Tesla is putting obstacles in the way of the ideas of some of its customers who might be tempted to use cheaper third-party services to increase their vehicle's performance, rather than buying the services directly from the company.
The latest software update to the Tesla Model 3 has shown some owners using the Boost50 module a warning saying "incompatible vehicle modification detected," along with "potential risk of damage or inoperability.".
Boost50 increases the performance of the Tesla Model 3 Dual and is produced by the Canadian company Ingenext. It is attached to the vehicle and the device reduces the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km / h to 3.8 seconds from 4.4 seconds before. Boost50 also includes a number of other features, such as drift mode - a special driving mode that disables traction control, but maintains ABS and power steering.
After upgrading their vehicle to Tesla software 2020.32, Boost50 buyers reported on Reddit that the automaker blocked its operation.
Tesla offers its own official “Acceleration Boost” for the Model 3 Dual Motor. It was released last year, and the feature, which is a software upgrade, costs $2,000 and reduces the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h to 3.9 seconds.
The Boost50 module offered by Ingenext, on the other hand, is priced at $1,433. So it's easy to see why the offer has attracted some Tesla vehicle owners.
Those using the “unofficial” module, however, do so at their own risk. It’s likely that with each software update, Tesla will try to fix the hack and disable third-party features to encourage owners to buy its own products.
In fact, Ingenext has a dedicated page to inform customers whether Boost50 is safe to use on various updates . For now, the page recommends waiting for confirmation that the 2020.32 update is safe before installing the module.
It's only a matter of time, however, before Ingenext's technicians figure out how to address the update with their own patch.
It remains to be seen whether customers will continue to opt for cheaper, but slightly less reliable modules provided by third parties, or will opt to purchase the more expensive capabilities officially offered by Tesla with each software.
Acceleration isn't the only service Tesla offers as a paid option. The company also offers the $8,000 Full Self-Driving (FSD) package, which is a 14% increase over previous pricing.
Tesla isn't the only automaker to offer additional paid vehicle features in the form of software services. BMW recently announced a similar offering, with options like cruise control, automatic high-beams, and even heated seats that have to be paid for as separate features, in addition to the car itself.
BMW's plan is based on subscriptions: customers would pay for a subscription to get a different option – so, for example, their cars could be equipped with heated seats only when necessary in the winter months.
Similarly, Musk recently confirmed that Autopilot will eventually be offered as a subscription feature.
Customers seem to be complaining that they are now forced to pay for basic services that should be enabled by default.
