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.
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 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.
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.
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