Tesla Driver Left Stranded In Desert After Loss Of Cell Service

Now that the hoopla's of Autopilot is a 2016 story, this is going to be the new 2017 grip with Teslas?
I don't understand how some people can be so illogical. He takes his car out for a drive without his car keys and put some of the blame on Tesla for NOT taking into consideration that cell service isn't 100% available across the country. Really? Shouldn't he demand that his carrier provide better coverage?
"Negri said he should have taken his keys as a precaution but also criticised Tesla for not having a contingency plan in such cases."
Yeah, the contingency plan is that You (the owner) have your f* car keys with you.
What is wrong with people??

It's just plain dumb to perform a test without a failsafe or backup system in place. And here we get a good demo :-(

Look folks, I'm NOT a Tesla fan (nor a Tesla hater), but every vehicle, every system, has its limitations. Learn your vehicle. Learn its limitations. And learn to work within those limits. Or be the bozo in this article.


(FWIW, I thought this might be an article about a guy who drives his Tesla, runs out of battery power, only to discover no charging stations nearby. BAD EV, huh? Um, what about driving a gasoline car to empty only to discover no gas stations around? Duh.)

Car manufacturers are developing more and more hi-tech systems to help stupid drivers avoid accidents. But it seems the manufacturers are losing. There's no limit to just how stupid people can be.
Maybe now Tesla will have to remind owners that they should have their keys if only the phone app is detected. And then a disclaimer that the driver will need to "OK" before driving off.

hangtime010: There's a saying in information systems: "You try to build an idiot-proof system, then nature comes along with a new and improved idiot."

I think the disclosure should be that the phone can only be used as a key when there is an internet connection--which should be 100% obvious because the app can't even load without an internet connection. It is not designed to be a primary key, although in the future that might be possible with NFC. Hopefully Faraday keeps this in mind with the FF91.

Its scary just how many "smart" people are wandering around America in a state of semi-lobotomy these days. Ugggh.

In my opinion, it all started downhill, when automatic transmissions became prevalent and the art of driving a stick shift transmission started dying out. How many of you Autospies' can drive a stick?

To see where we are headed - goto Netflix or Amazon and buy/rent the awesome (spot on and depressing at the same time) Mike Judge movie "Idiocracy". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

Its about an average intelligent guy who gets caught in a time warp and transported to the future - where "smart" people put off having babies to focus on their careers (so they never ended up breeding) and the "average" blue collar people just churned out babies, with the result that "intelligence" and common sense got "bred out" of the gene pool. Its worth a watch.

When you write something like this, you belong in the same pool as the guy in the article.

mre30, I like your reference.

Sorry - but I spent a lifetime working on automatic transmissions - still do it - and completely disagree with your assessment. It was not the availability of the automatic transmission that caused the art of shifting yourself start dying out - it was the PURCHASE of the automatic transmission - which was OPTIONAL for many years - AND - NOW - the lack of availability of the manual (Because no one is buying them) that is doing that. I started driving with a 3 speed on the Column - which many "stick" drivers cannot comprehend as a manual.

However - progress takes many forms - and I would be that YOU no longer toast your bread on an open fire in the fireplace in the kitchen either. And you probably spend little time cutting down trees in the Fall to be ready to use them for heating in the winter. And if I follow you logic about automobiles - then it was THEIR invention that caused the the art of Riding a horse to start Dying out - as well as "driving" a "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" - which is likely YOU have never done. (And living on a large farm with farm animals - I have). Complaining that some people cannot drive a manual is ignoring the mobility that lots of people have today in many forms. If you prefer a manual - that is YOUR choice. THey won't be around for long.

Am I the only one surprised that he has his wife run two miles for help...

So how many other cars let you use your phone as a key in an emergency? Not many. We shouldn't hold back innovation because every single edge case idiotic scenario isn't covered.