Tesla starts rolling out Model 3 update to reduce braking distance by up to ~20 ft, says Elon Musk

Following some inconsistencies in testing for the stopping distance of the Model 3 last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company found an issue with the ‘ABS calibration algorithm’.

Now the automaker started rolling out a software update to fix the issue, according to Musk.

On Monday, we published an article about Consumer Reports getting inconsistent results in their Model 3 braking tests.

The magazine said that they were getting a 152-ft average stopping distance from 60 mph, while Tesla claimed an average of 133 feet in their own tests.

Musk responded to the article saying that it was surprising but they will investigate to see if something could cause the braking distance to be inconsistent.

He later said that they found an issue with the ‘ABS calibration algorithm’ that could result in some inconsistent results and that they were working on an update.

Last night, Musk confirmed that they started pushing the update Friday and that it “should improve braking distance by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events”:

Also, firmware fix for upgraded brake performance on standard Model 3 started rolling out yesterday. Should improve braking distance by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events. Thanks @ConsumerReports for excellent critical feedback!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2018

He didn’t specify which software update includes this fix, but Model 3 owners are reporting receiving the update 2018.18.13 over the past few days.

Electrek’s Take

That was a very quick turnaround from finding the issue to pushing a fix and of course, that’s the big advantage of over-the-air updates.

But it’s not clear if the average stopping distance has been reduced with this update or if it’s really just for “repeated heavy braking events”, which correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like it would only affect the actual result of brake test or on a race track since no one really does “repeated heavy braking” in ordinary driving.

If you have to brake heavily in an emergency, you generally do it just once.

I’d be curious to see if owners can feel a difference without “repeated” events. Let us know in the comment section below.