Insider sources suggest that Tesla is in the initial stages of discussing a substantial automotive investment with Valencia's regional government. While specific details remain shrouded in confidentiality agreements, Spain's Cinco Dias has indicated that the move might involve a sprawling factory worth up to $4.83 billion USD.
Tesla and Spain: An Unconfirmed Courtship
Despite the reports, there's no concrete agreement between Tesla and Valencia, according to a statement from the Valencian government. Tesla, known for its strategic silence, has yet to comment on the speculations, and Spain's central government has opted for a similar approach.
Spain holds a strong position in the automotive industry as Europe's second-largest car producer. Its recent endeavors to secure the future of EVs and batteries using European Union COVID pandemic recovery funds may make it an attractive location for Tesla. Spain’s forward-looking initiatives seem to resonate with Tesla’s ambitions, as shown by CEO Elon Musk’s past tweets about building a massive solar array in the country. However, Tesla has not officially disclosed any investment plans in Spain to date.
Tesla's European Strategy: An Eye on Expansion?
Tesla's ambitions to conquer the European market are no secret. The company's German factory in Brandenburg is pivotal in challenging European market leader Volkswagen. Musk has hinted at the possibility of a new factory location announcement by the end of this year. The emerging reports about a potential Tesla factory in Spain could align with this timeline, especially considering Spain’s substantial automotive infrastructure, including a Ford manufacturing facility gearing up to produce electric vehicles.
If the Valencia factory rumor is true, it would be a significant addition to Tesla's existing manufacturing locations in the United States, China, and Germany, as well as the announced factory in Mexico. Such an expansion could ensure production efficiency and help circumvent import taxes, as noted by some industry analysts. Furthermore, the region’s automobile sector seems ready and eager to accommodate such a large-scale investment, highlighting the welcoming environment for Tesla.
The potential move by Tesla could send ripples across the European electric vehicle market, potentially giving a major boost to Spain’s economy and the broader EU automotive industry. As companies like Volkswagen have also shown interest in investing in the area, Valencia could soon become a bustling hub for electric vehicle and battery production. The coming months will bring more clarity on these rumors and the potential impact on the global electric vehicle landscape.
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The greatly anticipated FSD v12.4 is around the corner, with Elon Musk mentioning that it will be going to employees this weekend, with limited external testers next week.
Several significant improvements are coming with V12.4, which is being compared to the leap in performance that was previously seen between V12 and V11.
Improved Comfort and Reduced Interventions
There are quite a few improvements expected with V12.4, which Musk has said will be focused on user comfort by reducing hard accelerations and sudden braking. According to Musk, FSD v12.4 is also expected to have a 5-10x improvement in time between user interventions, which means that Tesla is rapidly approaching its goal for the Robotaxi announcement on August 8, 2024.
Steering Wheel Nag Removal
FSD V12.4 is expected to eliminate the steering wheel nag, as Musk confirmed its removal last week. The camera-based driver monitoring system will be taking over, providing a hands-free experience. These improvements will most likely benefit owners who have cabin cameras with infrared lights the most, while Tesla may continue to use steering wheel nag as a fallback mechanism.
Driverless Autopark
The second key feature that may be included in v12.4 will be Banish Autopark, previously known as Reverse Summon, allowing you to choose a parking spot, exit the vehicle and have the car park itself. Whether this feature makes it in v12.4 is yet to be seen, but Musk has mentioned that parking without a driver is coming soon.
Automatically Seek Parking Spot at Destination
Finally, your Tesla will now traverse a parking lot and automatically enter Autopark mode when arriving at a destination, according to a post from Musk.
Eligibility and Branch
Tesla recently added FSD v12.3.6 to the 2024.14 branch with updates 2024.14.5 and 2024.14.6. This makes it very likely that Tesla’s next FSD version will also be based on 2024.14, meaning that it will be available to any vehicle on 2024.14.x.
For users on update 2024.3.25, this means that they’ll receive all of the features included in updates 2024.8 and 2024.14, which should make it a massive update.
Release Date
Musk has mentioned that FSD V12.4 is going out to employee vehicles for internal testing this weekend, with external testing starting next week. The rollouts typically go slower than predicted but looks like we may see this begin shipping to customers by the end of the month.
Today, as part of a broader change of tariff rates on Chinese goods, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he’ll raise tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, increasing the rate from 25% to 100%, effective this year.
This increase won’t just impact the import of vehicles, but also the rate for lithium-ion batteries produced in China, which will be moving from 7.5% to 25%.
Impact on Competition
The immediate impact of this new regulation is significant for Chinese manufacturers, who have been regarded as Tesla’s largest and greatest competition. Given the tariff hike, this means that new Chinese manufacturers, such as Nio, XPeng, or BYD, will either need to set up production in North America, or be subject to the increased import tariff.
Nio’s vehicles cost between $40,000 USD to $70,000 USD in China based on today’s conversion rates, and with an import tariff of 100%, an imported vehicle’s price would be doubled to $80,000 USD to $140,000 USD, not including other fees. Chinese manufacturers will have to closely weigh the advantages and disadvantages of opening up the North American market, with challenges including vehicle homologation, new tariffs, and a difficult EV market.
Tesla and Chinese Tariffs
Elon Musk recently visited China, engaging with officials to build a foundation for what is currently the world’s largest electric vehicle market. With the potential import of Chinese EVs becoming restricted to the United States, this places Tesla in an advantageous position over its Chinese competitors who have yet to establish their brands in North America.
On the other hand, this could also impact Tesla, as they import Chinese batteries for usage in some vehicles in the United States.
Tesla does not import Gigafactory Shanghai vehicles to the US, but has been increasing North American battery production lately, with expansions in Lathrop, California and a new facility in Sparks, Nevada.
Canadian Tariffs
In Canada, the Model 3 and Model Y are currently being imported from Gigafactory Shanghai. Given Canada’s close following of US foreign policy, this could impact either the prices of Tesla vehicles in Canada or have Tesla shipping vehicles from Fremont and Texas to the United States once again, should Canada also adopt a similar tariff policy.
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