Tesla is looking to fill positions for a unique data center
Siemens Energy
Tesla is gearing up to embark on a new journey by designing what it describes as its "1st of its kind Data Centers." Tesla's recent job listing, first noticed by Electrek, is for a Senior Engineering Program Manager in Austin, Texas, where Tesla's Giga Factory operates, gives insights into the depth and complexity of this project. This role will lead these groundbreaking data centers' end-to-end design and engineering.
Complexities and Responsibilities of the Role
The job description shows that the position entails a diverse set of tasks and responsibilities. The chosen candidate will be delving deep into intricate layout designs, selecting appropriate infrastructure systems, and ensuring that every step aligns with Tesla's fundamental principles.
The person will be central to conducting technical workshops and must collaborate closely with internal and external stakeholders. Building trust, managing complex design scopes, and pioneering innovative engineering strategies to further Tesla's objectives are intrinsic to this role. The quest for this role amplifies Tesla's commitment to its core principles and resolve to lead innovation.
Integration with Tesla’s Auto Tech
Tesla's move to establish its data center complements its already vast investment in self-driving technology. The company's need for extensive computing resources is paramount, especially when processing and analyzing copious amounts of video data for its self-driving software. The involvement of the Dojo supercomputer, equipped with 10,000 GPUs, is already a testament to their commitment in this area.
The alignment with Tesla's acquisition of existing data centers from Twitter and its ongoing discussions with Prime Data Centers sheds light on the company's broader vision. Elon Musk's experience post-acquiring Twitter is undoubtedly lending wisdom to this expansion.
Tesla's Broader Vision: Megapacks and Beyond
The potential integration of Tesla’s Megapacks as backup power sources for the data centers exemplifies Tesla's holistic approach to technology. Even though Tesla has faced roadblocks in this endeavor, the ambition remains undeterred.
Customer Concerns and Tesla’s Response
While this venture into data centers is a thrilling chapter for Tesla, the company faces ongoing feedback regarding its customer service. As the company evolves, addressing these concerns will be paramount for ensuring long-term customer loyalty.
Tesla's bold stride into data centers, labeled a first of its kind, embodies the company’s enduring innovative spirit. As more details emerge, the world will keenly observe how Tesla integrates its technical expertise to revolutionize the data center domain.
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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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