Kyle Conner from Out of Spec Reviews recently drove a 2012 Tesla Model S for a video and discovered something that stopped him cold: a 14-year-old electric car running newer software than a 2026 Tesla Model Y. Dog mode, camp mode, route planning, remote climate control through the app, full point-to-point driver assistance. All of it on a car that launched in 2012. That same week, his parents wrapped up 20 months of ownership on a 2024 Porsche Macan EV and reported receiving zero over-the-air software updates in that entire period. One car got better over time. One stayed exactly as it was delivered. Conner argues this gap has become one of the most consequential differences between automakers in the current EV market.
The software update question is not just about new features. It shapes the entire ownership experience and, increasingly, the resale value of a vehicle. A car that receives regular updates retains functional relevance longer. A car that ships and is never touched can feel outdated within a year. The Porsche Macan EV case is particularly pointed because the car launched without phone-as-a-key functionality, a feature Rivian, Tesla, Ford, and BMW all offer. Porsche added it to model year 2026 Macan EVs but has confirmed that 2024 and 2025 owners cannot receive it via software update; they would need to buy a newer vehicle. A software recall on the Macan EV also required a dealership visit rather than an over-the-air fix, and the dealership declined to apply the update at all due to reports of bricked vehicles from the updated software.
Conner lays out three distinct automaker approaches. The first is Tesla's: build a connected architecture from day one, ship updates continuously, and let features accumulate over the vehicle's lifetime. His own 2019 Model 3 now handles stop lights, traffic, lane changes, and parking as a point-to-point level two driver assistance system, none of which existed when the car was new. The second approach is launching incomplete products and using over-the-air updates to finish them, the Cybertruck at launch being the example used, which went six months without lane centering. The third is Porsche's: engineer the vehicle carefully, ship it, and largely leave it alone. Conner respects the engineering discipline in the third approach but sees no justification for basic features like phone-as-a-key or working backup cameras being withheld from existing owners. He also notes that the Volkswagen Group inconsistency runs deep: one owner reported receiving three over-the-air updates on an ID.4 while a Q4 e-tron owner on the same platform received none.
Bottom line: Software strategy has become a real differentiator in the EV market, not a footnote. A car that keeps improving is a different product from one that ships and stagnates. The middle path Conner describes (ship a properly finished base, then update steadily for new technology and driver assistance features) is the right framework. Automakers that cannot execute over-the-air updates reliably are not just annoying their customers. They are making a structural argument that their cars will age faster than the competition.