Tesla seeks customer feedback for continuous improvement and innovation
Tesla
Following the lead of Airbnb's CEO, Tesla turned to Twitter to ask for owner feedback with a simple question: "What should Tesla improve?" The tweet quickly gained traction, with over 8.7 million views and 24,000 responses.
Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO asked for input on Twitter last week. Elon Musk noticed, tweeting: This kind of interaction with users is awesome. Other companies should take note. One of his other companies did take note, Tesla. We've curated some of the top suggestions that could pave the way for Tesla's continuous improvement and innovation.
Users Offer Insights for Enhancing Tesla Ownership Experience
Improve service times and location site counts: Customers emphasized the need for faster service times and more service locations, making the Tesla ownership experience more convenient. They also called for more accessible human support to assist with their needs.
Make Full Self-Driving (FSD) transferable: Many users suggested making FSD transferable between vehicles, offering added value and flexibility for Tesla owners who may upgrade or change their vehicles in the future.
Add 360° bird's eye view: Respondents proposed the addition of a 360° bird's eye view feature to improve the parking experience, providing added convenience for Tesla drivers maneuvering in tight spots or navigating unfamiliar parking areas.
Enhance referral program: Users expressed a desire for a more robust referral program, which could offer even greater incentives for Tesla enthusiasts to promote the brand within their networks.
Address sensitive wipers in FSD Beta: Several customers noted that wipers in the FSD Beta version are overly sensitive, activating even when it's not raining. They suggested that Tesla address this issue in future software updates to enhance the overall driving experience.
Will Tesla Share Top Suggestions, Following Airbnb's Lead?
Tesla's decision to seek customer feedback has garnered a massive response, showcasing its commitment to listening to its user base. Airbnb recently tweeted some of their most mentioned suggestions, demonstrating transparency and a proactive approach to addressing customer concerns.
While Tesla has not yet followed suit, it would not be surprising if they take a similar approach in sharing the most popular suggestions with the public. This would not only demonstrate transparency but also highlight Tesla's dedication to acting on customer feedback. The connection between Elon Musk and Twitter, given that he owns the platform could potentially further encourage Tesla to utilize Twitter as a tool for engagement and communication with their customers.
The Importance of Customer Feedback for Continuous Improvement
Tesla's quest for feedback and its potential to share top suggestions emphasize the value of customer input in driving a company's growth and development. By actively seeking opinions and engaging with users, Tesla and Airbnb exemplify how successful companies prioritize customer satisfaction and leverage feedback to stay ahead of the curve in their respective industries.
As Tesla continues to expand its product lineup and global presence, customer feedback will remain a critical component of its innovation strategy. If Tesla does decide to share the top suggestions on Twitter, it will further solidify the company's reputation for being responsive, adaptive, and committed to delivering an exceptional customer experience.
In conclusion, the decision to gather suggestions and the possibility of sharing them with the public not only strengthens Tesla's relationship with its customers but also sets a positive example for other companies to follow. Engaging with users and acting on their feedback is a powerful approach to fostering innovation, continuous improvement, and overall success in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.
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Tesla software update 2024.44.3 has started rolling out to customers in larger waves recently and it brings several new features - including Actually Smart Summon to Europe and the Middle East, as well as improvements to Autopark. But that’s not all, it also adds a new Blind Spot Monitoring feature to the new Model 3, and potentially the Cybertruck, but that’s still to be determined.
We previously covered the Blind Spot Warning While Parked as part of our preview notes for update 2024.44, but now that it's going out to customers, it's time to see it in action.
If the vehicle’s door open button is pressed, and a vehicle or object is near or incoming, the vehicle’s Blind Spot Warning Light (2024 Model 3 and Cybertruck) will illuminate, an audible tone will ring and the door won’t open. A message will also be displayed on the center displaying, letting driver’s know why the door didn’t open.
Pressing the button a second time will allow you to override the warning and open the door normally, providing a way to get out in case you just parked close to a nearby vehicle or obstacle.
