SAE International is set to help standardize the NACS charging standard
Not a Tesla App
In a significant move for the EV industry, SAE International, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, is to set performance standards for Tesla's NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector.
To expand the compatibility of the proprietary charger network beyond Tesla vehicles, this move has the potential to redraw the boundaries of the EV charging ecosystem. Until now, Tesla's exclusive NACS connector was engineered for its global Supercharger network, consisting of approximately 17,800 Superchargers in the US alone.
SAE's Role in Ensuring Standardization and Compatibility
In response to the significant shift towards NACS, SAE has decided to set the stage for this connector's future. The standards proposed by SAE will dictate how the plugs interface with charging stations, establish charging speeds, and set requirements for reliability and cybersecurity. Although the decision seems to potentially mark the end of the road for new CCS1 charger plugs, the thousands of existing CCS-enabled EVs guarantee this design won't disappear soon.
A spokesperson for SAE has clarified that the organization is not choosing the NACS connector over CCS but responding to its widespread adoption. The goal is to ensure that the most popular charging system is standardized and compatible with a wide range of EVs.
Consumer Demand Drives Major Shift in Charging Standards
Interestingly, the transition toward standardizing the NACS connector appears to be primarily consumer-driven. The number of NACS-equipped vehicles on the road significantly outweighs those with CCS connectors, nearly two to one. Given the technical challenges and infrastructure issues encountered by alternative charging networks such as Electrify America, ChargePoint, and EVgo, it's no wonder that most EV owners favor Tesla's reliable Supercharger network.
Reacting to this trend, major automakers, including Ford and GM, have announced their plans to align with Tesla's charging system by manufacturing EVs equipped with NACS connectors. This week, Volvo made a similar announcement, signing an agreement to join Tesla's Supercharger network starting in 2025. It's important to note that while automakers won't be charged a licensing fee for adopting NACS, EV owners will still have to pay to use Tesla's charging stations.
This new chapter in the EV charging story signifies a more unified future that is not just about driving electric vehicles but about making electric driving more accessible to all.
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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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