According to the Tesla owner’s manual, “Vehicle functions, including some safety systems and opening or closing the doors or windows, may be limited or disabled when installation is in progress and you could damage the vehicle.” Janel chose to heed Tesla’s warning and did not attempt to open her doors or windows during the installation process for fear of damaging her vehicle, but this seems like a very dangerous oversight on Tesla’s part that she was able to be stuck inside at all.
The door mechanisms on the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are electrically operated, and under normal circumstances are opened from the inside using a simple button to unlatch the door. Should the vehicle have no power, these models do have auxiliary manual cable release levers also found on the door panel, but Tesla warns against using the manual mechanism, citing that it should only be used when the car has no power. Janel said she was aware of this option but didn’t want to risk damaging her car, and she felt confident that she could stick out the heat.
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The Tesla owners manual states that the car will not initiate a software update if Keep Climate mode, Dog Mode, Sentry Mode or Camp Mode are engaged, but it fails to require vehicle occupants to exit the vehicle before the debilitating installation process begins. Tesla also recommends owners install software updates as soon as possible, which could cause some owners to feel obligated to initiate an update in a compromised environment.
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Janel said her car estimated the install would only take 24 minutes, but it actually took 40 minutes, which was long enough for her car’s interior to reach 115 degrees. In a follow-up video, her caption states that she was afraid to mess up her car by getting out during the installation.
So maybe she was not doing the smartest thing by choosing not to damage her car even when it was getting dangerously hot, but considering how expensive Teslas are and how easy it is to violate their EULA, I can’t really fault her as much as I fault Tesla.
I have a Tesla and this is largely her own fault. These updates by default are scheduled to run at night. I think midnight is default but I’ve moved mine to 3 am. Even when the update is downloaded it won’t start it unless you press a button to do so, and that button is under a huge warning saying basically “your car will be totally useless for 20 minutes, please don’t be inside of it” then when you start the update you have 2 minutes to just open the door, I don’t even think you have to close it. There are also manual door handles inside the car. Tesla says that they might damage the locks, but that’s still better than heatstroke. So she either manually started the update, ignored every warning and locked herself in her car, or she changed when her car updates automatically to the middle of the day which is likely when she uses it most
I understand that you should still be able to operate the doors even during software updates, and that it’s a design flaw that all of these systems are so tightly intertwined that general updates make the car unusable, but it’s not like the car doesn’t give you a bunch of warnings
Also gizmodo argues that the car should require you to not be in it while it updates, however when we see the headline that someone got locked out of their Tesla during a blizzard and froze to death, then people will ask why they aren’t allowed to be in the car. You own a 2 ton death machine, there should be a minimum amount responsiblity we expect you to have to operate it safely for yourself and everyone around you
There’s a reason she does tiktoks.
I think you missed the part where the update took twice as long as it said it would. She stayed in the car based on how long it said it would take. That is not her fault.
Ok, why did she want to lock herself in a car on a hot day for 20 minutes? Why did she lock herself in a car at all? I don’t really care how long it took, it’s a dumb idea if it works like it says and it’s dumber if it doesn’t
I’m guessing because she didn’t think it was hot enough that it would be bad for 20 minutes but didn’t know that it would last 40 minutes. I don’t think it’s her fault that she believed what she was told about the update.
Thus my point
Well if your point is that people don’t plan for scenarios they have no reason to plan for, that is correct.
Looking at this chart, if everything went according to her “plan” her car would have been over 100 at 20 minutes and could even hit the 118 the headline claims in that time frame. Also it doesn’t say “this update will take 18 minutes and 36 seconds to complete” it says “this update will take approximately 20 minutes to complete”. Approximately 20 minutes can very reasonably be 30 minutes and that could even get her car above 120. I feel like I shouldn’t need to use a chart to tell grown adults “locking yourself in a car in the sun for a non-specific amount of time” is a bad idea
Chart sourced from the National Weather Service courtesy of CBS
In what way is 40 minutes “approximately 20 minutes?”
First of all, this dipshit didn’t pay attention, got themselves stuck in a hot car like a beagle, and rather than look for a solution went on tiktok to bitch. You’re giving a lot of credit to someone who seems incapable of planning more than 2 minutes into the future
Secondly, will you please read anything I write if you’re going to argue with me?
Even if you truly believe she read the warning and decided to stay in the car regardless, it’s still a stupid fucking idea. That’s a dangerous amount of time to be in a hot car as the graph indicates
Finally, I don’t know why you’re harping on 40 minutes so hard. I don’t care how long it is. As I said previously:
You’re ultimately arguing that she made the reasonable decision to put herself in a vehicle that told her it would be inoperable, including the doors, while in midday heat, for an unspecified period of time
They always say 25 minutes but I don’t start one if I’m planning on driving within an hour.