All Tesla models in Europe either have a CCS or the older Type 2 charge ports instead of Tesla's proprietary port. This lets Tesla owners charge at a variety of charging locations. It also made it easier for Tesla to open up their Superchargers to other vehicles with the CCS standard without having to make any hardware changes.
Tesla to release a CCS adapter in the US soon
In the US, Tesla still releases cars with their own charge port. This could be a problem in the future as more third-party chargers become available and Tesla owners aren't able to use them.
Tesla recently created and released an adapter that goes from CCS to Tesla's connection, allowing you to use CCS-based chargers. The adapter is available now in South Korea and is said to be launching in North America soon.
Does Your Car Support It?
However, it looks like not all Tesla's will be able to support CCS charging due to hardware requirements.
In software update 2021.40, Tesla now shows additional information about your car. If you go to Controls > Software and tap Additional Vehicle Information, Tesla will now show you two additional details that weren't exposed before.
One is which cellular bands your car is capable of connecting to. Some cars before 2016 can only connect to 2G and 3G networks. With AT&T shutting down their 3G service early next year, these cars will be left without a cellular connection, unless owners opt for an upgrade.
The next new bit of information will show whether your car will support Tesla's CCS adapter. The screen shows ‘CCS adapter support' and then shows whether the hardware required for the adapter is installed in your vehicle or not.
Tesla displays whether your car supports its CCS adapter
Paul Quinnell/Facebook
In Europe or Model 3 vehicles already come standard with a CCS charge port so there's no adapter necessary for them. However, for Model S and Model X vehicles, Tesla states that they will support the CCS adapter if they were built after May 1, 2019.
According to Paul Quinnell who received the update and drives a 2018 Model 3 in Canada, his car does not have support for the adapter.
Adapter and Retrofit Costs
If your car isn't support then Tesla can upgrade your car for about $340 USD in Europe. Tesla is expected to offer a similar service in the US. The price includes the CCS adapter itself.
For vehicles that can support the CCS adapter directly, the adapter can be bought directly from Tesla in the future. It currently costs about $250 USD in South Korea and could be slightly cheaper when it's released in the US.
Future of Tesla Charging
It's not clear whether Tesla is planning to switch to an all CCS solution in the future, where future cars will come with CCS ports and Superchargers will have CCS cables, or whether Tesla is simply getting owners ready for non-Tesla charging solutions.
As more electric vehicles are released and become the norm rather than the exception in the future, there will be more charging locations and Tesla simply won't be able to be everywhere. Giving owners the ability to charge at any charging location with the common CCS adapter will make sure that Tesla owners are not at a disadvantage.
Tesla's fourth quarter and 2022 earnings call with investors was mostly good news unless you were planning to drive a Cybertruck soon. While company executives eagerly jumped on every question asked by investors, there was a noticeable pause when a point-blank question was asked about Cybertruck's mid-year production date.
Elon Musk responded "um, we do expect production to start, I don't know, maybe sometime this summer. But I always like to try to downplay the start of production because the start of production is always very slow. It increases exponentially, but it's always very slow at first. So I wouldn't put too much thought in start of production."
Volume Production Next Year
If the millions of people with Cybertruck reservations were in attendance, you might have felt the air leave the room. The previous belief was mass production would start by the end of 2023. There may be some stainless-steel beauties on the road by then, but only a few. "It's kind of when does volume production actually happen, and that's next year," said Musk.
Perhaps sensing some disappointed buyers, Lars Moravy, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering added, "(I'd) like just to emphasize on that, we've started installation of all the production equipment here in Giga Texas, castings, general assembly, body shops. We built all our beta vehicles, some more coming still in the next month, but as you said, the ramp will really come 2024."
The Cybertruck Will be Elon's Next Car
Cybertruck was originally announced in 2019 at the memorable event that included the unbreakable armor glass smashing. Musk was wearing the smashed glass Cybertruck t-shirt while taking questions from investors. While the wait continues, he is adamant that it will be worth it, "So it's an incredible product. I can't wait to drive it personally. It will be the car that I drive every day… it's just one of those products that only comes along once in a while, and it's really special."
The original release deadline was set for 2021. However, the production date has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, like a global pandemic. Nevertheless, it is a positive sign that beta vehicles have been produced. Images of what appears to be a Cybertruck were leaked a few months ago.
Recently, chief designer Franz von Holzhausen did confirm that the Cybertruck was ready for production, but it's a work in progress. Every Tesla beta product gets thoroughly examined and meticulously reviewed before the next step. But at least it's a step in the right direction.
Tesla set new records in production and deliveries while beating analyst expectations.
Statista
Tesla published their Q4 2022 and full-year financial results, setting new records in production and deliveries while beating analyst expectations. Tesla’s annual profit rose to $12.6 billion in 2022, from $5.5 billion in 2021. Annual revenue rose to $81.5 billion, from $53.8 billion the year prior. Tesla reported fourth-quarter revenue of $24.32 billion beating analysts' $24.07 billion estimate. The automaker also reported earnings per share of $1.19 beating analysts' $1.12 estimate.
Tesla’s stock rose more than 5% in after-hours trading following the earnings release and surged more than 10% the next day.
Tesla's Q4 2022 revenue set a new record for the company, up 59% from a year earlier. In addition to automotive revenue of $21.3 billion, Tesla recognized $324 million of deferred revenue from the company’s driver assistance systems.
FSD Beta Numbers
Tesla reported that 90 million miles have now been driven with FSD Beta, up from 58 million miles in the previous quarter. The company also confirmed that they have about 400,000 FSD Beta users in North America, a sizeable increase since the last report. With such a steep increase in miles driven and FSD Beta becoming widely available in North America, Tesla is making significant progress with its autonomous driving software.
In late 2022 and into this year, Tesla began cutting prices on its cars globally. Elon spoke about how recent price cuts have fueled a surge in demand for Tesla: “Thus far in January we’ve seen the strongest orders year-to-date than ever in our history. We’re currently seeing orders of almost twice the rate of production.” He added: “These price changes really make a difference for the average consumer.” Tesla acknowledges that average sales prices have to decrease over time because affordability is part of Tesla's mission to grow into a company that sells multiple millions of cars annually.
Price cuts will impact profitability, but margins should remain healthy, Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn affirmed. Tesla has wider operating margins than the industry average, which allows them to make such price cuts.
Elon issued an uncertain forecast for 2023, saying Tesla planned on 1.8 million vehicles for the year without specifying whether that was a target for production or deliveries. If the company were to deliver 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, that would result in 37% annual growth.
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