Tesla to look into adding AI-based HVAC system

By Nuno Cristovao

Elon has said various times that Tesla is not a car company, but rather an AI company. Tesla is using AI to solve problems such as auto high beams, auto wipers and of course FSD. Tesla's tango with AI explains its recent move into robotics.

Solving FSD is just the beginning. We're likely to see Tesla enter additional fields that rely heavily on AI. Tesla will be able to take everything they've learned in the world of artificial intelligence and apply it to a completely new product or even a new field, similar to what they're doing with NeuraLink.

Tesla to look into adding AI-based HVAC
Tesla to look into adding AI-based HVAC

Elon has previously talked about how he would love for Tesla to develop air conditioning systems. Elon believes Tesla can make them much more efficient than they are today, but Tesla just doesn't have the resources to enter another field right now. The use of air conditioning around the world currently accounts for 10% of global electricity usage, according to IEA.

Tesla may now be looking to introduce AI to Tesla HVAC systems. Twitter user @coffeetabletsla asked Elon if Tesla could develop a neural network similar to Deep Rain that's used for windshield wipers, but instead use it to improve air conditioning. It could monitor when to turn the AC on/off, when to circulate air versus bringing in fresh outside air and take into account various factors such as current air quality, traffic and dirt roads.

In response, Elon gave his typical “Ok" answer, which has usually meant that Tesla is already working on a similar feature or that Elon is genuinely intrigued by the idea and will have Tesla engineers evaluate its feasibility.

Given Elon's fascination with air conditioning and wanting to reduce the world's energy footprint, this could be Tesla's first entry into the HVAC industry.

This conversation started on Twitter when the official Tesla account tweeted “can we all just agree that pumping out carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide from cars on all the streets around the world is maybe a bad idea".

Elon replied to the Tesla account with “in close traffic, poisonous gas spewing from the car in front of you goes straight into your AC intake." A fair point. We're just hurting ourselves. He then snarkily added that “Good thing gas/diesel carmakers didn't cheat on their emissions or we'd be in real trouble."

Air quality is also something Elon has shown interest in before. In fact, Teslas in China show the Air Quality Index right next to the temperature near the top portion of the car's screen.

Teslas currently have an Auto AC button that determines when to activate the air conditioning system, although it's likely to be similar to other manufacturers where it compares the indoor and outdoor temperatures along with the relative humidity of each environment.

By adding AI to air conditioning not only can Tesla reduce its energy usage, resulting in longer range for your Tesla, but it could also give you cleaner air to breathe. Your Tesla can give you fresh air when you're driving alone on the road, and automatically switch to recirculated air when you're close to other cars.

This is just another example of how Tesla is redefining cars and improving the world we live in.

Musk Teases New Model for Early 2025 That Will Use a Mix of Next-Gen and Current Platforms

By Cláudio Afonso

“We have updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025”. This was one of the key sentences that were part of Tesla’s deck shared on Tuesday directly before its financial results.

Since Reuters’ report a few weeks ago saying Tesla had “scrapped” the highly expected cheaper model— which Elon quickly denied on X —retail and institutional shareholders started asking for more details on Tesla’s product roadmap for 2024 and beyond.

In the earnings conference call, Elon Musk reiterated that Tesla expects to launch the next model in “early 2025, if not late this year”.

“We've updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of previously mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025. So, we expect it to be more like the early 2025, if not late this year. “

Over concerns of temporary production halts to update the factories for these new models, Musk said that Tesla will produce new models with certain aspects from their next-generation platform and current models. This will reduce the number of changes needed on production lines and allow Tesla not only to ramp up production faster but also to get the vehicles to market quicker.

Model Y Redesign

Tesla appears to hit that their next-gen vehicle will be less “next-gen” than they were initially aiming for, but to get a new vehicle out the door by late 2024, the process would already have to be in motion. Tesla may likely be referring to the redesigned Model Y, which is expected to reuse many parts from the new Model 3. Earlier this year, Tesla said that the redesigned Model Y will not be released this year, so it makes sense that they’re looking to speed up that production.

Tesla CEO concluded by saying that these measures will allow Tesla to reach a capacity of over 3 million units. Tesla produced 1.84 million vehicles in 2023. However, this year they’re ramping up Cybertruck production and introduced the new Model 3 into new markets.

And we think this should allow us to get to over 3 million vehicles of capacity when realized to the full extent.

Tesla reported on Tuesday its earnings results followed by a conference call where it teased its upcoming Robotaxi and its next-generation platform saying its “purpose-built Robotaxi product will continue to pursue a revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy”.

Earlier in the day, Tesla announced the new Performance variant of its sedan Model 3 with deliveries in the United States starting already next month. The new version starts at $45,490 (after applying the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit) and goes from 0 to 60mph in 2.9 seconds.

Tesla on FSD: Close to License Deal With Major Automaker, Announces Miles Driven on FSD v12

By Cláudio Afonso

On Tuesday Tesla reported its earnings results followed by a conference call that brought several updates on the company’s roadmap for future vehicles, autonomous driving, Optimus and much more.

While answering a question from Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney about updates on the licensing of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, Elon Musk said they’re talking to one major auto manufacturer and there’s “a good chance” the company signs the first deal before year-end. However, he went on to say that it would probably be three years before the necessary changes are integrated into the car.

I think we have a good chance we do sign a deal this year

Brings Benefits to Tesla

The technology would require other automakers to start using the same cameras and hardware as Tesla, meaning that Tesla may not only generate money from licensing FSD but also from selling the hardware itself. However, there would be other benefits as well. When licensing FSD, Tesla would likely own the data gathered with the system well, further helping them with data and edge cases that need to be solved to reach full autonomy.

people don't understand all cars will need to be smart cars… Once that becomes obvious, I think licensing becomes not optional.

Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja commented pointing out that future partners “take a lot of time in their product life cycle” resulting in a gap between the deal signing and the arrival in the market of Tesla’s FSD software.

Miles Driven With FSD

On the conference call, Musk added that Tesla now has over 300 million miles that have been driven with FSD v12 since it was launched just last month. He added that it's becoming “very clear that the vision-based approach with end-to-end neural networks is the right solution for scalable autonomy”.

Tesla said it will continue to increase its “core AI infrastructure capacity in the coming months” adding that in the first quarter, it completed the transition to hardware 4.0 with China now receiving the upgraded FSD computer and cameras.

Over the weekend, Tesla reduced the price of FSD dropping it from $12,000 to $8,000 for customers in the United States and from CA$16,000 to CA$11,000 in Canada.

Earlier this month, Tesla implemented a 50% price reduction for FSD subscriptions in the U.S. and introduced the subscription model in Canada at a great value of CA$99 per month.

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