Software upgrades raise questions over artificial constraints on vehicle systems

There was a time when if you wanted additional features or capabilities in a new car – say, a better engine or heated seats – you had to pay for them when buying it. The vehicle would then be figuratively set in stone, always having those features or capabilities – and only them – unless you brought it into a shop for further modifications.

That paradigm will soon be a thing of the past, industry experts say, as car makers increasingly become capable of adding or taking away features on the fly.

Tesla provided the perfect example recently when it extended the battery range for some car owners fleeing Hurricane Irma in Florida. The electric-car maker added an extra 50 to 65 kilometres of charge range to Model S and Model X vehicles equipped with 75-kilowatt-hour battery packs that were otherwise software-limited to 60-kWh or 70-kWh capacity.

The temporary boosts were made remotely, with the cars receiving them via their wireless connections.

"It's becoming an intelligent system, it's like it's breathing," says Fakhri Karray, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo. "This is the transition we're in, where we're going, from obsolete hard technology to more flexible, reconfigurable types of systems."

While Tesla garnered praise for its altruistic battery extension – which it did at no cost – it also raised questions about the fairness of artificial software constraints on vehicles, as well as the potential arbitrariness of changes.

When the affected cars were first sold, customers had the option of purchasing the full 75-kWh capacity, which would give the Model S about 400 kilometres, or a lower charge capacity for a lower price. But rather than getting a smaller battery, customers who chose the less expensive options were simply limited by software locks from accessing its full capacity. They were also given the option of purchasing that upgraded ability later.

Following the hurricane-related boost, some observers argued in online forums that it was unfair for Tesla to artificially constrain capability and that this sort of tiered access to features isn't the norm when it comes to cars.

Others suggested that while there's truth in that argument, the norm is changing to where cars are increasingly resembling other consumer goods. Tiers and optional upgrades are widespread in consumer electronics, video games, streaming services and apps.

"It's just not as common in automotive, so the general public isn't used to it," says Olivier Trescases, associate professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at University of Toronto. "The difference here is that [electric vehicles] are more range-constrained to begin with, so people are more sensitive about it."

A spokesperson for Tesla declined to comment, but other car makers agree with the notion that the norm – where car capabilities are dictated by static, unchanging hardware – is changing.

"If [you] start thinking through the implications of what you can do with software and code instead of the hardware that you've purchased from the outset, that opens up a whole new conversation," says Ted Graham, head of open innovation at General Motors.

Some commenters suggest new rules are going to be necessary to prevent car makers from issuing arbitrary changes that can potentially affect drivers negatively.

As an example, the U.S. Consumers Union points to another recent Tesla move, in which the company remotely disabled automatic emergency braking in some newly manufactured vehicles. Tesla said it was studying data to make sure the system worked properly and that it would restore the feature within six weeks.

David Friedman, director of cars and product policy and analysis at the Consumers Union, told U.S. National Public Radio that manufacturers could become "cavalier" with such changes.

"It's important for government to have a clear role in pushing auto makers to provide consumers with clarity on what their cars can and can't do, and to not allow car companies to at a whim change the functionality of a vehicle, especially if safety is involved," he said.

The increasing fluidity of car capabilities also raises some intriguing possibilities. Karray suggests car makers could offer speed tiers to drivers, which could in turn affect insurance rates, as an example. Drivers who opt for lower top speeds in their cars might pay lower premiums, while those who want to go faster could see higher rates.

"We are at that transition where we're between something that used to be very, very structured, to something that is going to be less so," he says. "This is just the beginning."

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