Tesla's Integration of WeChat Applets Might Hint at a Larger App Store Development [Video]

April 18, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla introduced 'apps' with their WeChat integration in China

Not a Tesla App

Earlier this year Tesla integrated WeChat applets, or mini-programs, as part of their holiday update in China. This move has sparked curiosity and speculation about whether these applets are a sneak peek into Tesla's long-rumored app store. To understand the significance of this development, let's first explore what WeChat and its applets are and how they function.

What is WeChat and Applets?

WeChat is a popular messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent, a Chinese technology company. It offers various features, such as messaging, voice and video calls, social media sharing, mobile payments, official accounts for brands and public figures, and location-based services. Since its launch in 2011, WeChat has become an essential app for millions of users, particularly in China, where it has integrated into various aspects of daily life.

WeChat applets, also known as WeChat mini-programs, are lightweight applications that run within the WeChat platform. These applets offer various functionalities and services, similar to standalone apps, but without users needing to download or install them separately. They are designed to load quickly and integrate seamlessly with the platform, providing a smooth user experience.

Tesla's WeChat Applets in Action

Below you can view Tesla's extensive applets available through WeChat that offer video streaming, audio books, flight tracking and more. Huge thanks to one of our readers who recorded this video for us.

Tesla New Year Update

In the context of Tesla's New Year update for the Chinese market, these WeChat applets have been integrated into the Tesla OS, offering extensive features that behave like apps. The applets function like websites, but their app-like behavior comes from their seamless integration with the vehicle. For example, when users tap an audiobook within an applet, it will play the audio through the car's music player, showcasing the applets' app-like functionality.

Tesla's move towards applets is likely inspired by Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), a standard for developing websites that can be installed, made available offline, and have app icons and assets saved instead of being loaded each time. This approach could be a strategic move for Tesla as they plan to develop their app store.

Easier Developer Access

By leveraging existing PWAs like Twitter, Tesla could quickly offer a range of popular apps upon launch, making it easy for developers to add their apps to Tesla's platform. As PWAs gain popularity, the Tesla app store will continue to grow, offering more variety to Tesla users.

As we reported more than a year ago, Tesla is actively developing an app store for its vehicles, rumored to be released this year. Concept designer DeleetDesigns even offered a vision of what a Tesla app store could look like.

A Tesla app store is an exciting prospect, but it may differ from traditional app stores like Apple's or Google's. Tesla is likely to focus on apps well-suited for use in a car rather than replicating the smartphone experience.

Do Tesla Have the Computing Power?

For the Tesla app store to succeed, it must leverage the benefits of the car's larger screen and integration with the vehicle. Tesla will likely build developer tools to enable the creation of apps that integrate into their OS, such as SiriusXM, YouTube Music, and video streaming apps like YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video.

Moreover, the Tesla app store could enable developers to port additional games to Tesla vehicles, offering owners a wider range of gaming options.

An app store would be a significant win for Tesla, allowing them to offload the development of entertainment apps to other companies while freeing up engineers' time and providing owners with the desired apps.

However, running apps like those on smartphones and tablets would require a more capable processor than most Teslas. Only MCU 3-equipped vehicles would likely support such an app store, which only became available in late 2021. Tesla's WeChat applets require the Ryzen processor in MCU 3, and if Tesla does offer more web-based apps, the requirement may remain.

Tesla's integration of WeChat Applets in China may indicate the company's progress towards an app store. Although we should adjust our expectations for what a Tesla app store will entail, it's an exciting development that could greatly enhance the Tesla experience.

Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

December 14, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

December 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.