Tesla’s Q4 earnings call is coming up, and just like Tesla has done in the past, they’ll be answering popular investor questions during their Q&A session.
The earnings call itself opens up at 5:30 PM EST on January 29, 2025 - and Travis Axelrod, Head of Investor Relations at Tesla, will be heading the event, as usual. Tesla Investor Relations will livestream the event, and we’ll have links available for you once they’re posted.
Q4 2024 Top Questions
Tesla is once again accepting questions for their Q&A portion of the call through Say Technologies. While the Say Q&A question voting isn’t over, some of the most popular questions will likely stick at this point. The current batch of questions is interesting and should provide additional clarity on what Tesla hopes to accomplish in 2025.
Here are the current top 10 questions:
Is unsupervised FSD still planned to be released in Texas and California this year? What hurdles must be overcome to make this happen?
Is Optimus now mostly design locked for 2025 production?
When will Tesla start selling Optimus and price?
Elon has said publicly that long-term shareholders of Tesla will have the ability to invest in his other companies. Could you provide some clarity/color as to what that looks like? Brokerage firms use FIFO, so anyone who trades won’t have the true length of time as an investor.
Are there any discussions with other auto companies about licensing FSD?
Is it expected that Tesla will need to upgrade HW3 vehicles and if so, what is the timeline and expected impact to Tesla's CapEx?
What is the status on mass production of the Tesla Semi? How do you project it will affect revenue at scale?
Is there a new affordable Tesla model coming soon?
What technical breakthroughs will define "v14" of FSD, given then v13 is photon-to-control?
Is the Roadster still launching this year?
Note: We’ve made some grammatical corrections to the above questions to improve readability.
Interesting Questions
There are several other interesting questions that aren’t in the top 10, but making it into the top 10 isn’t a guarantee that Tesla will answer the question during their investor call, but they’ll at least be aware of what’s on investors’ minds.
Here are some of the more interesting questions investors have submitted:
Can you please tie purchased FSD to our owner accounts vs. locked to the car? This will help us enjoy it in any Tesla we drive/buy and reward us for hanging in so long, some of us since 2017.
Full voice control of the car, via Grok, will be a huge improvement. Can you elaborate on that functionality and when we will see it in cars?
When are we going to get the extended battery pack for the Cybertruck, and what is the range?
When will we see additional states added to Tesla insurance? Can you provide any additional info about the projects status?
How will Tesla manage having a part-time CEO, with Elon being busy with DOGE, SpaceX, X and others? Is a strong COO, ala Gwynn Shotwell, being considered?
Can you tell us some of the safety statistics for FSD v13.2 so far? How close is Tesla to achieving 1000 miles per intervention? 10,000 miles? Can Tesla make any safety data/metrics available to investors so we can more accurately track the rate of autonomy progress?
Can you share the latest developments regarding the integration of dry cathode cells in the Cybertruck?
When will the lower-cost model launch? And at what price point?
Is there a supply continuity plan for LFP cell supply in the US pending tariffs or potential Chinese export restrictions - this includes both Megapacks and vehicles.
Has Tesla given up on ramping up its solar roof?
What is the status on mass production of the Tesla Semi? How do you project it will affect revenue at scale?
We’ve submitted our own question regarding FSD below:
Tesla frequently highlights the number of miles between critical interventions as a key safety metric for FSD. Could Tesla consider publishing these figures quarterly to provide investors with greater clarity on FSD's progress?
If you’re interested in seeing everything people have asked or would like to submit your own question, you can do that here. You must be logged into Say, the 3rd party shareholder verification site, with an account, with your Tesla shares linked in order to vote or propose questions. Question submission and voting closes on January 29, at 4:00 PM EST, right before the event.
It does take anywhere from 24-72 hours for your shares to be verified, depending on which institution holds them, so make sure you do that soon.
Once your ownership is validated, you can vote up questions you’re interested in hearing the answer to. Your vote weight is equivalent to the number of shares you have. If you choose to submit a question, your question will have an initial number of votes equivalent to your number of shares.
If you’re not able to join Tesla’s live call, we’ll have a highlight of the earnings call and the Q&A session soon afterward.
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Service Mode allows anyone to access service-related features that help troubleshoot vehicle issues. It’s available for free to all Tesla owners, but caution should be exercised when making any changes. More information about how to access Service Mode is available in our Service Mode guide.
In update 2025.2, Tesla improved two existing Service Mode panels:
Brake Burnishing - Brake burnishing helps condition new brakes and rotors. Tesla states: “The Brake Burnish procedure parameters have been updated to reduce the need for coming to almost a complete stop during each cycle.
This change is available for all vehicles.
Charge Port Calibration - Users can now run a charge port calibration, which can help to either get the charge port to fully close or fully open if you’re having issues or if you’ve refitted or retrofitted the charge port on your own. This was previously a command-line tool in ToolBox3.
