Tesla is considering opening a Gigafactory in Canada
Tesla
Tesla's love for Canada is more evident than ever. A recent email to owners showcases the company's commitment to sustainability and its positive impact on Canada's economy and the environment. The email comes at the same time as Canada committed millions to more charging stations and rolled out its first electric vehicle, a Tesla Model Y, to the country's police force.
Remember, Canada is on the shortlist for a new Giga factory, and these are positive signs that North America may be getting another Tesla-producing super plant. Despite Elon Musk being half Canadian and previously suggesting a Canadian location, he will go to the country, province/state, and city that offers the best strategic location, the most tax incentives, and a skilled workforce.
While recent developments have pointed at a new factory in Mexico, Tesla has previously stated they plan to have 10-12 really big factories that will allow them to produce up to 20 million vehicles annually.
Overview of Tesla's recent email to Canadian owners
Interestingly, the wording in the Tesla email says, "a recent economic impact assessment conducted by Enviro Economics quantified Tesla's impact on the Canadian economy. However, EnviroEconomics states that Tesla asked the company to "assess the economic impact of their Canadian operations and spending, as well as the emission reductions and operational fuel savings associated with Tesla vehicles in Canada."
Why would Tesla want that information unless the company is deep in conversations with Canadian officials? This new information may be the next phase to win over public support for a Tesla Gigafactory development.
Analysis of Tesla's Impact on the Canadian Economy
The numbers make a compelling case for Canada to do whatever it can to encourage a Gigafactory in the Great White North. Tesla spending in Canada has grown by 25% year-over-year between 2018 and 2021. The expenditure was widespread, with 51 economic sectors benefiting from Tesla's investment in automotive parts, charging stations, manufacturing, and retail operations.
Tesla's total contribution to Canadian GDP in 2021 was $762 million, and the company contributed to 6,645 full-time jobs in the country, including 3,100 direct jobs due to its operations and spending. The direct employment impact was equivalent to 3% of all jobs in the auto parts manufacturing sector.
Benefits of Tesla's vehicles in Canada
Canada recently introduced new targets for manufacturers' and importers' vehicles. The regulations state that 20 percent of new cars sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2026, at least 60 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2035. There are more than 145,000 Teslas in Canada, including a new Model Y, as part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police force. It's the first electric vehicle in the fleet and part of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. Canada also announced a $15 million investment in 2,350 EV chargers.
According to the study, the benefits of Tesla's vehicles in Canada extend beyond the economy. Between 2018 and 2021, Tesla's vehicles helped avoid 583,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions. Additionally, Tesla owners in Canada saved an estimated $113 million in 2021 in transportation fuel, equivalent to $1,259 in savings per vehicle.
Canada's Commitment to Sustainability and the Future of Tesla in the Country
Tesla's recent email highlighting the company's impact on the country could signify deeper discussions with Canadian officials. The numbers make a strong case for Canada to encourage the establishment of a Tesla Gigafactory in the country. Tesla's spending and contributions to the Canadian economy have grown significantly over the past few years, and its vehicles have helped reduce carbon emissions and save millions in transportation fuel.
The recent announcement of Canada's new zero-emission vehicle targets, investment in EV chargers, and the addition of a Tesla Model Y to the police force all point to the country's commitment to sustainability. Tesla sees an exciting future ahead in Canada and is poised to continue advancing its mission of transitioning the world to sustainable energy.
Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.
LFP Battery Heating
Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.
The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.
Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).
In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.
We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.
Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.
FSD V13.2.4
A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.
While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.
It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.
Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds
What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.
The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.
While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.
What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.
While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.
While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.
Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.
