Tesla is rumored to acquire Wiferion, a company specializing in inductive charging systems
Tesla
In what could be a strategic game-changer, Tesla is rumored to buy Freiburg-based startup Wiferion. Wiferion is known for its innovative wireless charging systems for industrial applications. Their technology could significantly improve Tesla's home charging capabilities and potentially its autonomous robots.
Tesla and the Wireless Charging Pursuit
In March, we reported Tesla's hint at the development of wireless charging technology, or possibly a docking station. At the Investor Day presentation, Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, fleetingly displayed a slide titled "Can't Forget to Do Cool S***," implying that the company is actively advancing toward automated charging solutions.
The illustration depicted a Tesla Model S parked over a charging mat in a garage, attached to what seemed to be a power source box on the wall. While this might have been a subtle hint, the recent development surrounding Wiferion cemented Tesla's interest in wireless charging.
Wiferion's Inductive Charging Revolution
Wiferion, established in 2016, specializes in inductive charging systems for industrial applications. The company's technology promises a nearly instantaneous charging transition, delivering up to 12 kilowatts of power, an impressive feat that could be a game-changer for Tesla.
Over the years, Wiferion has sold around 8,000 charging stations to industrial customers, demonstrating its prowess and acceptance in the market. By acquiring Wiferion, Tesla not only steps up its charging game but also gains valuable insights into inductive charging technology.
The Road to Autonomous Charging
An automated charging solution is an exciting prospect for many Tesla owners. Imagine driving into your garage and letting your vehicle decide when it needs a charge without having to plug it in manually. As we reported earlier, the potential is not just in the wireless aspect but in automating the charging process entirely.
Other companies, such as Plugless Power and Witricity, are also developing wireless charging technologies, indicating a shift towards more convenient and effortless charging solutions. By acquiring Wiferion, Tesla is poised to keep pace with this industry trend.
Wireless Charging for Tesla's Autonomous Robots?
Beyond Tesla's electric vehicles, Wiferion's technology could also be employed in Tesla's autonomous robots. Tesla, currently developing the humanoid robot "Optimus," could integrate wireless charging into these robots for more efficient energy management.
While the deal's details remain undisclosed, this strategic acquisition could have far-reaching implications for Tesla's charging infrastructure and the broader electric vehicle industry.
As we await an official statement from Tesla or Wiferion, one thing is for sure, Tesla's rumored acquisition of Wiferion is likely to invigorate its charging infrastructure and fuel its innovative pursuits. This might start a wireless revolution for electric vehicles and beyond.
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As part of Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update, Tesla included two awesome new features - Weather at Destination and the long-awaited Weather Radar Overlay. These two features are big upgrades built upon the weather feature that was added in update 2024.26. The original weather feature added an hourly forecast, as well as the chance of precipitation, UV index, Air Quality Index, and other data.
However, this update also added some smaller weather touches, such as the vehicle alerting you if the weather at the destination will be drastically different from the current weather.
Weather At Destination
When you’re navigating to a destination and viewing the full navigation direction list, the text under the arrival time will show you the expected weather next to your destination. You can also tap this, and the full weather pop-up will show up, showing your destination's full set of weather information.
Note the weather under the arrival time
Not a Tesla App
You can also tap the weather icon at the top of the interface at any time and tap Destination to switch between the weather at your current location and the weather at your destination.
You’re probably considering that the weather at your destination doesn’t matter when you’re three hours away - but that’s all taken into account by the trip planner. It will add in both charge time and travel time and show you the weather at your destination at your expected arrival time.
And if the weather is drastically different or inclement, such as rain or snow, while you’ve got sunshine and rainbows - the weather will be shown above the destination ETA for a few moments before it tucks itself away.
The weather pop-up above the ETA
Not a Tesla App
One limitation, though—if you’re planning a long road trip that is more than a day of driving, the weather at destination feature won’t be available until you get closer.
Weather Radar Overlay
As part of the improvements to weather, Tesla has also added a radar overlay for precipitation. You can access the new radar overlay by tapping the map and then tapping the weather icon on the right side of the map. It’ll bring up a 3-hour radar overlay centered on either your vehicle or your route. You can play or pause the animation of the weather overlay, but it’s useful to see the direction the storm is moving in.
You’re able to scroll around in this view and see the weather anywhere, as long as you’re not zoomed out too far. It also works while you’re driving, although it can be a little confusing if you’re trying to pay attention to the navigation system. If you like to have Points of Interest enabled on your map, the weather overlay will hide POIs except for Charging POIs.
The weather overlay works on HW3 but only with Ryzen processors. Intel is once again left out. pic.twitter.com/tzYlJHsWzH
Unfortunately, you’ll need Premium Connectivity for any of the weather features to work, and being on WiFi or using a hotspot will not be enough to get the data to show up. The data, including the weather radar, is provided by The Weather Channel.
As for supported models, weather and weather at destination are available on all vehicles except for the 2012-2020 Model S and Model X. The weather radar has more strict requirements and requires the newer AMD Ryzen-powered infotainment center available on the 2021+ Model S and Model X and more recent Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
While Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update brought many new features, including Apple Watch Support, Cross Traffic Alerts, Weather Overlays, Search Along Route, and others, there are also several smaller items in this update that didn’t get much attention.
Ambient Lighting Now Affects Easter Eggs
The 2024+ Model 3 and Cybertruck both come equipped with ambient lighting, and Tesla is now taking advantage of this custom lighting feature by incorporating it into several easter eggs.
Rainbow Road: If you head over to Apps > ToyBox > Rainbow Road, you’ll find a new option available that allows the ambient lighting in the vehicle to also change shades while Rainbow Road is active. The Rainbow Road easter egg is a tribute to the iconic course course in Nintendo’s Mario Kart.
Check out the feature in action below:
🇮🇹 Con l’aggiornamento di Natale, quando attiviamo la pista arcobaleno, anche i LED interni diventeranno arcobaleno. Questa è una novità non documentata, scovata da un utente di TESLERS (chiaramente riguarda le Model 3 Highland)
Santa Mode: Just in time for Christmas, Tesla has improved Santa Mode by cycling the ambient lighting between Christmas colors. Similar to Rainbow Road, the use of ambient lighting for the easter egg is optional and can be enabled under Apps > ToyBox > Santa Mode.
When using Santa Mode with ambient lighting turned on, the lights will cycle just between Christmas colors, red, green and white, instead of the full rainbow. There’s a video of the feature below:
The Model S and Model X vehicles that support Steam gaming are receiving a Steam app update in the holiday update as well. This update could end up being very interesting, but for now Tesla says that the SteamOS, which also runs on Valve’s Steam Deck has been updated to version 3.6.
Valve outlines a wide range of fixes and improvements in their release notes for version 3.6, but Tesla simply states that the OS update includes performance enhancements and improved game compatibility.
The SteamOS hasn’t been updated on the Model S and X for quite a while, so we believe there may be more to this besides performance improvements and fixes. We’ll be looking to share some insights into this in the near future.
So, there you have it—three new features in the Holiday update that have mostly gone under the radar. While they may not apply to everyone, there are plenty of other cool features in the Holiday Update, like the arrival of Dynamic Road Closure Routing and Nearby Parking, that are coming to every vehicle, so go check out the full release notes.
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