Elon Musk is reviewing FSD Beta v11.3 for release this week
Not a Tesla App
If you’ve followed Tesla and Elon Musk, you know timelines are not that firm. However, the long-awaited FSD Beta version 11.3 seems to be on track to meet its revised — and revised again — timeline. Musk let his 126.9 million Twitter followers know he is reviewing FSD for possible release.
Tesla Owners Silicon Valley tweeted a video of FSD in action during a complex traffic situation. The tweet reads:
So much fake news about #FSDBeta being vaporware and yet it’s insane how it can handle real world situations like this. A four way stop with pedestrians along with a random cross walk with pedestrian. The lady even waves thinking it was me doing it. 95% of people don’t this.
Musk was one of the 1.6 million views the video generated. He responded: 99% of people still have no idea how profound this is. Tesla Owners Silicon Valley jumped on the response by asking the burning question, when is FSD Beta v11.3 coming? Musk replied: I’m reviewing it next week for possible release.
Important Week for Tesla
We are now into that week, and Musk’s timing lines up with a tweet two weeks ago that projected two weeks and last week that estimated a week or two. It also works well for Tesla with a significant event this week. The company reports earnings on Wednesday, January 25th, and this call will be unlike anything the company has experienced in recent memory.
While Tesla continues ramping up production, it got hammered in the stock market, closing its worst year on record. Although Tesla got rid of its communications team years ago, it would be an excellent public relations move to unveil the most advanced FSD to subscribers to soften the blow.
Possible v11.3 Features
Of course, the CEO has hyped this version for several months now. The engineers have been developing the system to use neural nets for navigation and vehicle control instead of just vision.
There could also be ASS, actual smart summon, which is the ability to call the Tesla to your location or have it drop you off and go to find a parking spot.
Another possible new feature is reverse creep, an enhancement that reverses or moves the car to escape dangerous situations.
Of course, no one is holding their breath, as several Tesla enthusiasts responded to Musk’s tweet with old-age memes. But maybe those Tesla owners will be pleasantly surprised this week.
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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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