In the release notes for service mode, Tesla states: “The charge port door calibration routine (PROC_CP_X_DOOR-SENSOR-CALIBRATION) and charge port latch calibration route (PROC_CP_X_LATCH-CALIBRATION) have been added to the Charging panel. Those routines are required to be run following the replacement of the charge port or charge port door.”
This change only affects the legacy Model S and Model X.
Service Mode+ Updates
The rest of the improvements to Service Mode are exclusive to Service Mode+, which requires a subscription to Tesla’s ToolBox3 software and a connection to a computer. Tesla has added new panels and several improvements to Service Mode+ with update 2025.2.
Accessories Panel - “A new Accessories panel is available to view and change configurations for accessories during retrofits, such as tow package, power liftgate, and soiler. To access the new panel, tap Low Voltage > Accessories.”
Previously, technicians had to manually enter all these configuration changes using the terminal.
This is for all Model 3s and Model Ys.
Signal Viewer Panel - “A new Signal Viewer panel is available to monitor multiple signal values live on a graph. If one or more of the signal values is unavailable, the graph will stop updating. To access the new panel, tap Tools > Signal Viewer.”
This will help technicians diagnose issues in real time when they’re related to signal quality or signal noise throughout the vehicle’s internal electrical systems.
This new panel is available on all vehicles with the AMD Ryzen infotainment processor.
Noise Recording Panel - “To improve the user experience, the recording duration has been decreased to 30 seconds, and reliability of the download routine PROC_ICE_X_FETCH-DIAGNOSTIC-AUDIO-RECORDS has been improved.”
The Noise Recording Panel, which was introduced with the 2024 Holiday Update, has been better tuned to improve technician experience while debugging noises or audio issues within the vehicle.
This particular improvement is only for the Cybertruck.
There’s rarely a software update that goes out that doesn’t include improved or new Service Mode panels. While this update focuses more on improvements to Service Mode+, it still includes other improvements to Service Mode. While these updates are aimed at Tesla technicians and third-party technicians, they also help consumers’ right to repair.
Unplugged Performance makes some amazing performance upgrades for Teslas and other EVs. One of their most recent programs is UP.FIT - where they equip Tesla vehicles for police duty.
Law enforcement agencies have highly specific requirements and the UP.FIT program is designed not only to meet those requirements but exceed them. EVs also come with the additional benefits of reducing maintenance, repairs, and fuel costs.
And UP.FIT isn’t just for run-of-the-mill policing, Unplugged Performance also provides upfitted Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, tailored for specialized roles such as tactical and defense applications. Let’s take a look at what real police officers think too.
“The difference is absolutely staggering. I don’t want to go back to this [ICE car] now.”
Hands-On With Teslas
Not a Tesla App
Police officers from eight different departments in California had the opportunity to participate in a unique event at an Emergency Vehicle Operators Course (EVOC) facility. Law enforcement agencies in North America and Europe are beginning to look at EVs more often, and finding a properly up-fitted EV for police work can be a challenge.
“I’ve never driven one until today, I have a different mindset here at 2:00 than I did at 6 a.m. this morning. I was not necessarily sold, but I am now.”
Unplugged Performance let these officers get hands-on with the Model Y Performance, and compare it to the industry-standard Ford Explorer PIU edition. They also got a chance to see some of the other UP.FIT lineup, including the Model S Plaid Interceptor and Cybertruck Patrol Vehicle.
Not a Tesla App
Reactions
The best part of this was the honest, real reactions from the officers who were trying out modified Teslas on the EVOC track.
“I might go buy one now!”
“I’m thoroughly impressed by how it handled and performed. It’s kind of made a believer out of me.”
“First time driving an electric car… The difference between the [Tesla and Ford] is staggering… I didn’t want to be in the Explorer anymore.”
Several comments talked about the handling of the vehicles - how fun they were to drive, how tight they cornered, and how fast they accelerated. They also mentioned that because of that performance - these cars were able to do things that the Ford Explorer just isn’t capable of.
And when doing simulated chases - our favorite comment “It’s like you don’t even have to try!”
Another fun data point that elicited some great reactions was the battery usage of the cars. The Teslas arrived at around 97% state of charge at 6 am, and at 2 pm, the cars still had about 55-60% of the battery left.
You can watch the entire video from Unplugged Performance below.
Teslas Just Make Sense
At the end of the day, the thing is, Teslas - and EVs in general - just make sense for patrol vehicles. Officers can leave the heat or AC running the entire time without having to idle an engine. EVs also perform far better than their ICE equivalents, and they reduce maintenance and fuel costs massively - especially when you can just charge a whole fleet of patrol vehicles overnight.
Many police officers have commented online and mentioned how they burn massive amounts of gas just idling away with their vehicles, which just continuously burns fuel and increases wear and tear on the thousands of components in an ICE vehicle.
Not a Tesla App
On top of that, this sold individual people - not just as officers but as consumers - on the idea of Teslas and EVs. Putting butts in seats in important, and it’s one of the best ways to convince naysayers that the future is already here.