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Tesla drivers to be spared heat wave shocks via software update

Model X climate control (image: Tesla)
Model X climate control (image: Tesla)
Teslas have climate control ingenuity built in them both on the physical side, like an air vent running the width of a Model 3 dashboard, and on the software side of things. With the recent heat waves scorching Texas, Elon Musk promises an OTA software update solution to the cabin temperature problem.

In the midst of the scorching heat waves hitting Texas, Tesla advised its car owners there to play nice and charge in off-peak hours so as to avoid overloading the state's electricity grid already buckling under extreme AC consumption pressure. As if to compensate for the discomfort this may cause the drivers of its electric vehicles, Elon Musk said that Tesla will allow them to manually set the temperature for the automatic cabin overheat protection to kick in.

"The climate control system can reduce the temperature of the cabin in extremely hot ambient conditions for a period of up to twelve hours after you exit," say Tesla's manuals. "The air conditioning operates when the cabin temperature exceeds 40° C (104 Fahrenheit)," they continue, but people have been complaining that this threshold is already too high, especially if you are just entering when the cabin hits it and the AC hasn't kicked in yet.

Thus, Elon Musk promised in a tweet that there will be "ability to adjust activation temperature coming with next software release," which should let Tesla owners to set a lower temperature at which the climate control will start cooling the cabin. Besides the 12-hour limit, the Cabin Overheat Protection feature will also turn off automatically if the battery falls below 20% capacity, "whichever comes first."

Used electric cars may keep their value better than legacy ones precisely because of the fact that older models may easily get features characteristic for newer ones on account of the ability for over-the-air software delivery. Tesla's recent adaptive suspension software update that accounts for riding through potholes on the road is a case in point, as is the upcoming cabin overheat protection freedom of choice.

Get the TCL 8000 BTU Smart Series Portable Air Conditioner on Amazon

Source(s)

Elon Musk (Twitter)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2022 07 > Tesla drivers to be spared heat wave shocks via software update
Daniel Zlatev, 2022-07-15 (Update: 2022-07-15)