How much control does 'Mothership' have over our cars?

Fish Fingers

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ian
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Threads
49
Messages
1,876
Reaction score
2,444
Location
Cheshire
Vehicles
Taycan RWD
Country flag
I was reading a pros and cons about owning a Tesla recently and one of the cons was that effectively the company ultimately controls your car.

Then reading on here about them increasing battery for Katrina.

It just got me wondering how much control Porsche Mothership has over our Taycans?

And how different is it compared to a new ICE car. Say a 911?

Just interested.....
Sponsored

 

Torv

Well-Known Member
First Name
Torv
Joined
Dec 8, 2020
Threads
69
Messages
873
Reaction score
1,137
Location
Marin County, California
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Judging by the first couple months of ownership, I doubt Porsche has any control over our cars. I mean really, how many of us had any OTA software updates beyond an occasional Map update? If if a betting man, and I am, I’d wager zero. Any software or firmware updates to the Taycan of any significance thus far seem to have to be performed by the dealer, so no, Porsche has no remote access to our cars.
 
  • Like
Reactions: B61

B61

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bine
Joined
May 31, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
1,558
Location
SI
Vehicles
CT4 (9/2021)
Country flag
Judging by the first couple months of ownership, I doubt Porsche has any control over our cars. I mean really, how many of us had any OTA software updates beyond an occasional Map update? If if a betting man, and I am, I’d wager zero. Any software or firmware updates to the Taycan of any significance thus far seem to have to be performed by the dealer, so no, Porsche has no remote access to our cars.
Maybe they are in read-only mode? :giggle:
Connect app says that the vehicle is connected all the time…
 

Swissbob

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bob
Joined
May 3, 2021
Threads
35
Messages
445
Reaction score
610
Location
Switzerland
Vehicles
Taycan Cross Turismo
Country flag
They told me they can only access the car info through physical access to the computer as of now. Remote access in the works

i’ve always wondered whether the police could request access to the car datà in case of an accident - speed, braking, camera data etc?

Pretty sure Tesla have published car data when accusations were made over autopilot as a cause of accidents
 
  • Like
Reactions: B61
OP
OP
Fish Fingers

Fish Fingers

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ian
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Threads
49
Messages
1,876
Reaction score
2,444
Location
Cheshire
Vehicles
Taycan RWD
Country flag
They told me they can only access the car info through physical access to the computer as of now. Remote access in the works

i’ve always wondered whether the police could request access to the car datà in case of an accident - speed, braking, camera data etc?

Pretty sure Tesla have published car data when accusations were made over autopilot as a cause of accidents
I think when the ISA (black boxes) come in for all cars from May 2022 in EU and the UK that could open the door to this kind of thing. With Police and insurers able to access data after an accident.

https://www.evo.co.uk/news/22326/mandatory-speed-limiters-to-be-fitted-to-all-new-uk-cars-after-2022

If I had a car on order in the EU/UK I would really want to get it before next May.
 


OP
OP
Fish Fingers

Fish Fingers

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ian
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Threads
49
Messages
1,876
Reaction score
2,444
Location
Cheshire
Vehicles
Taycan RWD
Country flag
Just a quote from that article:

Dubbed Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), the limiters will use GPS data and/or traffic sign recognition cameras to determine the speed limit of the road a vehicle is travelling on. Engine power will then be limited to match this, preventing the car from exceeding the speed limit. It will be possible to override the system for the current journey by pushing hard on the throttle, however the system will be engaged every time a car is started.

If you think you can simply keep pressing a little harder on the throttle to break through the system, think again. ETSC also states that: ‘If the driver continues to drive above the speed limit for several seconds, the system should sound a warning for a few seconds and display a visual warning until the vehicle is operating at or below the speed limit again.’
 
Last edited:

Tsingtao

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2021
Threads
12
Messages
375
Reaction score
461
Location
US
Vehicles
Toucan RWD
Country flag
They told me they can only access the car info through physical access to the computer as of now. Remote access in the works

i’ve always wondered whether the police could request access to the car datà in case of an accident - speed, braking, camera data etc?

Pretty sure Tesla have published car data when accusations were made over autopilot as a cause of accidents
For sure the power of the subpoena can reach into our cars' data. But for the time being I am not at all worried (the statute of limitations will kick in long before Porsche software engineers ever figure out how to retrieve our data).
Sponsored

 
 




Top