They still have the best software. That’s why I think the new Apple Car Play is such a big deal. If everyone uses their phones OS on their car, Teslas advantage goes away.
All we've needed in cars for the last 15 years is a goddamned WELL in the dashboard to put our phones in. Have swappable plastic inserts for different phone models, and integrate a power supply and (for non-Apple victims) an audio line.
"Problem" solved.
I'm not sure I want to rely on a buggy iOS/CarPlay/AppleCar UI. Ok for media, but the way Apple is pitching this, it would be the operating system of the whole car's UI including showing things like oil pressure and tachometer.
I wonder, if Tesla can bootstrap, why not an EV company on the extreme low end.
It doesn’t take a leap of imagination to understand why a proper large screen, integration into the instrument cluster, and the HUD if you have one, is safer and easier to use than a tiny phone hanging off your dash.
You’re also for example missing out on your car's ability to do dead reckoning when there is a poor GPS signal.
The phone does dead reckoning as well. It has accelerometers and a compass built in.
I don't own a Tesla, but whenever I ride with friends the center console shows an overhead type view of the other cars around. The cars randomly blink in and out, indicating it doesn't know if the other car really exists or not.
A cars UI has has exactly one function: provide accurate and actionable information to the driver. You should never need to second guess the information you are receiving.
Imo I don't know any other consumer car company that shows anything like that on their cars infotainment console. Companies like Waymo and Cruise do a much better job at capturing surroundings but they are in a different market where it makes sense to spend a ton of money on each car to add many LiDARs and significant compute in the car.
You seem to be on to something here...
Just show the navigation stuff. The driver should be able to see other cars with their eyes. The car clearly isn't good enough at spotting them itself, so why further distract the driver by trying to guess?
The wild flickering of lines, obstacles, humans and cars in perfect clear daylight conditions is absolutely flabbergasting to me and erodes any trust I have into self driving capabilities. It's outright scary.
Cars that are running basic autopilot show basic autopilot visualizations.