Issue 372 - World's first autonomous car delivery
Autonomy & Robotaxi
World's first autonomous delivery of a car 📹
This past week, this Tesla Model Y drove itself from Gigafactory Texas to its new owner’s home ~30 minutes away, fully autonomous with no safety driver in the car at all. First time for something that I’m sure we’ll soon be taking for granted.
Tesla’s ‘Project Halo’ revealed: the upgraded Model Ys behind the robotaxi network 📷
Tesla's Project Halo is all about prepping select Model Ys with special hardware for its Robotaxi service. These cars get a second communications unit in a new rear housing, boosting connectivity and streaming power for real-time oversight and tons of live video back to Tesla HQ. While Elon has said any consumer FSD vehicle could work as a Robotaxi, it turns out a few extra pieces (like this comms hardware and self-cleaning cameras) are key to making the pilot program run smoothly for now.
Watch the first true Tesla robotaxi intervention by safety monitor 📹
For the first time since the Tesla Robotaxi program launched, a safety monitor in the passenger seat had to intervene during a ride in Austin when a UPS truck's awkward parking maneuver confused the car. While previous incidents didn't need manual intervention, this marks the first public case where oversight was required, demonstrating that Tesla's cautious approach, keeping safety drivers on board for now, is working as intended.
FSD & AI Infrastructure
Tesla FSD Cortex AI supercluster is running at full capacity, confirms Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirmed the Cortex supercluster at Giga Texas is now maxed out with around 100,000 Nvidia GPUs powering Tesla’s FSD and Optimus AI training, driving a huge leap in compute power. Construction on a second, even larger Cortex cluster is already underway to keep up with the massive demand from the growing Tesla fleet and upcoming Robotaxi service.
Tesla moves closer to launching FSD in Europe with website update
Tesla just updated its European websites, hinting that FSD Supervised could be coming to countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway by late 2025. They're highlighting some serious stats too, like 3.8 billion FSD miles driven and claims it's 54 percent safer than human drivers. The final hurdle remains EU regulatory approval, but with more countries seeing active FSD promotion and demos, it finally looks like real progress is happening in Europe.
Grok & Voice Integration
Here is a look at what Grok will look like on your Tesla 📹
Some screenshots have leaked showing what Grok, xAI’s chatbot, will look like when integrated into Teslas. The feature is expected to work on Hardware 3 vehicles using cloud processing, so hardware limitations shouldn’t be a factor for most owners, but Premium Connectivity and a Grok account will both be required. It remains to be seen how useful this will be beyond novelty, but at least it's coming to a broad base of Tesla vehicles.
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Optimus V3 already uses Grok voice AI
Musk just confirmed that Optimus V3 already uses Grok as its voice assistant, making the Tesla robot capable of more natural interactions with people. The latest version of Optimus keeps getting more impressive, with its human-like proportions, advanced hands, and a growing capacity for real-world tasks after recent factory demos. Looks like production is moving forward fast, with about 5,000 units targeted for this year, a Roman legion of robots, as Musk likes to say!
Charging & Energy
Tesla pressure tests virtual queuing at Superchargers, public pilots coming soon
Tesla is about to test a virtual queuing system at select Supercharger locations to help manage those rare but frustrating wait times when stations are busy. The idea is to make the experience smoother by letting you join a digital line instead of waiting around for a spot. If the feedback is good during these public pilots in Q2, expect this smart update to roll out more broadly later this year.
Tesla’s LFP factory in North America almost complete
Tesla’s new LFP battery cell factory in Nevada is nearing completion and will allow the company to produce less expensive, cobalt-free batteries for its Megapack and Powerwall products right in North America. Beyond strengthening Tesla Energy’s supply chain, this factory could make it possible to bring LFP-based cars like the base Model 3 and Model Y back to North America, making Teslas more affordable for many buyers.
🤓 What the acronym
As a Tesla fan, I find myself sometimes having to remember what are all those acronyms, here is a list of the ones you can find in this issue.
AI: Artificial Intelligence
FSD: Full Self-Driving
LFP: Lithium Iron Phosphate (battery)
Still waiting for HW3 to be upgraded on my 2020 M3 and 2022 MY, as Musk promised. Will his broken promises never cease?