It's not just the trends from other EVs that suggests there will be subscription based features. The whole idea of the Slate is that you can buy extras, like DLCs for a video game, for an extra cost. It's a no brainer that Slate will do the same on the software side of things probably more extreme than other manufacturers.
Yeah, this will be in opposition to the majority opinion here, but I could totally see it too. Slate's Ethos is not to make a great car and never worry about profits.
Right, it's customizable, as long as you pay up for each little feature. This then leads to the question of just how open is the truck. Slate will let future owners customize it, but it'll only be approved customization behind a paywall when it comes to software.
Agree - if Slate opens up access to their software, it would be a huge liability should someone program incorrectly or even worse, get hacked and cause an accident/fatality.
That does sound like putting the "Y" in DIY, though the fact that computer control of some of those things is still concerning to me.
The fanciest features I have and appreciate are my daytime running lights and the dinging that reminds me that my keys are still in the ignition when I open the door. I'm the youngest old fart I know.
Heaven forbid that a car company not sell a car at an economically sustainable price. Good news: the Slate business model isn't designed to create a revenue stream for a dealer's service department. You know, no dealers.
If Slate's software can be hacked to cause accidents, it's already more in control than I want it to be. I don't want it to steer into or out of a lane, or decide when to brake or accelerate. Yes, I don't want active driver assist. I don't want fly-by-wire controls.
YOU would be in control, just as much as with any other vehicle. from your phone you could do those things, possibly with no "cloud" involvement.
AFAIK no vehicles have been hacked in that way, those kind of controls are in a way firewalled away from remote control. Updates are digitally signed, and encryption and other measures are taken. Even a big company like Ford would face possible bankruptcy if one of their vehicles turned out to be susceptible to that kind of thing. I'm not asking, and I'm doubting Slate would even consider "opening up their software" but they might offer an API so 3rd party software on your phone could access limited data, like battery health, etc.
This was 10 years ago, and nothing more seems to have come of it. Is this kind of threat actually realistic? Even then they likely needed mac addresses and other info from the vehicle to even begin the attack, it was apparently patched, and even though cars are more connected than ever now, we aren't seeing a bunch of these stories, and we aren't hearing about criminals hacking into cars to harm people.
You expect more competence from automobile software programmers than I do, especially when it comes to security features.
In that case, apparently a screwdriver and a USB cable enable the attack, and those brands only use security immobilizer chips on 26% of their vehicles, while others use them on 96%.
As cars get more and more connected, we are seeing that automotive manufacturers aren't that great at making secure software. Look at the auto hacking village at DefCon for an example of what's going on. There is another hacking contest, pwn2own, where if you managed to hack the car you got to keep it and someone did.
