Mustang Mach-E OTA updates will start six months after launch, Ford says

Enlarge (credit: Ford Motor Company)

When Ford first gave us an in-depth look at its new Mustang Mach-E electric car last fall, it was clear that there was much that was Tesla-inspired. Ford wasn't shy about this fact, holding the event around the block from Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, California. In fact, Ford even told us that in 2017, it tore up the original plans for its next battery electric vehicle-which would have been little more than a compliance vehicle-right around the time the Model 3 arrived. The almost button-free interior and prominent 15.5-inch infotainment screen are the clearest signs of Tesla's influence here, and on Tuesday Ford spilled a few more beans about its plans for over-the-air updates for the car.

Updating software on cars that are already in customer hands isn't an entirely new thing to Ford. For the past few years owners have been able to update their Sync infotainment systems via USB stick or even Wi-Fi. But with the rise of the connected car, the OEM is now able to push those out centrally.

Its decision to embrace OTA updates isn't entirely new, either. In fact, it told the world about plans to do just that when it revealed that giant infotainment screens are coming to many other Ford vehicles, a few weeks before it showed us its new BEV. But for the Mustang Mach-E, the plan is to add more than just infotainment updates, Ford says, although it's being a little vague on the exact details.

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