We are all quite excited about the future of electric cars and in a more distant future with autonomous cars. But that green future has a "problem" and it's called software.
And the problem is going to be for users, since electric cars will last quite a few years in operation and the software will evolve over time; and we must be clear that car manufacturers are going to try to charge us for these updates.
A car is not like a mobile, which, due to its price, can be exchanged from one a few years old for a more up-to-date and better one. A car lasts between 10 and 20 years, and some even longer.
The cars of the future will be devised like today's mobiles. They will have a Hardware : engine part, chassis, computer, battery, etc ... and a Software that will control all the functions of the car. From the power generated by the engine, the turning radius of the wheels, the control of the car's sensors, driving aids, etc ...
And that software will have periodic "updates" to improve its performance over time. But that dear friends is not going to be "free" rather the car manufacturers will charge us for it. And don't expect it to be cheap in any way.
I have read that recently the new electric car company Polestar has updated the software of their cars to be able to get more power from the electric motors, for the modest price of 1,000 dollars.
Now the owners of these cars can have more power in their cars, but they have to pay extra for it. And I think that is the path that all manufacturers are going to follow.
We can see that Tesla does the same. It offers a "full drive" option for $ 10,000 and charges for updates to its software. Which brings them some nice extra yearly profits.
The new electric cars are made up of an increasingly powerful computer that controls more and more sensors and more functions of the car. And a computer has software that makes it operational, and that software will evolve over time to introduce updates and improvements. That will be the basic technology in all new cars (which will be electric), and what was based on the engine, now will be based on the computer.
Making engines required very specific and hard-to-get technologies. Making computers is entirely something else, and it relies on microelectronics and software. It is therefore a total technological change.
And manufacturers are going to use technology to hold customers by the neck for the rest of the car's life. We may have the option of not updating the modifications they offer us, but we will end up with a relatively obsolete car in a few years.
Because in general, what most people do is think that for a little more money (between 500 and 1,000 euros) they are making improvements to their car. And if we multiply these amounts by the millions of cars that will end up circulating, we can get an idea of the enormous annual business that is presented to the manufacturers of new electric cars.
This is a "business" that they will not pass up. And the problem that arises is: What options are presented to us, the users of these cars?
Not many, I'm afraid.
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