Tesla is holding its 2023 Q4 earnings call today at 2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET / 10:30 pm UTC. The earnings call will be followed by a Q&A session with some of Tesla's executives, which will likely include Elon Musk.
There are several recent exciting events that we may hear more about during the earnings call.
Tesla's upcoming next-gen vehicle is now expected to start production next year, potentially paving the way for an unveiling announcement later this year. Additionally, Tesla has begun testing FSD v12 with non-employees, so they may be willing to share additional details about a wide release.
Watch Replay
The event is expected to be livestreamed on X.com, YouTube and on Tesla's website. However, it has been audio only in the past and is expected to be the same this quarter.
You can watch the event live on YouTube below.
Start Time
Tesla's livestream starts at 2:30 pm PT, which is the following times around the world:
2:30 pm Pacific Time
5:30 pm Eastern Time
10:30 pm UTC
10:30 pm - London, England
11:30 pm - Berlin, Germany
9:30 am (Jan 25th) - Sydney, Australia
Look Back at Tesla's 2023 Q4
In Q4 Tesla delivered 484,507 vehicles, up 38% year over year. Production was also up 35% over Q4 in 2022, with Tesla producing 494,989 vehicles.
For the year Tesla produced 1.84 million vehicles and delivered about 1.8 million.
Q&A Questions
The questions that are asked during Q&A come directly from investors and are voted on by investors. These top questions may be asked and answered during Tesla's Q&A session.
Next-Gen Car
Given that you moved the start of the next generation compact vehicle production to Austin, has the timeline improved so that we might see next generation platform vehicles in 2025?
Batteries
What has been the barrier to ramping 4680 cells into the multi million cells per week rate and when do you expect to get there?
When will Tesla have sufficient North American battery production to support the $7500 EV tax credit for the Model 3?
Stock
Should retail shareholders be concerned that Elon has stated he is uncomfortable expanding AI and robotics at Tesla if he doesn’t have 25% of voting ?
FSD
Has there been any progress made with an FSD licensing agreement with another company?
Could management please rank the following corporate initiatives by priority level: 1. FSD level 5 autonomy/wide release 2. 3rd generation platform release 3. Optimus commercialization
Optimus
What is the timeline for Optimus first production off volume production line and what are the barriers to getting there?
Cybertruck
How many cybertruck orders are in the queue and when do you anticipate you will be able to fulfill all existing orders?
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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