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 Expected to Add New 3D Baidu Maps in China This Month

May 21, 2024

By Not a Tesla App Staff

Baidu's Presentation of the 4 different versions

Not a Tesla App

Baidu Vice President Shang Guobin recently announced a collaboration with Tesla to integrate the latest version of Baidu Maps into Tesla vehicles in China. Since Tesla relies partly on map information for Autopilot and FSD, this move may get Tesla closer to launching FSD in China.

At the event last month, Baidu presented the latest version of Baidu Maps, which includes four different versions. They include Basic, 3D leading, 3D flagship and Smart Edition for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). Tesla vehicles will receive the new “3D Leading” version from Baidu which features over 300 customized elements. Similar to the 3D version of Apple Maps and Google Maps, it includes 3D models for buildings, trees and information on roads and lanes. Baidu Maps is available for a variety of operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Linux.

Tesla has added a new 3D map view in update 2023.44.32 for China.

Instead of an image-based, overhead map view, these new maps show your vehicle as it moves through a 3D environment that visualizes lanes, buildings, trees and more.

It’s very similar to FSD visualizations… pic.twitter.com/Qke0uP3Wcy
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) January 25, 2024

Besides Tesla, BYD’s Vice President Guobin added that Baidu will also collaborate with Huawei and electric vehicle startup JiYue. Huwaei is involved in three well-known car brands in China including Avatr (with Changan and the battery giant CATL), Luxeed (with Chery) and Aito.

The addition of 3D maps being added in China could open up the door for Tesla to implement 3D maps from Apple or Google in other regions.

Apple Maps' 3D views

Voice Assistant

Tesla recently added a voice assistant in China to replace the aging voice command system. Although the voice assistant is currently exclusive to China, Tesla is already working on voice assistant in English for other regions. Other languages are likely to follow.

FSD in China

It appears that China may be Tesla’s next FSD market. Elon Musk recently traveled to China to discuss FSD and how data would be gathered and stored. Musk also hinted at the possibility of Tesla offering FSD in China by saying, “It may be possible very soon” when he was asked about FSD arriving in China.

Baidu’s Robotaxi

Earlier this year, Baidu introduced a 24-hour operation for its Apollo Go service in select areas of Wuhan, China — becoming the first company in China to offer a 24/7 autonomous driving service.

Baidu’s journey in autonomous driving began in 2013 and, as of today, Baidu Apollo’s advanced autonomous driving systems have completed over 100 million kilometers (62 million miles) of testing and over 5,000 patents granted. In comparison, Tesla has about 1.3 billion miles driven on FSD, with 300 million miles traveled on FSD v12 alone.

Tesla Sales in China

Last year, Tesla remained the world's leading BEV brand, selling 1.8 million units while China’s BYD sold a total of 3.02 million new energy vehicles (NEV), of which 1.57 million were fully electric.

Tesla recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in China and has delivered more than 1.7 million cars since its first delivery of the Model S.

Did Tesla Just Share an Interior Shot of the Robotaxi?

May 21, 2024

By Karan Singh

In Tesla’s investor video posted yesterday on X, there was a quick peek of what is expected to be the Robotaxi’s interior. The image only flashes on the screen for a split second, but thanks to an eagle-eyed reader, we may now have our first glimpse at the Robotaxi’s interior.

It looks like it has a two-seat interior, with no steering wheel, and a large center console. The doors look similar to the picture of the Robotaxi concept that was revealed in Elon Musk’s biography in 2023. It also matches up almost exactly with the prototype Franz von Holzhausen was seen working on in a video that aired on CBS last year.

The sharp angles of the interior also match up nicely with its official name, the Cybercab.

CBS airs video with von Holzhausen working on a concept car

Not a Tesla App

Robotaxi App

Tesla recently revealed their Robotaxi app, showing a very simplistic interface that lets you summon a taxi, see its progress, and lets you set the music and climate in the vehicle. In the video on X, Tesla showed off a brief clip of the Robotaxi app in action. Although nothing new is revealed in the short clip, it’s the first time the app has been seen on video.

Here is a quick sneak peek of Tesla's upcoming ride-hailing app released in their shareholder video today. pic.twitter.com/oM7MKNaOvz
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 21, 2024

Robotaxi Announcement

The Robotaxi will be officially unveiled on August 8^th, which is just under three months ago. While Tesla previously mentioned that the Robotaxi would take a backseat to the release of its next-gen $25K USD model, we could see Tesla announce firmer timelines, Robotaxi-specific features, and full previews of the interior and exterior in August.