Popeyes commercial unmistakably features a Tesla with edited features
Popeyes
A 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl costs approximately $7 million, and the legacy brands were paying up for the big game. But, it was Tesla that was cashing in. According to Google Trends, Tesla, Model Y, and Model 3 were hot topics during the game.
The undisputed king of electric vehicles, which doesn't spend a dime on advertising, was getting all the attention as legacy brands promoted their (slow) transition to EVs. Tesla did appear in the game to make matters worse for those old-school brands. The face of Tesla, Elon Musk, scored some face time during the broadcast. The Tesla CEO, sporting a Doge Coin t-shirt, was spotted watching the game from a private box.
Legacy Brand Advertising
General Motors aired a one-minute ad in conjunction with Netflix. Will Ferrell starts the commercial by stating, "General Motors is going electric." Well, better late than never. Ironically, he is surrounded by zombies while saying the line, which could signify just how behind GM is; however, the ad states that more EVs will be in Netflix-produced shows and movies.
Dodge also produced a one-minute ad, at the cost of $14 million, to advertise their Ram 1500 Rev, a truck not slated to be on the road until well after the next Super Bowl in late 2024. Titled: Premature Electrification, the commercial was cringe-worthy, awkwardly trying to link medical conditions with electric vehicle myths.
Ads That Used Teslas
A Tesla did appear during the Super Bowl festivities in a Popeyes ad. There's no doubt it was a Tesla, but some post-production editing was done to make the vehicle described as "electric, of course," not a billboard for the automaker. The side repeaters were removed, and the door handles were altered.
Popeyes Superbowl Commercial
One commercial was unmistakably the world leader in electric vehicles but was a negative spot. The Dawn Project, a self-proclaimed safety advocate group, paid for a smear campaign aimed at Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. The 30-second ad aired in Washington D.C. and some other state capitals, including Austin, Tallahassee, Albany, Atlanta and Sacramento. Dan O'Dowd, the founder of the Dawn Project, funded the ad. He is also the CEO of Green Hill Software, a company working on its automated driving systems. By the way, Teslas with Autopilot engaged are shown to be ten times safer than human-piloted cars.
As Musk enjoyed the game, the number of Google searches for his car company skyrocketed. That could mean a repeat performance of last year when Tesla reported a significant spike in orders after the Super Bowl. The competition must keep advertising - on Tesla's behalf.
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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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