Tesla has been improving its FSD features since introducing it in 2016
Tesla
Elon Musk bought, gutted, and revived Twitter, now X, for many reasons, but one of the biggest was allowing free speech. Now, Tesla has positioned its defense against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on the grounds of free speech.
Tesla asserts that the DMV's accusations of false advertising, especially regarding its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature, infringe upon its First Amendment rights. This defense follows years after the introduction of Tesla's automated driving features.
Background of the Dispute
The legal skirmish traces back to the DMV's investigation, initiated in May 2021. The agency accuses Tesla of misleading claims about its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capabilities, suggesting that these systems could enable entirely autonomous trips without driver intervention. Tesla, however, contends that it has been transparent about the limitations of these systems in its owner's manuals and in-car notifications.
Tesla argues the DMV's lack of action against using terms like "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving Capability" since 2014 and 2016 amounts to an implicit approval. The company claims that this inaction over the years should now preclude the DMV from pursuing legal action.
Potential Consequences for Tesla
The stakes are high for Tesla in this legal dispute. Should the DMV prevail, Tesla could face the revocation of its California manufacturer's license and possibly be required to compensate customers who have suffered financial losses due to the alleged false advertising.
This legal tussle has significant implications for Tesla, particularly in California, its largest market in the United States. The outcome of this case could influence not only Tesla's business operations but also customer trust and perception of the brand's technology offerings.
Amidst this legal confrontation, Tesla also faces scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over safety concerns related to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features. These investigations are part of a broader examination of the safety and reliability of driver assistance technologies in the evolving landscape of autonomous vehicles.
Tesla continues to refine its driver assistance technologies amidst these challenges, with the removal of ultrasonic sensors in 2022 marking a notable change in its approach. FSD version 12 is rolling out to employees, introducing a major shift in autonomous technology. Instead of hundreds of thousands of coding lines, the new system relies on neural networks. As the legal and regulatory landscape evolves, Tesla's journey with its pioneering technologies will remain in the spotlight and under constant scrutiny.
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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 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.
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.
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