Tesla's gives an update on its upcoming more affordable vehicle
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The third-quarter earnings call for Tesla offered intriguing insights into the direction and focus of the company's upcoming next-gen vehicle, dubbed the Model 2 or the $25,000 car.
While drawing on a comparison to Cybertruck's production challenges, Elon Musk declared this vehicle will be more conventional for production with the overarching goal of achieving an unmatched level of manufacturing efficiency.
Functional Beauty: The Aesthetic Vision
The next-gen car is predicted to be the most produced car in Tesla's lineup, with the potential scale and reach of the Model 2, with implications suggesting it could match the combined volume of other Tesla models. The "high-volume, low-cost" will be simpler in design and technological features to achieve a production speed unprecedented in the auto industry. The mention of achieving "units per minute level that is unheard of" paints a picture of Tesla's commitment to scale and affordability.
Breaking away from the enchantment often associated with Tesla vehicles, Musk set the stage for a different kind of vehicle in the Model 2. Described as "utilitarian," this new vehicle won't be about enchanting consumers but serving a functional purpose. Despite this, Musk reassured that the car will still bear Tesla's signature beauty.
The Quest for Affordability
A dominant theme throughout the call was the relentless push towards reducing costs and improving operational efficiencies. Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Accounting Officer, pointed out the myriad challenges and variables in managing product margins, especially given the ongoing factory upgrades.
Nevertheless, company representatives remain unwavering in their dedication to cost reductions for 2024, showcasing Tesla's commitment to affordability. As Taneja describes, this "cost attack" strategy involves meticulous examination and improvement of every line item, highlighting Tesla's dedication to affordability at every turn.
Musk equated their cost-reduction strategy to a "Game of Thrones" where even saving pennies mattered. Musk highlighted the importance of such savings, highlighting how even small elements, like unnecessary internal stickers or QR codes, are being scrutinized for their contribution to the vehicle's cost.
Driving down the costs for the Model 2 isn't just about large-scale production adjustments; it's about scrutinizing every tiny detail. Musk illustrated the cost anatomy of a vehicle, emphasizing the challenge of saving even $0.40 on each of the approximately 10,000 parts in a car.
What This Means for Model 2
All these cost-saving strategies are directly tied to Tesla's aspiration to introduce the Model 2 at an unprecedented price point. By focusing on "pennies" and being "ruthless" in their cost-cutting measures, Tesla is gearing up to deliver a vehicle that doesn't just promise efficiency and sustainability but also unparalleled affordability.
The road to the Model 2 is evidently layered with challenges. Still, if there's one takeaway from the earnings call, it's that Tesla is more committed than ever to making the dream of an affordable electric vehicle a reality for the masses.
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As Tesla update 2024.44.3 continues to roll out, we’re seeing more features in this update. While the update doesn’t include many new feature, it either improves existing features or rolls out a feature to new regions. Actually Smart Summon is rolling out to Europe, although with more strict restrictions. AutoPark is also rolling out to the UK and several other countries for the first time, and we’re now seeing improvements to Autopark arriving in North America and Europe.
As Tesla’s 2024.44.3 update continues to roll out, more features in the update are being revealed. While this update doesn’t introduce many entirely new features, it does refine existing features or expand the reach of others.
Notably, Actually Smart Summon is now rolling out in Europe, albeit with stricter regulations. Vision-based AutoPark is debuting in the UK and several other countries, while North America and Europe are receiving updates that further improve Autopark’s functionality.
Improvements to Autopark
As part of the same update, Tesla is making a batch of improvements to Autopark in Europe and North America. In the release notes, Tesla states that Autopark is receiving performance and visualization improvements. Unfortunately, Tesla doesn’t go into more detail here, but it sounds like these improvements could be the faster and more accurate Autopark enhancements Ashok Elluswamy talked about earlier this year.
Those improvements are expected to make Autopark more reliable, let it pick spots faster, move faster into them, and also shift between forward and reverse faster. The improvements would also let the vehicle park in tighter spots than before, with more accurate vision.
We’ll have to wait and see how this improved Autopark compares to the current version.
Your vehicle's Autopark performance and visualizatons have been improved.
Autopark in the UK and Other Countries
Countries in Europe that previously didn’t have access to Vision-Based Autopark, including the UK, will now have access to the new Autopark for the first time with update 2024.44.3 and later. This includes countries such as the UK, Ireland and Malaysia.
While these countries are receiving Autopark, it’s not clear whether it includes the Autopark improvements that other regions are receiving. The release notes don’t include the Autopark Improvements section in these countries, but that could be due to Tesla simplifying the release notes for these countries that are receiving Autopark for the first time.
With Autopark finally introduced in these regions, it’ll be the first time vehicles without ultrasonic sensors are capable of Autopark. Vision-Based Autopark is far more reliable, faster, and easier to use in more situations than the older USS-based solution.
Tesla has finally released Actually Smart Summon for Europe and the Middle East, albeit with several major restrictions. However, it's definitely a first step towards unlocking autonomy in Europe.
Europe’s autonomy laws are governed under UNECE regulation R79, which regulates autonomous features and is extremely restrictive in how autonomy can be used and applied. For example, the previous revision (Rev 4) of R79 required drivers to approve, with physical action, every decision made by an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) feature.
Limited Actually Smart Summon
Under Rev 5 of UNECE R79, Actually Smart Summon can actually function, but only to a limited degree. Owners have to be within 6 meters (19.5 feet) of the vehicle at all times, making it barely more usable than Dumb Summon (can we coin the term Dummon?).
In addition, you can only travel a total distance (under the regulation) of 100 meters (328 feet) - which means you’d have to run beside the vehicle or be inside it, rendering it mostly useless. However, Tesla has, for some reason, limited the total summon distance to 15-20m (50 to 65 feet) of travel. These limits are in sharp contrast to the distance limits of A.S.S. in North America.
Getting UNECE R79 Updated
Tesla has been hard at work getting R79 repealed or updated to allow for further autonomy after running demos for senior politicians earlier in the year. Back in March, we reported that updating DCAS regulations in Europe would help get FSD approved - but that covered driver assistance, not autonomy. In fact, Tesla was testing FSD with validation vehicles as far back as February of this year, hinting that Supervised FSD may be getting close.
Tesla FSD Validation Vehicle seen in Munich, Germany 👀
While FSD has a clear path forward in Europe, semi-autonomous features like Actually Smart Summon and Banish don’t just yet. The updated DCAS regulations do not cover semi-autonomy or autonomy and require clear interfaces, guidelines, and controls for drivers to be informed and engaged at all times.
It’ll take another big swing for Tesla to get autonomy regulations changed to allow for more semi-supervised autonomy like Actually Smart Summon - much less fully autonomous products like the Robotaxi Network, Cybercab, and Robovan.
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