Tesla Adds Bioweapon Defense Mode as Retrofit Option for Model Y

November 22, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla is offering a HEPA filter retrofit option for the Model Y

michaeltfang / Not a Tesla App

Tesla has launched a retrofit service for its 2020 and 2021 Model Y vehicles in the United States and Canada, offering an upgrade to include HEPA filters and enable Bioweapon Defense Mode. This retrofit becomes available two years after the Fremont factory started manufacturing the electric SUV.

Introduction to HEPA Filters in Tesla Model Y

Initially, the Model Y, released in early 2020, did not feature HEPA filters, well-known for capturing and filtering out 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micrometers. Initially, only the Model S and Model X were equipped with these filters.

Despite the initial absence of HEPA filters in the Model Y, the design allowed enough space for their future inclusion. In June 2021, Tesla began incorporating these filters in the Model Y production line. The new retrofit service, now available through the service section of the Tesla app, addresses the demands of existing owners seeking to upgrade their vehicles.

The retrofit service is priced at $330 USD. Owners can schedule the service via the Tesla mobile app.

Will the Model 3 be Next?

Elon Musk mentioned the impracticality of fitting these "giant" filters in the Model 3. In 2018, he posted:

Model S & X also have an acid gas filter, an alkaline gas filter & a carbon monoxide detector that autoswitches car to recirc mode. We should prob tell people about this more. Filters are giant, so too big to fit in Model 3.

Tesla's new Model 3 was speculated to have a HEPA filter, however it appears it'll continue to be the only Tesla without Bioweapon Defense Mode.

Bioweapon Defense Mode: A Leap in Air Filtration Technology

Utilizing the HEPA filter, Tesla's Bioweapon Defense Mode is inspired by hospital-grade air filtration systems and offers a strong defense against various air pollutants, including pathogens and allergens. This mode operates by pulling external air through the HEPA filter and an additional activated carbon filter, ensuring the removal of harmful particles and contaminants. Furthermore, it creates a positive pressure environment in the cabin, akin to those in medical settings, preventing external air infiltration.

Tesla has showcased the effectiveness of its Bioweapon Defense Mode through various tests and experiments. In one demonstration, a Model Y equipped with this mode was compared to a BMW X3 in a controlled environment filled with smoke, highlighting Tesla's system's superior air filtration capability.

The company is recognized as producing the safest cars on the planet, but that safety goes further than airbags and rollover protection. The importance of air quality in vehicles is increasingly recognized, especially considering the health impacts of prolonged exposure to air pollutants. Tesla's advanced air filtration system enhances passenger well-being and differentiates it from other automakers. While many vehicles have air filtration systems, few rival the comprehensive protection offered by Tesla's Bioweapon Defense Mode.

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.

Is Tesla Close to Licensing FSD? GM Quits Cruise, BMW Praises Tesla

December 13, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

In a relatively surprising move, GM announced that it is realigning its autonomy strategy and prioritizing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) over fully autonomous vehicles.

GM is effectively closing Cruise (autonomous) and focusing on its Super Cruise (ADAS) feature. The engineering teams at Cruise will join the GM teams working on Super Cruise, effectively shuttering the fully autonomous vehicle business.

End of Cruise

GM cites that “an increasingly competitive robotaxi market” and “considerable time and resources” are required for scaling the business to a profitable level. Essentially - they’re unable to keep up with competitors at current funding and research levels, putting them further and further behind.

Cruise has been offering driverless rides in several cities, using HD mapping of cities alongside vehicles equipped with a dazzling array of over 40 sensors. That means that each cruise vehicle is essentially a massive investment and does not turn a profit while collecting data to work towards Autonomy.

Cruise has definitely been on the back burner for a while, and a quick glance at their website - since it's still up for now - shows the last time they officially released any sort of major news packet was back in 2019.

Competition is Killer

Their current direct competitor - Waymo, is funded by Google, which maintains a direct interest in ensuring they have a play in the AI and autonomy space.

Interestingly, this news comes just a month after Tesla’s We, Robot event, where they showed off the Cybercab and the Robotaxi network, as well as plans to begin deployment of the network and Unsupervised FSD sometime in 2025. Tesla is already in talks with some cities in California and Texas to launch Robotaxi in 2025.

GM Admits Tesla Has the Right Strategy

As part of the business call following the announcement, GM admitted that Tesla’s end-to-end and Vision-based approach towards autonomy is the right strategy. While they say Cruise started down that path, they’re putting aside their goals towards fully autonomous vehicles for now and focusing on introducing that tech in Super Cruise instead.

NEWS: GM just admitted that @Tesla’s end-to-end approach to autonomy is the right strategy.

“That’s where the industry is pivoting. Cruise had already started making headway down that path. We are moving to a foundation model and end-to-end approach going forward.” pic.twitter.com/ACs5SFKUc3
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 10, 2024

With GM now focusing on Super Cruise, they’ll put aside autonomy and instead focus solely on ADAS features to relieve driver stress and improve safety. While those are positive goals that will benefit all road users, full autonomy is really the key to removing the massive impact that vehicle accidents have on society today.

In addition, Super Cruise is extremely limited, cannot brake for traffic controls, and doesn’t work in adverse conditions - even rain. It can only function when lane markings are clear, there are no construction zones, and there is a functional web connection.

The final key to the picture is that the vehicle has to be on an HD-mapped and compatible highway - essentially locking Super Cruise to wherever GM has time to spend mapping, rather than being functional anywhere in a general sense, like FSD or Autopilot.

Others Impressed - Licensing FSD

Interestingly, some other manufacturers have also weighed into the demise of Cruise. BMW, in a now-deleted post, said that a demo of Tesla’s FSD is “very impressive.” There’s a distinct chance that BMW and other manufacturers are looking to see what Tesla does next.

BMW chimes in on a now-deleted post. The Internet is forever, BMW!

Not a Tesla App

It seems that FSD has caught their eyes after We, Robot - and that the demonstrations of FSD V13.2 online seem to be the pivot point. At the 2024 Shareholder Meeting earlier in the year, Elon shared the fact that several manufacturers had reached out, looking to understand what was required to license FSD from Tesla.

There is a good chance 2025 will be the year we’ll see announcements of the adoption of FSD by legacy manufacturers - similar to how we saw the surprise announcements of the adoption of the NACS charging standard.