Tesla has announced that it will be delivering the first redesigned Model S cars to customers at an event on June 3rd. The redesigned Model S and X cars were first announced during Tesla’s Q1 results in January with the initial deliveries expected in February. It’s clear that didn’t happen for whichever reason, but after being pushed back several times, we now have concrete information on when we will see the first redesigned Model S.
The first deliveries will be for the Plaid variant, so not only will it be exciting to see tests for Tesla’s new top of the line vehicle, but the vehicle will also presumably be running Tesla's much anticipated v11 software. If you haven't see our early look into v11, we strongly recommend it.
The redesigned Model S will feature many new features such as a 17” horizontally mounted center display, a rear display for controls and entertainment, a noise canceling sound system, a new user interface and much more. If you don't recall everything included in the Model S redesign, you can read our full roundup of new features.
Tesla Model S Plaid delivery event June 3 at our California factory
Fastest production car ever 0 to 60mph in under 2 secs
One of the most controversial features of the new vehicle will be its lack of a gear stalk. The car will automatically determine whether it should go forward or backward based on a variety of factors. It will also provide the ability to manually choose the direction via the touchscreen. We saw video of how this will be done a couple months ago.
This is sure to be an exciting event as there will be so much more we’ll learn about the redesigned cars and their software.
Current Tesla owners are waiting anxiously to find out more about v11 and which features will carry over to their cars. It’s strongly rumored that Tesla has been holding back features in their current software releases due to the redesigned Model S not being ready. It’s likely that we’ll finally get our hands on v11 following the June 3rd event.
The redesigned Model X vehicles aren’t ready just yet and are still scheduled to be delivered later this year.
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.
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.
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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