Apple will start offering Clean Energy Charging. Should Tesla follow suit?
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A familiar alternative has distracted the mega-company spotlight that is usually shining on Tesla. Apple launched the iPhone 14, and with it comes a new operating system — iOS 16. Apple's newsroom published a lengthy article detailing all the new features of the latest iOS. Of all the new features, there was one that stood out. Deep in the footnotes is a piece of information that likely has caught the attention of Tesla.
In an iOS update due out this fall (iOS 16.1), Apple will debut a new feature called: Clean Energy Charging.
In an iOS update due out this fall (iOS 16.1), Apple will debut a new feature called: Clean Energy Charging. But, unfortunately, they don't give us much information. The footnote reads, "Clean Energy Charging aims to decrease the carbon footprint of the iPhone by optimizing charging times for when the grid is using cleaner energy sources."
As a reminder, one of Tesla's many missions: Electric Vehicles, make badass, zero-emissions vehicles that can charge with clean energy. It's the end of that statement that falls in line with what Apple has figured out. Clean energy comes from zero-emission, renewable sources.
Apple may use information similar to Watttime. The founders of Watttime asked the simple question, "How clean is the electricity I'm using right now?" The non-profit figured it out. All users have to do is enter a zip code, and they will find an intensity scale from 1-100. The scale measures the grid emissions. The lower the number, the cleaner the energy.
This kind of feature would require a lot of information gathering from users. For example, let's say you plug in your phone when you go to bed at 11 p.m. and unplug it when you wake up at 7:00 a.m. With this update, the phone would start charging when the grid is cleaner, that may be at 3 a.m. Tesla would have the same information on users. The company knows that the commuter crowd may plug in when they get home, but the car doesn't need to be recharged until 8:00 the following day.
Tesla's impact reports detail how the company stores energy during times of high renewable generation, such as wind, solar and others. As a result, the company is proud to say it has created more energy than its products have consumed. The next step would be to have Tesla products consume only the cleanest energy whenever possible.
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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