Comment by foofoo4u
4 years ago
Sidebar topic, but something that is always in the back of my head. Cars are becoming evermore connected to the web. If something as simple as this can brick my Mac, then what will it be like in a vehicle? Will all cars simultaneously go haywire at the same time around the world? This of course assumes software or hardware safety overrides are not in place to overcome such a situation.
Internet connectivity should be seen as an undesirable feature, a risk to be minimized.
Most cars use separate buses for the critical control systems and the infotainment/GPS/etc. They learned that lesson after the infamous demonstration of hacking a Jeep on the highway several years ago.
It's conceivable that someone could push bad updates to Tesla autopilot software, or briefly stop peoples' radios from working, but quiet OTA systems like that are the exception rather than the rule.