicles soon need more memory space. To make matters worse, they want to perform regular OTA updates, offer new functions… What about the hardware?

I can see only three possible outcomes. The first is car companies giving their vehicles pretty powerful computers right off the bat and praying for technology to freeze for years. They can also conceive their products in a way that upgrading their computers is easy – and affordable. Finally, computers may dictate a vehicle’s lifespan instead of how much its main components (motors and battery pack in an EV) may endure. It is obvious that customers will prefer the first option. The question is if that is even possible.

The major danger here is that automakers decide that their “computers on wheels” should last as much as a computer usually does. Electric cars already raise concerns about how long their battery packs may last. If these expensive components fail when the vehicle is no longer under warranty, it does not pay off to replace the battery pack. Everything becomes junkyard material, ready for the recycle bin. Depending on the computers that become obsolete in the car, will it pay off to replace them?

In the end, the concept of “computers on wheels” seems chronically flawed. It is one thing to buy a new smartphone or a laptop every once in a while. However, a car is a much more expensive product. You can only resell it because it is still good enough to perform its primary task: carry people and cargo around. If automakers are still not aware of this danger, they should be ASAP. If they know about it but will wait to see how customers react to this new reality, car buyers should have that in mind immediately.
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Editor's note: The gallery contains images of the Tesla Model Y undergoing ADAS tests in Euro NCAP: the company's code detects these tests, but it is not clear why it does that.

About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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