One advantage Tesla has over its competition is its Supercharger network. No one else comes even close to having such a vast charging network. That's not even taking other considerations into account such as the speed of chargers.
Tesla to add WiFi to their Superchargers
Tesla's v3 chargers can charge at rates of to 1,000 miles per hour according to Tesla. It really starts rivaling the speed of gas stations. Of course, you may not always see those speeds, since there are various factors to consider. You'll need to have a battery that's at least 50% depleted. Usually having a battery around the 30% mark is what will result in the fastest charging speeds.
The car will also need to have a warm battery in order to achieve such a high rate of charging. Your car will do automatically warm up the battery as long as you have a Supercharger destination set in your GPS. And of course, the Supercharger can't be crowded or that could affect the amount of power available to each vehicle as well.
The other big advantage that I feel is often overlooked is the simplicity of the whole thing. When you arrive at a Supercharger, you know what to expect, you're not dealing with different charging networks or figuring out how to pay. You literally just plug it in. It couldn't be simpler.
Adding WiFi
Now, Tesla is going to add another advantage to it's already great charging network. Elon tweeted that Tesla will be adding WiFi networks to all of their Superchargers.
Even for owners with Premium Connectivity, the WiFi access will be nice if you have other devices in the car that are WiFi only, such as a gaming device, laptop or an iPad.
Adding WiFi to Superchargers actually makes a lot of sense for Tesla. The amount of data Tesla vehicles use is probably fairly small, with the exception of video streaming.
Considering that streaming YouTube or Netflix is likely one of the more popular entertainment options if you're waiting in the car while charging, this could lead to large amounts of data usage.
If Tesla added WiFi to Superchargers, they'll likely greatly reduce the amount of data that is being consumed through the car's cellular network.
In the US, Tesla has a partnership with AT&T. Since the very first Model S in 2012, all Teslas have used AT&T's network. We don't know the exact details of Tesla's partnership with AT&T, but Tesla is likely paying AT&T based on the amount of data used. After all, there's a reason why Tesla forces software updates to be downloaded over WiFi.
This move is likely to improve the customer experience at Superchargers while also saving Tesla some money.
Software Updates
Tesla is selling almost a million vehicles a year. Many of these are now being sold to owners who may not be able to get their car close enough to their homes in order to connect to WiFi and download the latest updates.
By adding WiFi to Superchargers, Tesla will now give owners a reliable and easy way to download software updates, regardless of their connection at home.
How to Connect to Tesla WiFi
We discussed earlier how easy it is to use a Supercharger. There's no need to authenticate, process payments or anything. It's all seamless. Expect Tesla to provide a similar experience when connecting to their WiFi network. You may not have to do anything. Just driving your car within range of Tesla's WiFi network will be enough to get it to automatically connect.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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