Price War Truce Between Tesla and Chinese Automakers Withdrawn Over Antitrust Concerns

July 10, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla and other Chinese EV automakers tried to put an end to the price war

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Several days ago Tesla and 16 Chinese automakers declared a truce in their long-standing price wars. The pact, designed to stabilize the largest EV market in the world, was signed at the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) in Shanghai.

A Unifying Pact: No More Price Disruptions

The “letter of acceptance for maintaining fair market order in the automobile industry” encompassed four essential commitments from the automakers, with the key one being to stop disrupting the competitive market order with abnormal pricing.

The agreement was signed by some of the biggest players in the Chinese domestic market, including Tesla, BYD, Nio, Li Auto, Xpeng, China FAW, Dongfeng Motor, SAIC, Changan Automobile, BAIC, GAC, China National Heavy Duty Truck, Chery, JAC, Geely, and Great Wall Motor.

Although the agreement was self-regulated and not legally binding, its significance could not be understated.

Sources from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology asserted that regulating promotional activities, including avoiding reckless price cuts, is necessary for the health and growth of the Chinese auto industry.

This move appeared to signal the end to the price war, which had led to uncertainties in the market and delayed expansion plans, such as Tesla's Giga Shanghai expansion.

An Unexpected U-Turn: The Withdrawal of the Price Pledge

However, the CAAM has decided to retract the pledge made by the 16 automakers to refrain from "abnormal pricing."

The pledge, carefully coordinated by CAAM, was viewed as a ceasefire in the heated price war that had been affecting the profitability of the EV industry. The aim was to promote stability and healthy competition in the market.

Tesla's Move: A Sales-Boosting Strategy

Complicating the situation further, Tesla unveiled a global program on Friday. The program offers additional incentives to potential buyers through referrals from existing customers, a sales strategy long employed by traditional automakers.

While this move could be viewed as a savvy business decision aimed at boosting sales, it comes at a time when the EV industry in China was moving towards maintaining a fair market order. This has raised questions about whether Tesla's new initiative could reignite the pricing wars and undermine the market's stability.

CAAM's Response: Fostering Fair Competition and Independent Pricing

Reacting to this development, CAAM posted a statement on its website on Saturday, acknowledging that the pricing pledge had infringed upon China's antitrust law. As a result, it decided to withdraw the pledge from a list of commitments that the automakers had initially signed under the guidance of an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Despite the withdrawal, CAAM has stated that it will continue to encourage the 16 companies and other association members to strictly adhere to the antitrust law and engage in fair competition through independent pricing. This raises the question of what the future will look like for the EV market, not only in China but worldwide, as industry leaders navigate the complexities of pricing, competition, and market stability.

A New Era in the EV Industry

This development underlines the complexity of the global EV market. It also stresses the delicate balancing act required between ensuring market competitiveness, upholding antitrust laws, and creating a stable and sustainable industry that benefits consumers, manufacturers, and the wider society.

The unexpected withdrawal of the pledge, coupled with Tesla's new referral program, may redefine the landscape of the EV industry. As we progress, watching how automakers balance competitive pricing and maintaining market order will be intriguing.

Tesla Updates FSD Package, Can Now Only Buy FSD Supervised

September 9, 2024

By Karan Singh

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Tesla has changed how they advertise and sell Full Self-Driving on their website. Although the text changes are small, this change could have greater implications in the future.

Previously, customers were offered the option to purchase “Full Self-Driving Capability,” with text saying that FSD will “continuously improve”. This specific text is no longer offered, and instead, customers can now only purchase “Full Self Driving (Supervised),” which no longer mentions continuous improvement.

You can view the old text on the Web Archive page (photo below) for the Model Y. This change comes right before the upcoming Robotaxi event, so we’re not quite sure what to make of it. Let’s look at what else has changed on Tesla’s website on FSD before we dive into the wording changes.

This news comes hot on the heels that Tesla recently pulled its blog pages for Elon Musk’s Masterplan Part II, which mentioned that all future Tesla vehicles would be Robotaxi capable. However, this has since turned out to be part of regular website trimming and maintenance. However, this FSD change is more intentional.

The previous FSD option you could buy from Tesla (left), and the new one (right)

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Definition Changes

These text changes are pretty broad, but that’s not all. There are a few other items that changed, including the removal of the following text:

The activation and use of these features are dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions. As these self-driving features evolve, your car will be continuously upgraded through over-the-air software updates.