The object detection for this new feature includes cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and other objects - like things including traffic cones, bollards, strollers, and other large obstacles that FSD and vision-based Autopark detect during normal operation. Of note - this only works for the front two doors. Thanks to X user Max, who did some testing for us, It does not work for the rear passenger doors.
Optional Feature
The feature is optional - it’ll be enabled by default for safety, but if you need to enable or disable it, you can do so under Controls > Safety. For now, the feature is only available on the 2024 Model 3, but we expect it to roll out to the Cybertruck at least. However, there’s no reason why it can’t be added to other vehicles as well, minus the small red dot. We expect Tesla to eventually add this feature to all Tesla vehicles, but it’s currently not a part of update 2024.44.
Enhauto’s S3XY Buttons & Commander
If that’s not enough safety and vision for you, Enhauto, the makers of the popular S3XY Buttons and Commander recently put out a new software update for the 2024 Model 3, which makes some fantastic use of the ambient lighting.
With Enhauto’s solution, users are able to tie their ambient lights to Autopilot use, turn signals or even if a vehicle is their blind spot. Check out the video below for this awesome implementation, where the ambient lights turn red when another vehicle approaches.
Maybe Tesla will integrate something like this into a future update? We’ve been hoping for more customizability with their ambient lighting - it's an easy safety win and a demonstration of Tesla’s do-more-with-less attitude.
I look forward to @enhauto updates more than Tesla...
Ambient light effects....
I set default color to white. Blinks green on turn signals Turns blue on FSD activation Yellow if someone in blind spot Blinks red if turn signal on and blind spot activity detected.
The feature is now possible thanks to what Wes Morrill, Cybertruck’s lead engineering, points out is a huge rewrite of Tesla’s Trip Planner, which not only makes it much more accurate but will now allow users to choose their arrival charge percentage.
More Accurate Trip Planner
When you navigate to a destination, your Tesla will automatically calculate when, where, and how much you need to charge. While the process seems straightforward, Tesla deserves a lot of credit for creating a simple user experience because a lot goes into accurately determining this information.
Tesla has to calculate many moving pieces in order to accurately predict when and where you should stop. First, it needs to consider your driving efficiency and wind direction, terrain elevation, traffic, vehicle speed, and ambient temperature. It also needs to predict the best Superchargers to stop at, taking into account congestion and charger speed.
This morning, in response to Dan Burkland, Wes shared that Tesla had significantly rewritten the backend portion of Trip Planner. These improvements, made by several engineers, were designed to improve Trip Planner’s accuracy and open the door to future features.
It sounds like these changes are mostly server-side, so thanks to their OTA connection, more accurate predictions should be available to all vehicles—no vehicle update is required.
Arrival State of Charge
Along with Tesla’s improvements to Trip Planner, Wes also stated that these improvements allow for a popular feature request — the ability to select your desired charge level at arrival.
Up until now, Tesla’s Trip Planner tried to get you to your destination as quickly as possible, which usually meant arriving with a low state of charge.
While this was fine if you have a charger at your destination, it’s not great if you don’t, or it could be even worse if there are no chargers nearby.
Max de Zegher said on X that he has heard the requests for a selectable arrival state of charge. Wes later clarified this by saying that these improvements to Tesla’s Trip Planner now allow for additional features to be added, such as “desired arrival charge.”
Actually trip planner got a huge rewrite on the back end. I had a great conversation with one of the engineers working on this over a morning run a few weeks back, it's pretty neat. The rewrite also unlocks additional features, like desired arrival charge.
Given that Max de Zegher’s comments came last night and Wes Morrill commented this morning, this feature request likely won’t arrive with the upcoming Holiday Update. Tesla actually hinted at such a feature being added in their last app update, so it does seem like they’ve already planned for it.
Although ‘Arrival State of Charge’ was on our wishlist for the Holiday Update, it looks like it may arrive soon after the holidays.