Tesla has been a magnet for news headlines recently and the company isn’t slowing down. Now, it’s the Model X that’s in the news, specifically the latest firmware update on the crossover that was supposed to fix a glitch on its Falcon doors. For those who don’t know, Model X owners have had a gripe with those doors, specifically a glitch in the inductive sensors. The main issue is that the sensors are falsely detecting objects that aren’t really there, thus the difficulty in closing the doors. The new firmware was supposed to fix that glitch but in doing so, it appears that Tesla simply deactivated the sensors instead of actually trying to fix them.

YouTube channel MEtv Product Reviews was one of the first to point out this development in a 10-minute video that shows numerous times how the sensors have completely stopped working. First, the owner tried to slap the area in the Falcon doors where the sensors are supposed to be. Nothing happens and the doors close immediately. Then, the owner used a cucumber to show if the sensors would be able to detect it and automatically stop the closing of the doors. The cucumber ended up getting sliced in half as the sensors fail to detect it.

Speaking with Jalopnik, the person behind the MEtv Product Reviews channel said that Tesla actually turned off the sensors in the “v 7.1 2.32.100” update because “they were deemed no longer necessary.”

For it’s part, Tesla has yet to issue a statement or explanation regarding the update, opting only to tell Jalopnik that the Falcon doors were adjusted “via a software update in order to improve closure consistency and reduce false detection of obstacles."

Hopefully, a more concrete explanation is given on the update to help raise awareness for owners of the Model X. Until then, owners and passengers should be very careful around these doors.

Jalopnik

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Tesla has made some incredible contributions to the auto industry. I don’t think anybody will dispute that. But now that it’s considered as an industry leader, I’m starting to wonder if Tesla is becoming a little careless. To be clear, I am not affected by these issues that have plagued the company because I don’t own a Tesla. But seeing so many people come out with one complaint after another is starting to make we wonder if there’s more to these issues than what we’re seeing on the surface.

I’m going to stop well short of accusing Tesla of sandbagging it because that wouldn’t be fair to the company. But this specific issue does point to that if it’s determined that the company simply turned off the sensors because they couldn’t fix the problem it was presenting. I’m sorry, but that’s a very weak excuse and owners are right to call Tesla out for it.

The problem isn’t in the glitches or the bugs; it’s in the willingness to admit mistakes and fix the issues before it gets out of hand. Just look at Tesla’s behavior with all the crashes that have been tied into its Autopilot system. There’s a pattern of “it’s your fault, not ours” that’s forming and people are starting to notice it as more and more owners start calling Tesla out for its issues.

I don’t like to see this happen because I am a fan of Tesla. I think it’s done some great things in pushing for and making all-electric vehicles really cool. But it can’t keep digging up every ounce of goodwill it has harvested whenever an issue arises. That land’s going to dry up soon, and if that happens, Tesla’s reputation could follow suit.