Tesla brings back UI cards in this year's Holiday Update
@bnkwupt/Twitter
Tesla’s highly anticipated holiday update is reintroducing UI cards to the Model 3 and Model Y.
Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y contained widget-like cards in the lower-left corner of the screen that could be swiped to view certain information such as the vehicle's trip meters and odometer, as well as tire pressure readings.
However, with Tesla's UI redesign during last year's holiday update, these cards were removed and integrated into the vehicle's menus. It certainly makes sense to have this information in the menus as that's where all of the other vehicle information is available, however, it was a step backward in terms of quick access to this information.
The information these cards provide is almost identical to the ones previously available, however, their design and layout have been updated.
Two informational cards provide quick access to the vehicle's tire pressures and the vehicle's odometer.
The tire pressure readings display a photo of the vehicle with the tire pressure reading displayed near each wheel. Previously tire pressure readings were only available while the vehicle was in motion, but thanks to a recent update, the vehicle will now display the last known tire pressure reading if the vehicle is parked.
The odometer and trips card will display the amount of energy used for each trip as well as the distance traveled. Like before, you'll be able to view energy and distance traveled for the current drive, since last charged and for each trip meter.
Differences From Old Cards
There are two small changes here. The previous iteration of cards displayed the time your "Current Drive" started, and also displayed how many minutes you had been driving, which was a useful metric. However, now all trip meters display the same information, which is the distance traveled, kWh used and average Wh/mi.
The old cards also required you to scroll vertically to go through the various trip meters. However, Tesla has now designed it so that all trips are viewed together on a single card, which is a nice improvement.
Tesla brings back UI cards in this year's Holiday Update
@showp1984/Twitter
However, the downside of this is that not all trip meters can be viewed at once, since there are five in total when counting the current drive, since last charge, Trip A, Trip B and the odometer. To fix this issue Tesla now lets you decide which trip meters should show up in the 'Trips' card.
By navigating to Controls > Trips, there is now a new checkbox under each trip, letting you choose whether that trip meter should show up in the card.
A nice addition is that you can now tap these cards to jump to the specific area in the vehicle's menu. For example, tapping on one of the trip meters will take you to Controls > Trips.
Cards in Action
View Cabin Camera
With version 2022.44.25.1, owners will also be able to remotely view their internal camera when their vehicle is in Sentry Mode or Dog Mode. In the event of a break-in, owners will have footage of the bandit and be able send that footage to local authorities. This has been a highly requested feature for years now.
View the cabin camera from the Tesla app while using Dog Mode or Sentry Mode to keep an eye on your puppy ? pic.twitter.com/yyeyfF5XTd
Tesla's fourth quarter and 2022 earnings call with investors was mostly good news unless you were planning to drive a Cybertruck soon. While company executives eagerly jumped on every question asked by investors, there was a noticeable pause when a point-blank question was asked about Cybertruck's mid-year production date.
Elon Musk responded "um, we do expect production to start, I don't know, maybe sometime this summer. But I always like to try to downplay the start of production because the start of production is always very slow. It increases exponentially, but it's always very slow at first. So I wouldn't put too much thought in start of production."
Volume Production Next Year
If the millions of people with Cybertruck reservations were in attendance, you might have felt the air leave the room. The previous belief was mass production would start by the end of 2023. There may be some stainless-steel beauties on the road by then, but only a few. "It's kind of when does volume production actually happen, and that's next year," said Musk.
Perhaps sensing some disappointed buyers, Lars Moravy, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering added, "(I'd) like just to emphasize on that, we've started installation of all the production equipment here in Giga Texas, castings, general assembly, body shops. We built all our beta vehicles, some more coming still in the next month, but as you said, the ramp will really come 2024."
The Cybertruck Will be Elon's Next Car
Cybertruck was originally announced in 2019 at the memorable event that included the unbreakable armor glass smashing. Musk was wearing the smashed glass Cybertruck t-shirt while taking questions from investors. While the wait continues, he is adamant that it will be worth it, "So it's an incredible product. I can't wait to drive it personally. It will be the car that I drive every day… it's just one of those products that only comes along once in a while, and it's really special."
The original release deadline was set for 2021. However, the production date has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, like a global pandemic. Nevertheless, it is a positive sign that beta vehicles have been produced. Images of what appears to be a Cybertruck were leaked a few months ago.
Recently, chief designer Franz von Holzhausen did confirm that the Cybertruck was ready for production, but it's a work in progress. Every Tesla beta product gets thoroughly examined and meticulously reviewed before the next step. But at least it's a step in the right direction.
Tesla set new records in production and deliveries while beating analyst expectations.
Statista
Tesla published their Q4 2022 and full-year financial results, setting new records in production and deliveries while beating analyst expectations. Tesla’s annual profit rose to $12.6 billion in 2022, from $5.5 billion in 2021. Annual revenue rose to $81.5 billion, from $53.8 billion the year prior. Tesla reported fourth-quarter revenue of $24.32 billion beating analysts' $24.07 billion estimate. The automaker also reported earnings per share of $1.19 beating analysts' $1.12 estimate.
Tesla’s stock rose more than 5% in after-hours trading following the earnings release and surged more than 10% the next day.
Tesla's Q4 2022 revenue set a new record for the company, up 59% from a year earlier. In addition to automotive revenue of $21.3 billion, Tesla recognized $324 million of deferred revenue from the company’s driver assistance systems.
FSD Beta Numbers
Tesla reported that 90 million miles have now been driven with FSD Beta, up from 58 million miles in the previous quarter. The company also confirmed that they have about 400,000 FSD Beta users in North America, a sizeable increase since the last report. With such a steep increase in miles driven and FSD Beta becoming widely available in North America, Tesla is making significant progress with its autonomous driving software.
In late 2022 and into this year, Tesla began cutting prices on its cars globally. Elon spoke about how recent price cuts have fueled a surge in demand for Tesla: “Thus far in January we’ve seen the strongest orders year-to-date than ever in our history. We’re currently seeing orders of almost twice the rate of production.” He added: “These price changes really make a difference for the average consumer.” Tesla acknowledges that average sales prices have to decrease over time because affordability is part of Tesla's mission to grow into a company that sells multiple millions of cars annually.
Price cuts will impact profitability, but margins should remain healthy, Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn affirmed. Tesla has wider operating margins than the industry average, which allows them to make such price cuts.
Elon issued an uncertain forecast for 2023, saying Tesla planned on 1.8 million vehicles for the year without specifying whether that was a target for production or deliveries. If the company were to deliver 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, that would result in 37% annual growth.
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