“Recall” being a free software update that has already been pushed OTA.
We really need a better word.
No we don’t. The focus is the problem bad enough to issue a mandatory fix. the solution doesn’t really matter, if it’s software, change a bolt or half the car in this context.
Other cars also had problems fixed with software updates, the only I can see that’s heavily used but Tesla and not the other companies ( in the past ) it’s OTA updates.
For a generation or two “recall” meant “take it in for an important fix”.
If I have to take it in and be without my vehicle for x hours or days that is much more disruptive to my life and makes the vehicle less useful.
When it updates overnight and the first I know about it is a letter in the mail weeks later that is much less impact.
“Recall” should be reserved for “take it in” and we need a new word for “something important needs to get fixed and it’s already been done”.
Yes, and software issues also tend to be less safety critical than hardware issues, though of course that isn't a hard and fast rule. The prime example of that was the Tesla "recall" because some text was in the wrong font size. The issue this post is about is a bit more serious than that, but it's not nearly as serious as e.g. the Cybertruck accelerator pedal issue.
I think it would be more interesting to say v-recall/ota-recall vs p-recall for a physical recall.
I wonder if there will be hybrid recalls? Like "disable full-self-driving until customer brings in car for service".
Back when it launched, I predicted they would build a few tens of thousands and stop making more because each one is a potential refund liability.
And you were wrong.
They've made a lot more than that, and it's been the number one selling EV pickup since it lauched, with nothing else even close.
Is it perfect? of course not.
Is it for everyone? Not by a very wide margin.
Do plenty of people still want an EV pickup? Absolutely yes.
And no other manufacturer seems to be able to make them in any kind of quantity.
Ford have sold a whopping 22,000 Electric F-150s for the entire year to date! [1]
[1] https://insideevs.com/news/735988/ford-record-ev-sales-q3-20...
There are several data points in the form of recalls of the entire production run that show it is impossible for Cybertruck to be built in numbers greater than a few tens of thousands.
There's also the fact that 4680 cells have a very low yield, still. This eats up a lot of margin and limits production.
The guy in charge of 4680 production has said multiple times that cell production is NOT a limiting factor for the Cybertruck ramp. It never has been, and he aims for it never to be.