Comment on My Car Is Becoming a Brick: EVs are poised to age like smartphones.
dom@lemmy.ca 18 hours ago
Isnt this all cars and not just evs?
yeah, you can’t really buy a car that doesn’t have mobile data for “telemetry” (your driving data is sold to insurance companies)
even base trims get some phone app stuff, meaning there’s the ability to execute commands on the car. so, if they really wanted, there’s nothing stopping automakers from bricking your car, gas or EV, because they feel like it.
yipee…
Cars in general have rigorous software testing that means the last update will run fine indefinitely, and most of the updates only change nice to have features, not core operations like the engine and drive train.
EVs are pushing the envelope by having some software updates that directly change how the battery and drive train work. Tesla is the one I hear going completely in on subpar testing for updates to critical components. I don't know if other manufacturers are doing nearly as much as Tesla is, so it might even be a Tesla problem more than an EV problem at this point, but as time goes on others will become more bold with increasing numbers of updates and lazier testing because it worked out for Tesla's market share.
An EV that doesn't have constant software updates can easily exist, and they should work fine until the frame falls apart. I think a portion of the EV market falls into that category, but don't really know for certain.
scytale@piefed.zip 17 hours ago
I think what is being implied is EVs will have planned obsolescence even if they are perfectly working fine, like smartphones. Whether it be irreplaceable batteries, or software updates not being backward compatible. Regular cars are capable of lasting until they literally break down and die.
adespoton@lemmy.ca 17 hours ago
Regular cars have been increasingly slaved to the on-board computer since the 1990s though.
You can only buy a few modern cars that don’t send constant telemetry back to the manufacturer, for example — just like televisions.
Rhaedas@fedia.io 16 hours ago
There's different levels of computerized control though. Would fuel injection and other modern efficiency and safety systems be possible without a main computer? I wouldn't trade my days with simple mechanical cars and carburetors from the learning experience, but I also wouldn't go back if I had a choice.
The line crossed was being connected to work, not computers themselves. I agree that the modern car market is a minefield in whether or not there's anything you could get that isn't dependent in some way on being online. Buy used, there's still stuff out there that will give long life, has been tested by the first owners, and doesn't have the manufacturer's grip on it.
Asetru@feddit.org 11 hours ago
That’s literally their point?
These don’t exist anymore. If they do, it doesn’t matter if they move by burning fossils or electricity. It’s not a matter of EVs being movable smart devices that will be left behind eventually, it’s a matter of cars being like that.
artyom@piefed.social 16 hours ago
No batteries are irreplaceable. It would be really stupid to do that because then the OEM would have to throw away the entire vehicle when there was any sort of battery issue. Software updates have nothing to do with the powertrain. It’s not an EV problem.