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Tesla urged to rethink unorthodox vehicle controls by traffic safety expert

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Published

9 months ago

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Teslas are arguably the safest vehicles on the road, but as per one of Sweden’s most notable traffic safety experts, the electric vehicle maker’s cars may need to take a step back in design to make them as safe as possible. This is, at least, when it comes to things like turn signals and other physical controls that have become standard in vehicles over the years. 

Tesla’s cabins today are arguably the most futuristic and minimalist in the market, with all vehicles except the Model Y and the Tesla Semi using onscreen gear shifters and turn signals that are integrated into the steering wheel. This means that drivers need to adjust their driving habits a bit so that they can operate vehicles like the reengineered Model 3, Model S, and Model X in a safe manner. 

Jeanette Jedbäck Hindenburg, the principal of the traffic teacher training course in Stockholm, noted that it is a big problem if vehicle controls are located in areas where motorists are not used to, as noted in a CarUp report. 

“When you need to act according to the spinal cord, and something is not in the place you have learned, then there can be problems, big problems. This is when there is a risk of collisions. Take the example of Jasplanet, which crashed in the middle of Stockholm many years ago. The pilot was confused when the buttons were not where they should be,” Hindenburg noted. 

The traffic safety expert highlighted her point by stating that in Norway, some of Tesla’s vehicle controls have been causing issues for drivers. As per Hindenburg, there have been around 100,000 incidents of drivers having issues with Tesla’s buttons for the defroster. “There have been around 100,000 incidents with the button for the defroster. When driving into a tunnel in winter, you need to be able to press this button immediately. Otherwise, you risk driving blind,” she said. 

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While Hindenburg noted that technology development must move forward for vehicles, it should not do so at the expense of safety. With this in mind, some things in cars are best if they are standardized. “Things like this must be standardized, otherwise we will have problems if something unforeseen happens, she says, urging Tesla to think again,” the traffic safety expert stated. 

Ultimately, Hindenburg is hoping the Tesla would consider standardizing its controls with other carmakers. This would be quite a huge point for the Model Y, as the vehicle sells in very large volumes. “There is a lot that is good about Tesla. They are very innovative and interesting in many areas, but this risks causing unnecessary problems if something unforeseen were to occur in traffic,” she said. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

NYC Comptroller moves to sue Tesla for securities violations

Published

12 hours ago

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April 1, 2025

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MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging the NYC Law Department to sue Tesla for securities violations related to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Lander said the basis for the potential litigation lies on “material misstatements from Tesla claiming that CEO Elon Musk spends significant time on the company and is highly active in its management, despite his helming the Trump Administration’s DOGE initiative.”

It is a common complaint amongst some Tesla shareholders who are less than enthusiastic about Musk’s involvement in DOGE. Some feel as if Musk is not concerned about Tesla, especially as the stock has dropped over 28 percent this year. However, Musk has continued to double down on his position within the U.S. government.

Nevertheless, Musk’s position in Tesla is still very apparent. He headed an All-Hands meeting just two weeks ago that showed his commitment to the company as he outlined future plans and even joked to employees that they should hold onto their stock.

However, Lander believes Musk’s involvement has hurt New York City pension systems, which have lost over $300 million so far this year. He said:

“In less than three months, Tesla stock has lost nearly 40% of its value, with losses over $300 million for the New York City pension systems. We have long expressed concerns that the Tesla board has failed to provide independent oversight, or to require that Musk – or someone else – serve as a full-time CEO.”

Lander went on to say that “material misstatements from Tesla misled investors about his role at the company,” stating this was his reasoning for calling on the Law Department to file securities litigation against the company.

He believes taking it to court will force changes and will return Tesla shares back to a level that will benefit pension systems in New York City:

“Shareholder litigation could force the changes in governance and leadership that Tesla needs, and help recover some of our pension systems’ losses. Otherwise, we may need to consider divestment.”

The pension systems would be able to pursue financial damages to cover losses and seek governance changes, it says.

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Elon Musk

Tesla is testing a Model 3 with some mysterious cameras in the U.S.

Published

13 hours ago

on

April 1, 2025

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Credit: u/Ready_Medium_6693

Tesla is testing a Model 3 with some mysterious cameras, potentially hinting toward the imminent release of the Cybercab and robotaxi platform in the United States.

After Tesla unveiled the Cybercab in Los Angeles in early October, the company suggested that it would be on its way to launching driverless rides in the U.S. in the near future.

Now, Tesla is inching toward a driverless ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, among some other potential locations, but it is still working toward a platform that is robust enough to handle it.

Although the company’s Full Self-Driving suite is one of the more advanced on the market, Tesla is still working to accomplish what it feels is a mode of transportation that is safer than a human driver. The robotaxi and Cybercab rollouts will likely accomplish that, but there is still work to be done beforehand.

Now, Tesla is testing a Model 3 in the U.S. that was spotted in several different locations in the Northeastern part of the country, as cameras are seen on this vehicle in locations that are not necessarily typical for what it offers currently:

Another one is seen here:

Interestingly, we saw similar camera locations on the Cybercab at the event in October. Tesla is not testing the Cybercab but instead implementing these cameras on a comparable position on its other vehicles.

These are the cameras we spotted on the Cybercab at the event in October:

In the past, Tesla has used a variety of strategies to measure self-driving accuracy, including LiDAR, which has been seen on some testing mules that we have spotted out in public.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the company does not need LiDAR on testing mules for ground truth, but we still spot them from time to time on public roads.

It’s an appropriate way just to cross Ts and dot Is:

Tesla Model X testing mule spotted with LiDAR rig ahead of Robotaxi event

The company is still moving toward that initial rollout of driverless ride-hailing in Austin in June, and some company executives have stated that the Cybercab will be the vehicle it uses for these initial rides.

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Elon Musk

Tesla adds security feature to Android with latest software update

Published

14 hours ago

on

April 1, 2025

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Credit: @greggertruck/X

Tesla is bolstering its release of features to Android users as it is rolling out some new things with its latest software update.

Update v4.43.5 will see Tesla add a Dashcam Viewer for Android phones, a new feature that will make it simpler to access and manage both Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos. This has been available to iPhone users for some time, but Android owners have not had access to this quite yet.

Tesla describes the release of the feature in release notes (via Not a Tesla App):

“The Dashcam Viewer is now available in the Tesla app for Android users.

The Dashcam Viewer makes it easy to access and manage your car’s Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos. Accessing videos on your phone is faster and more convenient, but it does come with a few requirements.

The Dashcam Viewer in the Tesla app allows you to view, delete, or save video clips right from your device. This should result in higher quality content being shared online and fewer videos of owners recording their Tesla’s screens with their phones.”

The feature creates a more convenient option to view things that your Tesla has captured on its dashcam or on its external cameras through Sentry Mode, its security camera system that records things that happen around the vehicle.

Sentry Mode has been a great addition for Tesla owners lately, as more and more instances of vandalism have been occurring in the past few months.

It seems Tesla might have made it a point to roll this feature out, especially as it would allow those who are getting Sentry Mode alerts to capture footage of keying or tire slashing, two common techniques used by those who dislike Tesla and/or Elon Musk.

Tesla quietly added this extra Sentry Mode feature to deter vandals

The last time Tesla rolled out some features to Android owners was in January when it beefed up offerings for those who do not use iOS. The January update saw Phone Key Improvements and Hands-Free Trunk Opening make their way to Android users.

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