This has now been changed to say:

The activation and use of these features are dependent on development and regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions.

That’s a pretty big difference overall, so let’s dig in.

Can Only Buy FSD (Supervised)

Tesla is now only offering the purchase of “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)”, instead of “Full Self-Driving Capability." This has a bit of an implication for the many people who have paid for FSD in the past, expecting their vehicles to become fully autonomous, without supervision being required. With the specific terms on Tesla’s website today, that promise doesn’t seem to be in place for future sales of Full Self-Driving.

Instead, future customers should expect that they may only receive Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which will always require some form of supervision. Tesla no longer states full autonomy on this page, but on the other hand, the Autopilot/FSD Support Page still contains the text for full autonomy.

This seems to be a legal wording change to prevent Tesla from making promises it may not be able to fulfill. On the other hand, Tesla has recently had a fantastic spate of updates this year, with the huge upgrade from FSD V11 to FSD V12. However, they’ve more recently had more trouble with moving on from FSD V12.3.6, which is what most vehicles are still on today. Tesla initially pushed FSD V12.4 and its subversions to early access testers but quickly halted that push. They moved on to FSD V12.5, and V12.5.3 with Actually Smart Summon will begin going out wide sometime next week, to both Hardware 3 and AI4 vehicles.

What Does This Mean for Customers?

For future customers, this likely means that Tesla is intending on only offering Full Self Driving (Supervised), rather than Full Self Driving. This could mean that Tesla will launch a new package for Full Self Driving (Unsupervised) for commercial entities or that it could only be available for Robotaxi vehicles.

For older customers – those who have purchased “Full Self-Driving Capability”, as the feature was previously called, we’re not quite sure whether Tesla will include you in this new ‘Supervised’ description, or if you’ll be offered Full Self-Driving (Unsupervised) when that ultimately becomes available. As for subscribers, Tesla can change their offerings at any point since you’re only paying for what’s available for that month.

Today, we’re not quite sure what to make of this change, especially since that same change hasn’t been reciprocated elsewhere on Tesla’s website. The changes could be anywhere from a protective legal change, to Tesla offering a new FSD (Unsupervised) package in the future, or fully autonomous FSD being something that Tesla will not commit a date or price to.

Let us know what you think on the forums.

Tesla Introduces Hands-Free Frunk Opening in Update 2024.32.3

September 7, 2024

By Karan Singh

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In Tesla’s upcoming update, 2024.32.3, Tesla has added hands-free support for opening the vehicle’s frunk. This follows the Spring Update (2024.14), which added Hands-Free Trunk support for certain vehicles.

When hands-free trunk support was added earlier this year, it was supported on vehicles that include an ultra wideband chip, which includes the refresh Model S, new Model X, and the 2024 Model 3. Due to the hardware requirement, these will be the same vehicles that support the new Hands-Free Frunk feature. Legacy vehicles without UWB will unfortunately not support either feature due to the hardware requirement. UWB enables far more accurate tracking of the phone key, allowing Tesla to pinpoint its exact location relative to the vehicle.

The Cybertruck interestingly also includes an ultra wideband chip, however, it didn’t include the automatic opening of the gate earlier this year. However, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive the hands-free frunk opening in this 2024.32.3 update or relatively soon afterward.

Update: The Cybertruck is receiving hands-free frunk support in the 2024.32 update as well.

Hands-Free Frunk

The Hands-Free Frunk works similarly to the trunk feature – with an iPhone 11+ and a recent version of the app, you’ll be able to stand in front of your vehicle, and the Frunk will unlatch after sounding a chime. On some vehicles, the frunk will immediately open after being unlatched, however, you’ll need to manually close it.

This new feature isn’t enabled by default – you’ll need to go to Settings > Locks > Hands-Free Frunk to enable it.

At this time, Tesla doesn’t support UWB on Android devices, though both the Hands-Free Trunk and Hands-Free Frunk support will come to Android users in a future app update, according to Tesla.

Exclude Home

With the addition of the hands-free frunk opening, Tesla has also added a new option. You can now choose to disable the automatic opening when your vehicle is located at home to prevent you from accidentally opening. This will apply to the automatic frunk and trunk. In addition, in the Model X, you’ll also be able to disable the self-presenting doors at home. This is a great addition as many people have kept the hands-free feature disabled due to it awkwardly opening in the garage.

In the 2024.32.3 update, Tesla also mentions that they’ve improved the detection of the phone key, which should make the feature more reliable and faster when approaching the vehicle from the front or rear.