Who Is John Carmack And Why Is He Helping Tesla Optimize UI?

Tesla Inc TSLA vehicles are known for having huge screens with a responsive, intuitive user interface (UI).

But that wasn't always the case.

Tesla's older vehicles can suffer from laggy, stuttery or hard-to-use UIs due to older, less capable hardware. 

Now it sounds like owners of older Tesla vehicles may get to experience a much-improved experience according to Electrek. This is thanks to John Carmack, the co-founder of id Software, and a lead programmer of Doom, Quake and other popular video games. He also helped make advancements in 3D computer graphics.

According to Electrek, Carmack is working with Tesla to help improve the experience of these older Tesla units by making improvements in the code to increase efficiency. Carmack drives a Model S and experiencing the software firsthand motivated him to contribute his help. 

While Tesla normally rolls out software updates to improve user experience for free, there is an optional hardware upgrade for owners of older vehicles. For $2,500, Tesla drivers can get the latest hardware that results in big improvements. While it seems a bit expensive, it is totally optional, and a refreshing change from needing to buy an entirely new electric vehicle to have the latest tech.

Photo: 2012 Tesla Model S courtesy of Tesla Inc