Tesla is developing its own wireless charging solution
Tesla
Tesla recently parted ways with Wiferion, the German-based wireless charging startup they acquired earlier this year. However, the intriguing part of the deal is Tesla's decision to retain all of Wiferion's engineers. A closer look reveals a strategic game plan focused on acquiring some of the brightest engineering minds in the domain.
While the acquisition and subsequent sale of Wiferion might raise eyebrows, Tesla's decision to retain all of Wiferion's engineers lines up with its overarching strategy to attract and retain the best minds. This move bears all the hallmarks of "acqui-hiring," a tactic tech giants use to rapidly onboard top talent by purchasing companies primarily for their human capital rather than their products or services.
By keeping Wiferion's talent pool, Tesla has effectively bolstered its ranks with experts in wireless charging. This indicates that the company is still very invested in the wireless charging game.
Wiferion's Legacy in Wireless Charging
Founded in 2016, Wiferion made waves in the industry with its innovative inductive charging systems tailored for industrial applications. Their technology could deliver up to lots of power and redefine rapid charging. It wasn't just about the product but about the minds that made it possible.
Tesla's acquisition of Wiferion was initially seen as a move to enhance its charging capabilities. The Freiburg-based startup's technology promised nearly instantaneous charging transitions, delivering up to 12 kilowatts of power. With over 8,000 charging stations sold to industrial customers, Wiferion had already marked its territory in the market.
At a Tesla Investor Day presentation earlier in the year, a seemingly innocuous slide presented by Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, hinted at a future with wireless charging. Couple that with the acquisition of Wiferion, and Tesla's ambitions in this domain become crystal clear.
With Tesla's diverse portfolio, including Optimus, the applications of wireless charging and the minds behind it extend beyond vehicles. The expertize acquired from Wiferion could be integrated into various facets of Tesla's innovation pipeline. Could this have been Tesla's plan all along? A strategic move to swiftly integrate top-tier talent into its vision for the future of EV charging? The answer is obvious if you read any biographies about Elon Musk.
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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.
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.
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.
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 10th 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.
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