NHTSA Complaint #11442375 — 2013 TESLA MODEL S

Screen behind steering wheel that displays Speedometer goes black from time to time. Am told by a Tesla tech that this issue is related to outdated MCU1 hardware and that a 1500 upgrade to MCU2 hardware will resolve the issue. The current software that runs on 9 year old hardware (same chips are used from 2012-early 2018) is too bloated and causes usability issues that create unsafe driving conditions. It is imperative that speed, climate control and other functions that MCU handles have 100% uptime, especially when the vehicle is in motion. This is only possible by a hardware upgrade that can run Tesla’s latest software (which is automatically pushed several times per year). Right now, Tesla will sell customers an upgraded MCU for $1500-2000, depending on vehicle. This MCU can handle the latest software that inevitably finds its way to every Tesla vehicle through automatic updates. Customers should not have to pay $2000 to maintain basic features, such as timely vehicle power up, reliable speedometer and climate controls, and consistently performing music playing. I have had dozens of issues with MCU performance over the 5year ownership period. NHTSA should do a performance and reliability evaluation of a model S or X with MCU 1 vs MCU 2 and use this data as evidence to demand Tesla recall for all 2018 and earlier vehicles with MCU 1. Common issues include: 1. Waiting 30-90 seconds for vehicle to power up and become drivable. This is especially concerning when driver needs to move vehicle in a timely fashion (think of scenario with impending danger). 2. Either of 2 screens going blank for 2-30 minutes, including while driving. This creates anxiety and distraction for a driver loosing gauges and loss of vehicle controls 3. Inability to change climate control, especially in dangerous conditions Think of the vehicles core functions and controls relying on iPhone 4 hardware !