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this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2024
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I don’t think anyone will disagree with you about unsupervised OTA updates.
To your first point- I agree that any update that changes the behavior of any fundamental system in a car is pretty reckless. Especially ones that increase a car’s acceleration, which Tesla historically does. I don’t know why those sorts of updates aren’t being regulated harder. OTA updates should be for mundane things like infotainment updates or, in more serious cases, to fix systems that aren’t functioning properly. It shouldn’t otherwise be used to alter how the car functions as a car, especially when these updates largely happen silently or the changes are tucked into some changelog that the owner doesn’t have to read.
However, to your second point, cars are smart now and there’s no going back. So cars do need software updates to close attack vectors.
If it's a safety system, it might be "have the car taken to the dealership on a flatbed truck". Also, some people don't live near a dealership.
Like it or not, all modern cars are connected - for the maps if nothing else - and if a car is capable of an OTA update, I say do it. I don't see how a dealership adds anything other than cost which will always discourage updates from being made at all.
And I actually think physical updates are easier - connect a laptop to the ECU, and you're done. It's generally only OTA updates that use code signing/etc.