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Ask HN: Why doesn't Tesla disable all features unless you pay them?

2 points by nerdo ↗ HN
For cars already purchased, what is stopping Tesla from sending an OTA update to disable all functionality in the car beyond minimal NHTSA legally required features (brakes, lights, etc), then demanding $100/month from 'owners' to turn them back on?

9 comments

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nerdo
Context: I recently had a set of lightbulbs lose all functionality a couple nights ago, now insisting I had to get an account, sign in with 15 character password with certain symbols and mixed case, receive constant marketing emails whether I accept them or not, accept terms of service numbering 10000+ words, and then re-pair the bulbs which could no longer be recognized anyway after long failure attempt cycles. Humiliation ritual complete, bulbs are now e-waste I guess.

$1000 Peloton bike signed out of account and insisted on payment to sign back in at all, though still functions as a $20 salvage bike without any functions.

Is it optimal for all companies to completely cripple products once they've been sold? What's holding them back here?

salawat
Absolutely nothing.

Welcome to why software clickwrapping and EULA's are a blight to the concept of contract law. Also welcome to why "consideration" has been so dubiously defined as to become meaningless in the modern era.

In a world where everything is gated behind Licensing, and all the mediums of executing software are increasingly headed toward ensuring proprietary lock-in through burning in cryptographic hash locks on firmware; right of First Sale is a vanishing luxury that is simply not being offered anymore.

apapapa
Because they are slowly boiling the frog
simonblack
Cars already purchased: Their business would collapse overnight. That's called 'Bait and Switch' - not a good business model.

New cars: Sticker shock would put off prospective buyers. It's a lot easier to get people to pay $73 grand up front, rather than $70 grand plus $1200 for heating, then $800 for air-conditioning, plus $500 for GPS, plus $700 for entertainment, plus ..... well you get the idea.

nerdo
How would it collapse? People will pay $100/mo instead of buying a new car and even then what would they buy? Other car companies will see Tesla getting free money and push their own updates the same.
simonblack
So you're saying that people get a new Tesla for free, then only pay $100 bucks per month for 'extras'?

Tesla would definitely collapse seeing that they're not getting paid for making that Tesla car in the first case. They'd be broke within a couple of months.

nerdo
No, Tesla already sold these cars and took people's money. They continue to sell cars the same. This is about charging the existing and new customers $100/mo because it's a number Tesla thought of. It's not for extras it's for all non-legally-required safety functionality- e.g. the tablet screen, a/c, ability to adjust your seat.
rsynnott
They would become virtually unsellable overnight, and the company would collapse under the weight of lawsuits.
nerdo
What lawsuits? They send updated terms of service ahead of it so it’s all totally legal.