66 Kuka robots have reportedly arrived at Giga Texas
New York Times
For those who are on the reserve list for Tesla’s Cybertruck, you may want to start collecting your money for payment. If you’re looking for a sign, we have three of them. First, a leaked photo of a Cybertruck in production; second, the Giga press arrived; third, proof that a significant shipment of industrial robots was delivered to Tesla’s Texas factory.
According to Twitter user @greggertruck, 66 production line robots arrived in Houston one week before Christmas. The post is complete with pictures of the bill of lading showing the shipment originated at Kuka Deutschland, destined for the Tesla Gigafactory in Texas.
Kuka, headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, is a global leader in supplying intelligent automated solutions. The company’s robots are used on Tesla production lines around the world.
Excitement is ramping up over the highly anticipated vehicle. During the third quarter earnings call, Elon Musk told investors, “We’re in the final lap for Cybertruck,” and said production would start in mid-2023. Indeed, there could be some doubters considering when Tesla first unveiled the futuristic-looking vehicle in 2019, it was to be on the road in 2021. After several delays, here we are, piecing together bills of lading and leaked photos to confirm that one of the coolest-looking trucks ever to be produced is closer to reality.
If these three clues weren’t enough, Tesla’s careers board is filling up with Cybertruck related job-titles. There are currently 15 jobs open at the Austin, Texas location, including the word: Cybertruck. Robotics Engineer, Dimensional Engineer, Manufacturing Operation Leader, Process Engineer and the list goes on. Although, if you’ve been following Musk’s takeover of Twitter, you know he doesn’t hire people to sit around. The company plans to fill these positions and start producing soon.
Cybertruck is the most significant news circulating Tesla these days, other than the substantial reduction in the stock price. The leaked photo appeared on Kim Java’s YouTube channel earlier this month. The most prominent spoiler, it seems the rumored midgate behind the back seats is not part of the design that will be in production. Java also said there were 4680 battery cell production issues, and the company is struggling to scale up.
There was also a lot of excitement about a possible smaller Cybertruck after a sketch appeared at the Peterson Museum of a two-door version. However, that doesn’t seem to be in the works. Tesla representatives have said the vehicle being worked on is only slightly smaller than the one originally on the stage in 2019.
66 Kuka robots have reportedly arrived at Giga Texas
@greggertruck
The $100 reserve tickets people have been holding on to for years may soon be exchanged for a vehicle, of course, after the buyer pays the additional undetermined amount to own the Cybertruck.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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