I'm sure I've said this before, but one of the amazing things about Teslas is that just about every item in the car is run through a software layer. For example, instead of the ultrasonic sensors being wired directly to the car's audio system to produce a tone when an object is in close proximity , the sensors are plugged up to a hub or motherboard, which then is completely software controlled. One of the many inputs are the ultrasonic sensors, and outputs are individual speakers, display, turn signals, headlights, ambient lights etc.
This gives Tesla a great amount of flexibility. Nothing is set in stone. If Tesla wanted, they could make your ambient lights become brighter the closer an object was to the ultrasonic sensors. In fact, this is what gives Tesla the ability to let out a fart noise every time you use your turn signals in Tesla's Emissions Testing Mode.
We're now hearing that Elon agrees that they can do a better job with parking chimes. Currently Tesla displays a nice visualization in the car when an object is close to the ultrasonic sensors. The car will display an arc around the area of the car that the object is close to. The color of the arc is dependent on the distance of the object. The arc will change from gray to orange and red, all in a very fluid way. The vehicle will even display the distance of the object in inches or centimeters. The visualizations are great.
What's not so great, or rather is more on par with what other vehicles provide are the chimes that the car makes when encountering an object. The car produces slightly annoying chimes, akin to unfastened seat belt sounds when coming close to an object. The sound is roughly the same volume until you get very close.
Someone on Twitter suggested that Tesla improve the proximity sensors chimes to better match the great visualization Tesla already provides. They suggested that Tesla project the sound directionally based on the location of the object. They also mentioned that the volume should be an indicator for the distance of the object and the sound should be something other than chimes.
It's a great suggestion that has been suggested before, but Elon Musk actually responded to this particular suggestion. Elon either more strongly agrees with this suggestion now, or Tesla is or will be looking into this feature in the future.
Tesla has the ability to control each of the speakers in the car individually, so it would actually be amazing if Tesla could decode surround sound directly in the car. Tesla would then be able to encode sounds in a surround sound format and directional sound in the car.
This could be used for a variety of features where directional sound is advantageous such as the parking chimes, turn signals, emergency braking and even the ability to watch Netflix and other streaming services in surround sound. After all, you already have a surround sound setup in your car, all we need is the software.
Tesla Investor Relations has officially confirmed that they will conduct the Robotaxi unveiling event on October 10th in Los Angeles. Event sign-up will be done using a random drawing for Tesla shareholders. The final date for entries is a week from today, on September 17th at midnight, and the selected shareholders will be announced the week of September 23rd.
Sign Up
You’ll need to own Tesla stock ($TSLA) to participate and will be required to verify your shareholder status on the Investor Relations site. The random drawing provides a better opportunity for those who hold lots of Tesla shares, as they’ll have a higher number of entries. You get one entry per confirmed share held.
At the moment, there are no details on the timing of the event, nor anything about +1 attendees. However, one item of note is that event draw winners cannot transfer their tickets to another party – which means if you get a ticket, it's for you and nobody else.
If you’re located in the United States, you can use ‘Say’ – Tesla’s Investor Relations partner – to automatically verify your shareholder status. For those outside of the United States, unless you’re trading with an American bank, you will need to provide an updated statement showing shareholder status for September 2024. Say takes about 3-5 business days to verify statements, so be sure to sign up early.
Robotaxi Event
The Robotaxi event will take place at the Warner Bros. Discovery Studios in LA, and Tesla has been pre-emptively gathering FSD data around the neighborhood. This likely means that the event will include a demonstration of Robotaxi’s capabilities and a reveal of the Robotaxi itself. We’re hoping that attendees will have the opportunity to sit in and experience Robotaxi delivering them from Point A to Point B inside of the Discovery Studios set pieces.
It’s expected to be one of Tesla’s most interesting and notable events, as this is the first reveal of the much-talked-about Robotaxi, which has been Tesla’s goal for its Full Self-Driving software since Elon Musk’s Masterplan I.
Tesla’s latest FSD update, version 2024.27.5 brings some improvements when parking your vehicle. This is another undocumented, but one we’re happy to see.
Most recently, the Cybertruck received the undocumented change for the Hands-Free Frunk opening (video below). The Cybertruck also recently received Vision Park Assist, which included steering wheel guides in the visualization showing the direction the front and rear wheels were turned. However, it turns out this isn’t just for the Cybertruck.
Update: We’ve updated this article to mention that this feature isn’t included in update 2024.32 yet.
Quick video on the auto frunk. It's literally 🧍♂️📐
Due to the Cybertruck’s unique rear-wheel steering and steer-by-wire design, Park Assist in the Cybertruck displayed the path of the front wheels, and how they would swing while reversing.
This enhancement is also coming to every Tesla vehicle in FSD 12.5.2 and later. It’s also expected to be available in a future update for non-FSD vehicles. However, it’s unclear whether it will be a later revision of update 2024.32 or the next major Tesla update. This is a neat little update, as it helps drivers better understand and predict the path their vehicle will take during a turn.
Brandon, going by @teslaflexx on X, originally spotted the new visuals recently on an AMD-based Model Y running 2024.27.5 and FSD V12.5.2.
Any vehicles who are on update 2024.27.5 or 2024.27.20 should have access to this new feature.
Looks like Cybertruck wasn’t the only vehicle to get the new guide visuals with park assist. Much better than the lines! pic.twitter.com/tF9ZsWCcWy
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