Tesla Installs Special Edition, Ultra Red Supercharger As It Reaches 50,000th Mark

September 18, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla creates a special 50,000th Supercharger

Not a Tesla App

Over the past couple of days, Tesla hit not one but two remarkable milestones, marking a significant chapter in its rapidly evolving story. If you spent the weekend engrossed in the new Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson, you can perhaps fully appreciate the magnitude of these accomplishments: the production of Tesla’s five millionth car and the installation of its 50,000th Supercharger.

Five Million Vehicles Strong

On its official Weibo account, Tesla unveiled its five millionth vehicle, a pearl white Model 3, freshly rolled off the production line at the Shanghai Gigafactory. This notable milestone embodies Tesla's journey “from a blank canvas to today’s five millionth vehicle,” a path characterized by simplicity and efficiency. Through their message, Tesla conveyed deep gratitude towards their global community of owners and supporters, urging everyone to "power up together" for a greener and brighter future. This celebratory announcement follows a series of production landmarks, the most recent being the four million car milestone reached in March, highlighting the company's exponential growth.

50,000 Superchargers: Painting the World Ultra Red

The weekend's festivities extended beyond the production line, with Tesla celebrating a Supercharger network milestone: the 50,000th installation. The Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley shared a video (below) showcasing Tesla's latest landmark in action. This special unit, distinctly colored Ultra Red, is located at Living Spaces at 1851 Freedom Way, Roseville, California. Since introducing just six Superchargers in 2012, Tesla has demonstrated its commitment to facilitating widespread electric vehicle use.

The Supercharger network, a pillar in Tesla's strategy to foster electric vehicle adoption, offers convenient and rapid charging solutions worldwide. This recent installation is a firm pledge to a global ethos where electric vehicles (EVs) can flourish.

Factory Tours for Referrals

Tesla is not only escalating its production but also opening doors for enthusiasts to witness where the magic happens. Tesla is introducing tram tours of its factories in Fremont, California, and Austin, Texas, as a part of its referral program. This exclusive peek can be redeemed using referral credits, ushering Tesla account holders and up to three guests into the production sanctuaries that have revolutionized the automotive industry.

However, while the immersion into Tesla’s world is facilitated, travel and accommodation expenses are the responsibility of the attendees. The company maintains a stringent no-media policy during the tours, underscoring the confidentiality preserved in these powerhouse spaces. Tesla aims to bolster engagement with its customer base through this initiative, enticing them with an insider’s view while encouraging more referrals despite moving away from the previous tradition of complimentary Fremont factory tours.

The electric vehicle pioneer isn't slowing down as Tesla gears up for an exciting future with the much-anticipated Cybertruck launch, which already boasts over 2 million unofficial pre-orders. Analysts anticipate that the existing production pace could potentially herald the creation of six million Tesla vehicles in early 2024.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

Manhasset, New York
West Covina, California
Los Angeles, California
Houston, Texas
Orlando, Florida
Westmont, Illinois
Tucson, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Delaware

Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

July 26, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.