Tesla Confirms They're Working on Wireless, Inductive Home Charging

December 19, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Wireless Charging Confirmed

In a revelation that surprises no one, Tesla is working on wireless charging. The company bought a wireless charging company, then sold that company and kept all the engineers. It also hinted at wireless technology during Investor Day in March. However, we now have official confirmation from Tesla.

Franz von Holzhausen's Confirmation

Tesla's wireless EV charging development was officially confirmed in a recent interview with Jay Leno (below). Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's Chief Designer, explained the project: "Oh, we’re working on the inductive charging. So you don’t need to plug something in at that point. You just pull in your garage, drive over the pad, and you’re charging."

While wireless charging is not new to the EV industry, Tesla's entry into this realm is noteworthy. Several companies, including WAVE and Plugless Power, have explored wireless charging for EVs. However, Tesla's involvement is expected to accelerate the technology's development and adoption.

While only home charging is being considered, the technology could translate to road charging, which now has a pilot program set up in Detroit. The technology behind this advancement involves rubber-coated copper coils embedded beneath the road surface. These coils enable charging for EVs equipped with specialized receivers. The project, a collaboration between the Michigan Department of Transportation, Electreon, and other partners, is limited to vehicles with specific receivers, this technology paves the way for broader applications and integration into the existing EV ecosystem.

Despite the promise of convenience, wireless charging faces challenges, particularly regarding energy efficiency. Converting electricity into a magnetic field and back incurs energy losses, raising concerns about the technology's efficiency compared to traditional plug-in methods. Nevertheless, early reports suggest that Tesla's wireless chargers exhibit remarkable efficiency, potentially addressing these concerns.

The Genesis of the Wireless Charging Concept

Further highlighting Tesla's innovative approach, Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, recently named Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders, provided an insightful comment during an Investor Day 2023. With a slide that read Can't Forget to Do Cool S***, she said, "We are Tesla, so we also want to make sure we are continuing to focus on providing really incredible charging experiences." This remark underscored Tesla's commitment to enhancing the EV charging experience, and the slide also showed a Model S parked with what appears to be a charging pad under it.

Tesla's pursuit of this technology was further evidenced by its acquisition and subsequent sale of Wiferion, a European company specializing in wireless EV charging. This strategic move, often called acqui-hiring, allowed Tesla to integrate key Wiferion engineers into its team while divesting the rest of the company.

Introducing wireless charging technology involves significant installation considerations, including the cost and the need for an inductive receiver on the vehicle. Despite these factors, Tesla's move towards wireless charging aligns with the company's vision of a seamless, automated charging solution, especially in the context of self-driving technology. The vision is to one day have cars that drive themselves; now, they may charge themselves, too.

Tesla Expected to Add New 3D Baidu Maps in China This Month

May 21, 2024

By Not a Tesla App Staff

Baidu's Presentation of the 4 different versions

Not a Tesla App

Baidu Vice President Shang Guobin recently announced a collaboration with Tesla to integrate the latest version of Baidu Maps into Tesla vehicles in China. Since Tesla relies partly on map information for Autopilot and FSD, this move may get Tesla closer to launching FSD in China.

At the event last month, Baidu presented the latest version of Baidu Maps, which includes four different versions. They include Basic, 3D leading, 3D flagship and Smart Edition for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). Tesla vehicles will receive the new “3D Leading” version from Baidu which features over 300 customized elements. Similar to the 3D version of Apple Maps and Google Maps, it includes 3D models for buildings, trees and information on roads and lanes. Baidu Maps is available for a variety of operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Linux.

Tesla has added a new 3D map view in update 2023.44.32 for China.

Instead of an image-based, overhead map view, these new maps show your vehicle as it moves through a 3D environment that visualizes lanes, buildings, trees and more.

It’s very similar to FSD visualizations… pic.twitter.com/Qke0uP3Wcy
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) January 25, 2024

Besides Tesla, BYD’s Vice President Guobin added that Baidu will also collaborate with Huawei and electric vehicle startup JiYue. Huwaei is involved in three well-known car brands in China including Avatr (with Changan and the battery giant CATL), Luxeed (with Chery) and Aito.

The addition of 3D maps being added in China could open up the door for Tesla to implement 3D maps from Apple or Google in other regions.

Apple Maps' 3D views

Voice Assistant

Tesla recently added a voice assistant in China to replace the aging voice command system. Although the voice assistant is currently exclusive to China, Tesla is already working on voice assistant in English for other regions. Other languages are likely to follow.

FSD in China

It appears that China may be Tesla’s next FSD market. Elon Musk recently traveled to China to discuss FSD and how data would be gathered and stored. Musk also hinted at the possibility of Tesla offering FSD in China by saying, “It may be possible very soon” when he was asked about FSD arriving in China.

Baidu’s Robotaxi

Earlier this year, Baidu introduced a 24-hour operation for its Apollo Go service in select areas of Wuhan, China — becoming the first company in China to offer a 24/7 autonomous driving service.

Baidu’s journey in autonomous driving began in 2013 and, as of today, Baidu Apollo’s advanced autonomous driving systems have completed over 100 million kilometers (62 million miles) of testing and over 5,000 patents granted. In comparison, Tesla has about 1.3 billion miles driven on FSD, with 300 million miles traveled on FSD v12 alone.

Tesla Sales in China

Last year, Tesla remained the world's leading BEV brand, selling 1.8 million units while China’s BYD sold a total of 3.02 million new energy vehicles (NEV), of which 1.57 million were fully electric.

Tesla recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in China and has delivered more than 1.7 million cars since its first delivery of the Model S.

Did Tesla Just Share an Interior Shot of the Robotaxi?

May 21, 2024

By Karan Singh

In Tesla’s investor video posted yesterday on X, there was a quick peek of what is expected to be the Robotaxi’s interior. The image only flashes on the screen for a split second, but thanks to an eagle-eyed reader, we may now have our first glimpse at the Robotaxi’s interior.

It looks like it has a two-seat interior, with no steering wheel, and a large center console. The doors look similar to the picture of the Robotaxi concept that was revealed in Elon Musk’s biography in 2023. It also matches up almost exactly with the prototype Franz von Holzhausen was seen working on in a video that aired on CBS last year.

The sharp angles of the interior also match up nicely with its official name, the Cybercab.

CBS airs video with von Holzhausen working on a concept car

Not a Tesla App

Robotaxi App

Tesla recently revealed their Robotaxi app, showing a very simplistic interface that lets you summon a taxi, see its progress, and lets you set the music and climate in the vehicle. In the video on X, Tesla showed off a brief clip of the Robotaxi app in action. Although nothing new is revealed in the short clip, it’s the first time the app has been seen on video.

Here is a quick sneak peek of Tesla's upcoming ride-hailing app released in their shareholder video today. pic.twitter.com/oM7MKNaOvz
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 21, 2024

Robotaxi Announcement

The Robotaxi will be officially unveiled on August 8^th, which is just under three months ago. While Tesla previously mentioned that the Robotaxi would take a backseat to the release of its next-gen $25K USD model, we could see Tesla announce firmer timelines, Robotaxi-specific features, and full previews of the interior and exterior in August.