NHTSA Complaint #11375268 — 2018 TESLA MODEL X

DRIVER DISTRACTION ISSUE WHEN I BOUGHT THE TESLA MODEL X, BASIC VOICE COMMANDS WERE AVAILABLE -- E.G., TO CALL USING A SMARTPHONE, LINKED TO THE CAR VIA BLUETOOTH. THE OPERATION, AS NEW, WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD, AND MATCHED THE THEN-CURRENT MANUAL, AVAILABLE IN 2018. AS IS KNOWN, TESLA UPDATES ITS CAR SOFTWARE, &, IN FACT, MAKES IT MANDATORY THAT THE CAR'S SW BE UPDATED, OR RISK VOIDING THE WARRANTY. NORMALLY, THE NEW SW UPDATES IMPROVE THE OPERATION OF THE CAR. HOWEVER, STARTING IN DECEMBER 2019, THE SW UPDATES, & EACH TESLA 'OWNERS MANUAL' THAT CORRESPONDS, FELL OUT OF SYNC. THE MANUAL WOULD DESCRIBE FUNCTIONALITY, AND THE ACTUAL SOFTWARE, SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE THE FUNCTIONALITY. I'VE READ EACH OF THE UPDATED "MODEL X OWNERS MANUAL NORTH AMERICA", (JANUARY 2020 & OCTOBER 2020), DOWNLOADED FROM THE TESLA WEBSITE. IN EACH CASE, THE CAR FAILS TO CONFORM TO THE OPERATIONAL DETAILS EXPLAINED AT, E.G., THE OCTOBER 2020 (2020.44) MANUAL, PAGE 53. ON THAT PAGE, TESLA EXPLAINS, TWICE, THAT A WAY TO ACTIVATE A VOICE COMMAND, IS TO 1. PRESS THE VOICE BUTTON; 2. STATE THE VOICE COMMAND, E.G., "CALL JOHN DOE" 3. PRESS THE VOICE COMMAND. TWICE, ON THE SAME PAGE 53, TESLA WRONGLY INSTRUCTS THE DRIVER TO 'TAP THE VOICE BUTTON AGAIN' OR 'PRESS AGAIN'. IN HUNDREDS ATTEMPTS TO MAKE THE MODEL X TO RESPOND TO 'BOOKEND' PRESSES OF THE VOICE BUTTON, IT HAS FAILED TO OPERATE IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED IN THE MANUAL, SINCE DECEMBER 2019. HOWEVER, THE CAR DOES RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING SEQUENCE OF INPUTS, WHICH THE MANUAL ALSO DESCRIBES: 1. PRESS THE VOICE BUTTON; 2. STATE THE VOICE COMMAND, E.G., "CALL JOHN DOE" 3. WAIT, UP TO 5 SECONDS ...CONTINUED IN ATTACHEMENT