Tesla Model 3: Update for braking distance improvement
Elon Musk is fulfilling the announced organizational changes with a series of new hires, as well as starting roll-out of a firmware update to improve braking habits of Model 3s.
The update is designed to improve braking distances after repeated heavy braking by about 20 feet. This is in reaction to testing by Consumer Reports, who found that the braking distance notably deteriorated after repeated heavy use, and did not hold back from criticism.
Specifically, Consumer Reports found that initial emergency braking was within the limits of what Tesla had claimed, but that the performance could not be repeated. The report concludes that a braking distance of 46 meters at a speed of 100 km/h, “was far worse than any contemporary car we’ve tested and about 7 feet longer than the stopping distance of a Ford F-150 full-sized pickup.”
The Californians quickly reacted, stating that their own testing had shown different results, and they could not understand the discrepancy, but that they would begin rolling out improvements, that would ensure that “Model 3 has better braking than any remotely comparable car,” even beyond the initially promised performance.
Also, firmware fix for upgraded brake performance on standard Model 3 started rolling out yesterday. Should improve braking distance by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events. Thanks @ConsumerReports for excellent critical feedback!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2018
Elon’s plan is being assisted by a few new faces in Tesla’s board of management. Stuart Bowers joined from Snap, Neeraj Manrao was brought in from Apple, Kevin Mukai from ThinFilm Electronics, James Zhou from Ingersoll Rand and Alexandra Veitch from CSRA. Musk had announced the restructuring in mid-May in an email to employees. Specifically, his plan was to improve communication. For this he wants flatter hierarchies in the company and to combine some managerial tasks. Other, non-essential functions will be cut entirely.
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