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2014
Over-the-Air Vehicle Software Updates
Elon Musk (b. 1971)
“In January 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published two safety recall notices for components in cars that could overheat and potentially cause fires. The first recall notice was for General Motors (GM) and required owners to physically take their cars to a dealership to correct the problem. The second was for Tesla Motors, and the recall was performed wirelessly, using the vehicle’s built-in cellular modem.
The remedy described by the NHTSA required Tesla to contact the owners of its 2013 Model S vehicles for an over-the-air (OTA) software update. The update modified the vehicle’s onboard charging system to detect any unexpected fluctuations in power and then automatically reduce the charging current. This is a perfectly reasonable course of action for what is essentially a 3,000-pound computer on wheels, but an OTA fix for a car? It was a seismic event for the automotive industry, as well as for the general public.
Tesla’s realization of OTA updates as the new normal for car maintenance was a big deal in and of itself. But the “recall” also provided an explicit example of how a world of smart, interconnected things will change the way people go about their lives and take care of the domestic minutiae that are part and parcel to the upkeep of physical stuff. It was also a glimpse into the future for many, including those whose jobs are to roll up their sleeves and physically repair cars. The event also called into question the relevance of NHTSA using the word recall, because no such thing actually took place, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “The word ‘recall’ needs to be recalled,” Musk tweeted.
This was not the first time Tesla had pushed an update to one of its vehicles, but it was the most public, because it was ordered by a government regulatory authority. It also served as a reminder of the importance of computer security in this brave new connected world—although Tesla has assured its customers that cars will respond only to authorized updates.
Indeed, OTA updates will likely become routine for all cars for that very reason—timely security updates will be needed when hackers go after those 3,000-pound computers on wheels.”
SEE ALSO: Computers at Risk (1991), Smart Homes (2011), Subscription Software “Popularized” (2013), Wikileaks Vault 7 CIA Surveillance and Cyberwarfare (2017)
Don’t think of the Tesla as a car with a computer; think of it as a computer that has wheels.