Musk Says Tesla is Not Releasing New Model Y, 'Project Juniper', This Year

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Today on X, Elon Musk has confirmed that there will not be a Model Y refresh coming in 2024, to match the recent Model 3 refresh.

This news isn’t exactly surprising given the fact that nobody has seen any covered-up test vehicles in either China or the US, but still a disappointment for eager fans and potential buyers waiting to buy the updated vehicle.

Continuous Improvement

Elon did mention in his post that Tesla continuously iterates on its vehicles, even without a full-blown refresh. He noted that even a vehicle that is 6 months newer will be a little bit better.

There has been some continuous improvement seen in China – the updated Model Y in China comes with a new dash, including ambient lighting for the dash area, updated trim from wood to black and grey cloth, and the new black Gemini wheel covers (which recently did come to North America).

There are also some under-the-hood changes, including an update for the Model Y Standard Range’s 0-100 km/h (0-60mph) from 6.9 seconds to 5.9 seconds. The Long Range and Performance variants also received slightly better ranges, with improvements in the battery technology.

Sadly, none of these updates have filtered into North America – not even through Canada, as all Canadian Model Y’s are currently manufactured in Giga Shanghai, right next to Chinese vehicles.

Juniper When?

The Refresh Y, codenamed Juniper – will eventually arrive when Tesla deems the time is right. However, the 3’s Highland refresh and ramp-up is probably Tesla’s main focus at the moment, and with the current version of the Model Y still being one of the world’s best-selling vehicle, there is no rush to bring Project Juniper to customers just yet.

We may see test vehicles sometime later this year in China or the United States. However, China may receive the Juniper update before North America and Europe. China unveiled the new Model 3 in September 2023, with Highland coming globally in 2024.

We also previously reported that China has begun to slow down its Model Y production, which could indicate the preparation for retooling, but it is too early to tell whether this is related to Project Juniper yet.

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

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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.

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

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

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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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