Tesla Hints at Upcoming Rental Service: 'Big Things Happening'

August 18, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla appears to be starting a pilot for a rental program

Tesla

"Big things happening..." — this tantalizing phrase, shared by Melissa Porche Blakely, staff program manager at Tesla, has stirred excitement and curiosity in the Tesla community. The comment was made about a new job listing for the Tesla Rental Program in Texas, as spotted by @SawyerMerritt.

A Revolutionary Rental Program

Tesla is on the brink of launching a Tesla Rental Program in Texas, with a pilot program slated for collision centers. The automaker seeks a Program Manager in Business Development to lead this ambitious initiative. Speculation around Tesla's move into the rental space centers on various potential benefits:

Customer Convenience: Offering rental cars at collision centers can be incredibly convenient for customers whose cars are being repaired. This service can fill a temporary need, especially if repairs are extended.
Brand Exposure: By extending the program to airports for employees and potentially the broader public, Tesla can increase exposure to its vehicles. Those unfamiliar with Tesla may enjoy the unique experience, leading to potential future sales.
Competitive Edge: With competitors already renting Tesla vehicles (e.g., Hertz), the automaker might want to control the rental experience, ensuring brand quality and potentially retaining rental revenue.

Details of the Pilot Program

The pilot program will encompass all Tesla collision centers in Texas, with Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas locations. It's unclear if Tesla only plans to launch the rental program for customers at collision centers or if a broader car rental program might come later. The extension to airports, particularly for a Tesla employee pilot, further hints at the wider ambitions of this program.

Beyond Rentals: Glass Repair Optimization

Apart from the Rental Program, the new hire will also focus on Glass Repair Optimization. This signals Tesla's continual drive to enhance customer service, aiming to reduce repair times and further streamline the collision repair experience. Remember, we also speculated that Tesla might be going into the car wrap business in North America, similar to what the company has in China.

The Tesla Rental Program represents more than just a new service. While the full scope and implications of this initiative remain to be seen, it is clear that Tesla is keen on expanding its footprint and enhancing its brand experience.

As the industry watches this development closely, the question remains: will this move set a new standard in the rental space? What other surprises might Tesla have up its sleeve? "Big things happening" indeed.

Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

December 14, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

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’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

December 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

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.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

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.