Yesterday Tesla held their Q2 2024 Earnings Call. Let’s take a deeper look at some of what was said.
Affordable Tesla
Tesla’s affordable model – previously dubbed the Model 2 by many, is supposed to be revealed in the first half of 2025. Tesla has been targeting a price point of about $25,000 USD for this vehicle, and many are excited to see an affordable EV from Tesla that doesn’t require the Federal EV Rebate to come down below $30,000.
The Model 2 is supposed to be built off the same production lines as Tesla’s other mass-manufactured vehicles — the Model 3 and the Model Y. Tesla has reserved their unique unboxed process testing for the upcoming Robotaxi instead.
New Date for Robotaxi Event
Speaking of the Robotaxi, Elon Musk confirmed in the earnings call that the Robotaxi event will be taking place on 10/10. In line with what we previously reported, this delay was due to some important design changes. In addition, the extra time allows Tesla to “show off a few other things,” according to Musk.
We’re quite excited to see what these other things are – they could be previews of the affordable Tesla model, the Cybervan or a demo of the Robotaxi.
Unsupervised FSD Goal
In terms of FSD, Musk also mentioned that the hope is for Unsupervised FSD to be rolled out sometime between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025. That’s a pretty big time gap, and while we’re used to expecting the usual two weeks, Musk came clean and said he’s been overly confident in the past.
Instead, this new estimate is based on the current trend of miles per intervention, which has been growing at a steady clip since FSD v12 rolled out and has become more refined.
Expansion of FSD
But that’s not all. Tesla also intends to introduce FSD v12.5 or FSD v12.6 to Europe, China, and other countries by the end of this year, which is rapidly approaching. That’s a major piece of news for many countries that have limited access to Full Self Driving or Autopilot. Tesla previously worked hard to get regulatory approval for FSD in Europe and China and just launched some Vision-based features outside of North America.
Giga Mexico on Hold
Giga Mexico is now on hold, along with Tesla’s plans to produce their next-generation vehicle there. Instead, Tesla will be producing these vehicles at Giga Texas. This hold comes after US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has said that if he’s elected, he will enforce heavy tariffs on vehicles that are produced in Mexico and imported to the United States.
Optimus Robot Timeline
Optimus has seen some timeline solidification between the Shareholder Meeting and this Earnings Call. While there are a few test units on the factory floors today, Tesla intends to begin limited production at Giga Texas for a V1 unit, to be used internally. This production run will be starting in early 2025.
They expect to work out any initial kinks and bugs, and then begin work on Optimus V2, which should be available for purchase to outside organizations by early 2026.
Megapack
Tesla Energy has seen the greatest growth, with production, revenue, and sales all being greater than in Q1 2024. In fact, Tesla’s megapack factory in Lathrop is continuing to expand and scale production, all while Mega Shanghai is also breaking ground. Overall, deployments of static energy storage doubled in Q2 from Q1, which already saw a doubling since last year.
Tesla is banking quite a bit on its energy business, and working to expand its supply chains, while also selling Megapacks to energy utilities around the world. And it's more than energy utilities interested – Megapack is being seen as an energy backup source for AI compute – data centers suck power extremely fast, and Megapack can help provide the juice needed.
There’s more on that front too – Tesla and energy utilities are looking to buffer power plants with Megapacks – which means powerplants can run at optimal capacity while Megapack handles the ebbs and flows. There could be a 2-3x increase in power plant efficiency, and this could also help with power plant base loading.
Earnings Call Video
So that’s it for all the big key points from the Earnings Call. If you want to know more about the call, you can review our recap, which includes some of the financial data, as well as lots of other information. You can also see the investor slide deck, or watch the earnings call below.
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Tesla recently introduced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment options in the United States and Canada for items in the Tesla Shop, letting owners pay later for new vehicle accessories.
However, with Tesla app update 4.46, they’re expanding support to a much more critical area — Tesla Service. Qualifying owners in the U.S. and Canada will now be able to use Pay Later options for service performed by Tesla, which includes maintenance or repairs.
Services are provided by Affirm and Klarna, as per Mark Fonte, a Senior Software Engineer working on the Tesla app.
The new feature is seamlessly integrated into the existing service workflow within the Tesla app.
On the Service Estimate, before work on the vehicle begins, you will see a new message on the estimate screen: Pay over time - see if you qualify.
Tapping this link opens the payment calculator, which allows you to view potential payment structures and monthly costs. This provides a clear picture of what a payment plan would look like before you commit to servicing your vehicle.
Additionally, after service is complete and you are ready to pay, the final payment screen will present Affirm and Klarna (region-dependent) as selectable payment methods, alongside the usual options of Tesla Credit or your primary payment card.
Tapping Affirm or Klarna here will reopen the payment calculator, and a confirmation prompt will appear before selecting either BNPL option.
