Imminent Ludicrous Launch as Tesla Gears Up for Q2 with the Latest Model 3

Ludicrous set for launch

Courtesy of @BooDev/X.com

As Tesla edges closer to officially unveiling the Model 3 Ludicrous enthusiasts and potential buyers alike are keenly analyzing every piece of information available. Amidst the flurry of images showing the new Ludicrous model in public and leaked images of the car in a display area at a Tesla facility in Malibu, California, it appears that Tesla will kick off the second quarter in style. But something else will be unveiled as well.

The presence of Tesla's head designer, Franz von Holzhausen, along with his distinctive matte black-wrapped Cybertruck in Malibu, hints at a gathering of automotive influencers and experts. This strategic gathering, further evidenced by sightings of notable figures such as Marques Brownlee and Jason Cammisa, suggests Tesla’s intention to leverage influential reviews and social media buzz to highlight the Model 3 Ludicrous upon its release.

Mysterious Technological Innovations Unveiled

Alongside the anticipation surrounding its unveiling, the Model 3 Ludicrous has sparked intrigue with the mystery of a covered item spotted on a desk beside a covered Model 3. Speculation is that this could be a new motor or an advanced technological component integral to the Model 3 Ludicrous's capabilities.

Model 3 Ludicrous. pic.twitter.com/Uti6HFdqs4

— Chris Zheng (@ChrisZheng001) April 1, 2024

The Model 3 Ludicrous sets itself apart with significant upgrades, including a redesigned front fascia, side front bumper vents for improved aerodynamics, and new rim designs complemented by a sleek rear spoiler. These enhancements and the expected acceleration metrics that promise to surpass the previous performance model's benchmarks set the stage for what is sure to be a must-have car for the Tesla enthusiast.

Strategic Pricing and Timing

An important financial aspect has come to light courtesy of Tesla insider Sawyer Merritt. He points out a crucial consideration for U.S. customers eyeing the Model 3 Ludicrous: the eligibility for federal incentives. Specifically, Merritt notes that any electric sedan priced over $55,000 does not qualify for the coveted $7,500 Federal EV credit. This detail adds a layer of financial planning for potential buyers, as the Model 3 Ludicrous is expected to harness 2170 cells from Giga Nevada, similar to its predecessor, which could influence its qualifying status from a manufacturing standpoint.

Tesla's timing for the Model 3 Ludicrous unveiling seems strategically poised to stimulate its second-quarter sales, leveraging the heightened public interest and media buzz. The company has prepared investors for a slower year of growth, so introducing this new product aims to strengthen Tesla's market position and emphasize its role as a leader in innovation within the automotive industry.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

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.

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

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.

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