Tesla Sells Off Wiferion, but This Isn’t the End of Tesla's Wireless Charging

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.

Tesla's Robotaxi Event - We, Robot - Everything Announced

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Did you miss Tesla’s biggest event since its inception? No worries, we have you covered.

We’ve got a straightforward and easy-to-digest recap below, split and organized by sections. Of course, we’ll dive into some of the bigger subjects in detail over the upcoming days, so stay tuned!

Event Info

• Tesla’s We, Robot event was centered on the future of autonomy

• 5 “neighbourhoods” were created

• Westworld offered Texas BBQ and the stage for the event

• Metropolis had arcade games, and the ability to take a swing at Cybertruck

• TSLA Theater had pizza and desserts, as well as a movie on a gigantic screen

• New York brought a block party with live music and street performers, as well as street snacks

• Finally, the last area was Merch – which, surprise – offered Tesla Merch, including gear, apparel, posters, and more

• Elon Musk arrived in style in a Robotaxi to kick off the event

Master Plan Part 4 Reference Poster

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General/Master Plan Part 4

• The event made multiple references to Master Plan Part 4, but we haven’t seen the official document yet

• Today’s transportation infrastructure is too expensive, not safe, and not sustainable

• 10 hours a week of use of consumer vehicles out of 168 hours a week

• Unsupervised Full Self Driving – Fall asleep and wake up at your destination

• Increased free time for humans

• Goal is to remove parking lots, as less will be needed in the future of autonomous vehicles

• Create green space in the cities we live in

AI Poster

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Robotaxi/Cybercab

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• The Cybercab has 2 doors, 2 seats, and is a 4-wheeler, as expected

• It has a front and rear lightbar, similar to Cybertruck

• Painted aluminum (not stainless steel)

• No rear or top glass

• No steering wheel or pedals

• Butterfly doors

• Large center screen

• Has large, hatch-like trunk

• 20 vehicles produced and ready at the event, with 30 additional Model Ys

• Autonomous vehicles will be 10x safer than humans

• Low cost for autonomous transit; $1/mi for buses, Cybercab around $0.2/mi ($0.4 after taxes and fees)

• Will be available for purchase

• Will cost below $30,000 USD

• One person will be able to take care of a small fleet easily

• Cybercab production begins before 2027

• Comes with inductive charging

• Tesla Social Media mentioned Fleet Management software

• Tesla showed off an automated cleaning system in the video, vacuuming the vehicle, wiping the seats and screens

• CyberCab will still be Vision-only, no need for radar or LiDAR

• Call it once, and its available for you all day, for either quick trips or long trips

Elon Musk Poster

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RoboVan

• Tesla showed off a fully autonomous RoboVan with no front window

• Up to 20 people or can be set up for goods transport

• RoboVan has a Cyber aesthetic as well

• Large glass sliding doors

• Tesla seems to be going all-in on this aesthetic for its future vehicles

• RoboVan can be adapted to school bus or RV use

• RoboVan can also be adapted for personal use – this suggests it could be outfitted with a steering wheel and pedals

The CyberVan arriving

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AI and Hardware

• Unsupervised FSD in Texas and California in 2025, with Model 3 and Model Y

• Unsupervised FSD for S, X, and CT in the future

• AI has lived “a million lives” so it’s been trained on numerous odd situations

• Always pays attention and is always fully aware of its surroundings

• 10-30x safer than humans

• Focus on Tesla Vision – full autonomy, unsupervised for S, 3, X, Y, and CT

• Cybercab will have AI5, will have oversized compute compared to what’s required according to Musk

• Distributed inference compute brought up again

• No news on inductive charging for other vehicles

The Optimus Poster

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Optimus

• Optimus was brought out on stage again, walked with remote human assistance

• Attendees were allowed to interact with Optimus robots

• Optimus robots served drinks at the bar

• Expected to cost $20K-$30K USD

• Will eventually be an autonomous robotic assistant that can help with household tasks

• It can also be a humanoid friend, teacher, babysitter, etc.

• Elon mentioned the risks of AI Super Intelligence, and having to address it

• At the event, people could talk and interact with the Optimus units on the ground. Optimus movements were remotely assisted by humans. The robots voices also appear to have be humans that were in a remote location.

• Guests were not allowed to touch the Optimus units in the crowd

Another poster referencing Master Plan IV.

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If you missed the event, you can watch it below.

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Tesla 'We, Robot' Robotaxi Event: How and Where to Watch [Updated]

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Tesla’s Robotaxi event is coming up later today, and there’s lots of hype. It’s absolutely going to be a must-see event, so we’ve outlined how you can watch it tonight.

We’re even running a Robotaxi Event Prediction Contest – so go sign up to win some prizes from our fantastic sponsors.

If you weren’t one of the lucky lottery winners who managed to snag a ticket, there are a few ways to watch the Robotaxi event.

When

Tesla says the event will start at 10 PM EST or 7 PM PST. However, expect it to start fashionably late as usual. The agenda Tesla has provided is below.

Watch Live

The event is expected to be available on X, YouTube, and Tesla’s website. The links for X and YouTube are below. We’ll update this as the day goes along and Tesla adds additional sources.

• Watch the Robotaxi event live on X.

• Watch on YouTube (below)

Agenda

This is the agenda Tesla has provided. All times are PST.

3:00 PM: Parking Lot Opens

5:00 PM: Doors Open

5:30 PM: Check-In Begins

7:00 PM: Remarks

Watch in Tesla Showrooms

Tesla is also running events at its local showrooms worldwide. Many of these pop-up events have been organized by the Tesla showrooms or in conjunction with local Tesla Owner’s Club groups.

You can go to Tesla’s Events Page here and see if there are any showrooms open in your region. These events are in-person, and a good way to hang out with local Tesla fans and owners to watch one of the biggest events in Tesla’s history. If you don’t see an event listed, try calling your local Tesla showroom or contacting your local Owner’s Club. Other events may be running locally that you could attend.

Location

Warner Brothers Studios

3499 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 90068

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