Service Now, Pay Later
Overall, the integration of BNPL providers for service is a thoughtful one for vehicle owners. The terms can vary widely, so it’s important to compare them to other payment options you may have access to. The additional financial flexibility, when faced with a large repair bill, allows more owners to get their vehicle professionally and properly serviced by Tesla.
For those getting larger work done, such as high-voltage battery pack replacements, this is an excellent option to spread payments over a longer period, helping reduce the burden of vehicle repair.
With the launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi Network, we didn't just get a peek into the future of transportation—we got a detailed look at the next version of FSD.
Videos from early access riders revealed some additional capabilities over current public FSD builds, showing off how it handles emergency vehicles and more.
Safety First for First Responders
One of the biggest changes in FSD’s capabilities is its improved handling of emergency vehicles. During a ride in Austin, Robotaxi is seen identifying an approaching ambulance using a combination of visual and audio data, activating its turn signal, and smoothly pulling over to the side of the road to let the ambulance by (video below).
This is a driving task that requires more than simple awareness of laws. It requires reasoning skills to determine where to move the vehicle to create a safe path, as well as the ability to quickly identify an ambulance or another emergency service vehicle with its sirens and lights activated. Understanding the context and executing a safe and predictable maneuver is crucial, as a wrong maneuver could actually make matters worse.
For FSD and Robotaxi to gain both public trust and regulatory approval, this skill is non-negotiable, and Tesla demonstrated its advancements right here. It’s not surprising Tesla added this ability before Robotaxis made it to public roads.
How does a fleet of Robotaxis keep its eyes clean without constant human intervention? Well, a clever new feature that Tesla has previously hinted at in their FSD release notes provides the answer. Robotaxi can now trigger a specific wiper and washer fluid sequence designed to clean the main front-facing cameras.
This might seem like a small detail, but it’s a brilliant solution to one of Tesla’s primary challenges - maintaining sensor clarity. While the vehicle could simply wipe the windshield multiple times, this is a clever solution to clean the most important area of the windshield as thoroughly as possible by focusing extra wiper fluid and wipes on that area.
Complex Maneuvers
Two areas where current builds of FSD V13.2.9 sometimes show hesitation are U-turns and navigating busy parking lots. The latest Robotaxi build appears to improve on both of these areas.
This first video shows a Robotaxi performing a flawless U-turn with no hesitation, and then smoothly switching lanes to take a turn.
Another video on X shows FSD’s updated confidence in navigating a complex parking lot for a precise drop-off. Today’s builds can sometimes struggle in parking lots, being slow and overly cautious when not needed, or too confident elsewhere. This appears to have been improved in these Robotaxi FSD builds with improved path planning and confidence.
Tesla Robotaxi service is just so smooth. Handles parking lots very well, noticeably better than the competitors pic.twitter.com/D5OxSrajCW
We’re also likely to see FSD begin to handle more complex destination options, including parking garages and driveways, which have been promised features for almost a year. The Robotaxi FSD build has also gained the ability to safely pull over on a road, similar to the ambulance example above, but it uses this capability to drop off and pick up passengers. This is a feature that was mentioned in FSD v13.2’s Upcoming Improvements section.
Better Nighttime Performance
Driving at night presents additional challenges, including headlight glare and reduced visibility. The latest version of FSD appears to handle it with almost the same grace as it does during the day. Remember that Tesla’s Robotaxis are available up until midnight. Early access riders mentioned that FSD is far smoother and is a step up from the behavior of current FSD builds.
Impressive nighttime performance from Tesla Robotaxi, dropping us off at In-N-Out as smoothly as it did during the day. pic.twitter.com/yQOhphtR0q
Now, what happens when a passenger feels unsafe or has a critical question? Tesla has placed two key buttons on the rear screen for just those purposes. Users are given control over the ability to Call Support, which almost instantly connects them with a real human agent at Tesla’s Robotaxi Operations Center via video call.
Here’s what happens when you hit the support button in Tesla’s Robotaxi’s.
While it isn’t a fundamental driving feature, it does mean that Tesla’s team can provide support to Robotaxi vehicles remotely, like issuing directive commands to have a vehicle proceed straight, rather than attempting to turn through a gated community.
The other option, Pull Over, allows a rider to immediately request the vehicle to safely pull over, which it will do when it can find a safe and open location. At this point, you can either continue your trip or get out of the Robotaxi.
Both options prompt you with an “Are You Sure?” button before letting you continue, which means you won’t have your Robotaxi ride come to an abrupt stop if you tap the ‘Pull Over’ button by accident.
What This Means for Tesla Owners
These features are likely to be included in future FSD builds. This is essentially the new benchmark by which to judge FSD, at least once it begins rolling out to customer vehicles.
Many of the core driving improvements, such as the more confident maneuvering and emergency vehicle response, will make their way to the wider fleet in upcoming FSD updates.
Remember - Robotaxi isn’t just a service, it is also a preview of Tesla’s driverless FSD builds.