Tesla, it turns out, is just like any other tech company: sometimes its software updates upset users and hinder functionality. Maybe the upstart EV automaker is fallible after all.
Tesla recently pushed software update version 7.1 2.32.100 to its Model X vehicles that was designed to address issues with the SUV’s signature Falcon-Wing doors. The company enhanced a set of sensors in the doors, aiming to improve and expedite the opening and closing procedure.
Specifically, “we adjusted the sensors in the Model X Falcon Wing doors to improve closure consistency and reduce false detection of obstacles,” a Tesla spokesperson told Mashable.
The software overhaul may have had the opposite effect. Owners are now reporting that the update completely disabled some safety sensors in the doors. In fact, one owner posted a couple videos on YouTube of his Model X’s Falcon-Wing doors chopping up cucumbers.
Obviously, this is a huge safety concern. As the video below demonstrates, a rear passenger could now have the door close on their hand or fingers.
This is just yet another issue in a string of problems Tesla has faced with the Falcon-Wing doors. In April, we reported that some Model X owners complained their SUV’s Falcon-Wing doors wouldn’t open or close.
A few months later in June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company was close to finally making the doors “useful.”
It seems like every time Tesla is taking a step forward with the fancy but problem-prone doors, it in fact takes two steps backward. I hope Tesla is learning a lesson from its “hubris” (Musk’s word, not mine).