Canada Eyes Tesla Investment: New Documents Reveal Efforts to Woo Musk

Canada continues to pursue Tesla investment

Tesla

In a recent cache of documents obtained by Electric Autonomy through a freedom of information request, significant interactions between Ontario officials and Tesla representatives from 2020 to 2023 were revealed. With Tesla's growing interest in Canadian investment opportunities, the province of Ontario has shown keen interest in becoming a hub for EV production, backed by a series of promising factors.

Ontario's Pursuit of Tesla

Ontario officials, including the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli, and the Minister of Energy, Todd Smith, were in continuous contact with Tesla decision-makers. Even Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, was part of these interactions.

The documents reveal the provincial government's commitment to becoming an attractive destination for Tesla, highlighting the end-to-end EV battery supply chain, a talented workforce, R&D opportunities, mining opportunities, and a competitive manufacturing landscape.

An email from December 2022 states Canada's intention to subsidize EV battery production, indicating the country's ambition to be a central hub for future EV production.

Tesla's Interest in Canada

Tesla is considering Ontario for possible investment. The company's representatives have been closely watching other auto sector developments within the province and across the country.

A December 2022 email from Iain Myrans, national senior manager of public policy and development for Canada at Tesla, observes the multi-billion-dollar wave of investment in Ontario and Quebec and Canada's ranking as the #2 spot for battery materials processing and manufacturing.

Canada's Ministers Champagne and Fedeli have also shown a readiness to ensure a level playing field for Tesla's future investments.

Future Involvement and Collaboration

Tesla is exploring collaborations with Canadian universities and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network for connected and autonomous vehicle research. The government correspondence also reveals Tesla's support for talent development and career opportunities in Ontario's advanced manufacturing sector.

Recent events, such as an email to Canadian Tesla owners showcasing Tesla's impact on the Canadian economy, further demonstrate Canada's commitment to sustainability and align with Tesla's ambitions. Tesla's planned expansion to 10-12 Gigafactories globally opens the door for potential Canadian locations.

Musk Homecoming

Tesla's interest in Canada isn't just a matter of business strategy; it's personal for CEO Elon Musk, who is half-Canadian. His mother, Maye Musk, was born in Canada, and Musk holds Canadian citizenship. He spent part of his early years in Canada, attending Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.

The connection to Canada is more than nostalgic; it aligns with the country's positioning as a hub for technological innovation and sustainable energy. Musk has openly mentioned Canada in several instances, expressing interest in the country's commitment to green energy, natural resources, and scientific research.

Musk's affinity for Canada could play a crucial role in Tesla's future investment decisions, and the recent interactions between Ontario officials and Tesla representatives seem to be leveraging this connection.

This personal connection, along with Canada's strategic positioning in the EV and battery manufacturing landscapes, makes Ontario an attractive option for Tesla's expansion, and the ongoing talks between the parties demonstrate a commitment to exploring these opportunities.

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Tesla Improves Blind Spot Indicator By Warning You of Obstacles

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Tesla China has outlined some features in Tesla’s latest update in the region, which is version 2024.26.9. In the list of features, Tesla mentions many of the features we’re already aware of, including Automatic Emergency Braking Improvements, YouTube Music and more, but they also reveal one additional feature that’s exclusive to China. The new feature allows the new blind spot indicator to light up if there’s something in the way when you’re opening your door. The blind spot indicator is exclusive to the new Model 3 and Cybertruck, which features little red LEDs in the front speaker grills next to the mirror.

Blind Spot Door Warnings

With update 2024.26.9, Tesla says that if any vehicle door handle button is pressed on vehicles with a Blind Spot Warning Light (currently just the 2024 Refreshed Model 3 Highland and the Cybertruck), the blind spot warning indicator in the vehicle’s front speakers will illuminate.

This object detection includes cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and “other objects”. We’re not quite sure what fits into the “other objects” category, but likely things that FSD picks up on normally – including traffic cones, bollards, and other large obstacles.

According to Tesla’s description, there appears to only be a visual warning for the driver and front passenger, with nothing displayed on screen or an audible tone. We’re sure Tesla will continue to expand and refine this feature like they’ve done with various features in the past, but for now, it's only available in China. Blind Spot Door Warnings need to be enabled under Controls > Safety before this feature will function.

We’d love to see Tesla use the ambient light strip in the vehicle to warn passengers and drivers when their door is obstructed – it would be a fantastic use of a luxury feature for utilitarian safety – rather than just the single red LED inside the door speaker. Additionally, an audio warning would be excellent for those who may not see the red dot.

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Tesla Adds FSD Option to UI in China - Asks for Map Update

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Tesla appears to be making progress on FSD in China, with the latest update available in the region now displaying the FSD button in the vehicle. Tesla makes no note of the change in the release notes, nor does it appear to be available in any other regions that are expected to receive access to FSD in the future.

FSD in the UI

In the Autopilot options in China, users could previously select Traffic-Aware Cruise Control or Auto Steer (Beta), however, as of 2024.26.9, the Full Self Driving (Supervised) button is now visible – but greyed out. Tapping on the option doesn’t do anything just yet, but the addition of the button could be a hint that Tesla is planning to enable the feature soon.

Underneath the Autopilot selection, Tesla also has a phrase that says, “Full Self-Driving (Supervised) needs to use an updated version of navigation maps. Connect to Wi-Fi to download” (Thanks, Luis Zhu). It’s possible the option is greyed out because the software needs updated maps to work. There are no reports yet of what happens when the navigation map is downloaded.

We previously reported that FSD was on hold in China, even after Tesla received approval to start testing FSD in China. This flip-flopping is interesting but could be due to regulatory issues between China and Tesla regarding data collection and where the data is stored. Now that the button is in the UI – Tesla is clearly confident that it either has received approval or will in short order.

It certainly appears that Tesla is going to be opening up FSD in the region fairly soon. It’ll be interesting to see if Tesla uses the same Safety Score feature they used in the U.S. when choosing drivers to beta test the program.

Elon Musk previously mentioned that FSD (Supervised) would be rolling out to global markets, including Europe and China, as Tesla received approvals from governments in those nations.

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