Tesla Dominates EV Award Show, Clinches Top Honors in Innovation, Efficiency, and Three Additional Categories

November 27, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla wins several awards at the Fully Charged show

FullyChargedShw

Tesla emerged as the biggest winner, capturing five prestigious trophies at the inaugural Fully Charged AWARDS. The event, celebrating the pioneers of green technology, was organized in conjunction with the Fully Charged LIVE Europe event.

The Fully Charged SHOW, a leading voice in the sustainable technology space, spearheaded the nomination process through a comprehensive survey of its audience. The final candidates were then shortlisted by a dedicated team and an expert panel comprising 15 specialists in energy and transportation. The awards drew considerable attention, with several thousand electric vehicle drivers participating in the voting process.

Win for the Model 3/Y, Model S Falls Short

Dominance Across Price Segments: Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 won in their respective price categories, showcasing the company's ability to deliver outstanding electric vehicles across different market segments. However, it also showed that it has work to do as the Porsche Taycan stole the award for the higher price model that should've gone to the Model S or X. While the lower price vehicle MG4, showing that Tesla's next-gen, $25,000 car has some competition.

Best Charging Network

Award for Best EV Charging Network: Tesla's Supercharger Network, known for its widespread and efficient infrastructure, emerged as a critical enabler in the global adoption of electric vehicles. Tesla has built over 50,000 Superchargers worldwide and convinced most automotive industry to use its charging technology through the North American Charging Standard.

Tesla Wins Most Innovative & Efficient

Innovative EV Manufacturer: This one seems a little obvious because this award show would likely not even exist without Tesla. The Best Innovative EV Manufacturer award from Tesla reflects its continuous strive for excellence and innovation in the EV space. This accolade recognizes Tesla's cutting-edge advancements and their transformative impact on the automotive industry.

Energy Efficiency in Focus: The Tesla Model 3 Long Range, acclaimed for its superior range and energy efficiency, was honored as the Best Energy Efficient EV. This distinction highlights Tesla's dedication to merging sustainability with high performance in electric vehicles.

Tesla: Leading the Charge in EV Innovation

These accolades at the Fully Charged AWARDS are not merely symbols of recognition; they represent Tesla's pivotal role in steering the future of transportation and energy. The company's sweeping success at the awards ceremony reinforces its vision and the increasing consumer trust in its products and innovations. As Tesla continues to break new ground in the EV and clean energy arenas, its influence extends beyond these awards, propelling the world towards a greener and more sustainable future.

Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

December 14, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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.