Today we're getting into the latest Tesla news, including the exciting tech in Tesla's new Model Y, software features not coming for older customers, Tesla wireless charging and more, so let's get into it.
First up today, let's talk about Tesla's software updates. Tesla App version 4.28 was recently released, and with that comes a bunch of new features. Now there's more clarity on the app when it comes to displaying multiple Tesla wall connectors, with each being shown in its own virtual garage. They have added a special button in the map that allows you to show and hide nearby superchargers. You can now send a message directly to Tesla support via the app if you have a question about your vehicle. In the live camera view, they have added the ability to look through your car's A-pillar cameras. You can also plan a multi-stop trip in the app and then send it directly to your car from there.
For the vehicle software, we've seen a lot of the holiday updates, but we've now learned about some of the undocumented changes in Tesla software version 2023.44.1. Your Tesla will now display all of your favorited radio stations in a convenient bar across the top of the radio app, instead of being in a separate tab. Certain features like messages or calendar are no longer accessible through the phone app and must be entered through their specific apps in the All Apps page. The All Apps page has the apps centered in the screen instead of being left aligned. Beyond that, there have been some changes to the Tesla service mode. This should allow service tech's greater access to vehicle information and give them greater control over features like the air suspension while doing maintenance. Keep in mind that service mode is a feature that really should be only entered into by technicians and the car should not be drivable in this mode as it disables a lot of its features.
We also have some updates and first looks at Tesla's answer to a highly requested feature, 3D visualization. A lot of people have been asking for a 360 constructed overhead view for a while now, using the cameras placed all around the car. This is a pretty normal feature for a lot of other cars at this point and Tesla has been lacking it for some time. Now using their Tesla Vision software, they have built an alternative that is shipped with the holiday update. The car will monitor the area around you and construct a 3D visualization on screen of your surroundings. It will change color to indicate how far away you are from hitting something. Here are some examples of it in action. We can see the way that Tesla leverages their cameras to see the world around you. I personally would have preferred an overhead view in a classic sense so that I can just simply see what exactly is around me at all times, but we'll see how this changes over time. Eventually it may prove to be an even better system or perhaps Tesla could incorporate some kind of overhead view long term when they add front cameras across their fleet. For now, the Cybertruck is the only car with a front bumper camera and many assume that the car is lacking that camera is what is holding them back from a true 360 view.
A show who works for Tesla on their AI and autopilot systems tweeted this, quote, high fidelity park assist is shipping this weekend to test the customers without ultrasonic sensors as part of the holiday release. He went on saying the obstacles are modeled as a continuous distance field. This allows us to represent arbitrary shapes in a smooth and computationally efficient way. The vehicles you see are not some fixed meshes, but the networks real time prediction of the shape. There's clearly some interesting tech going on beneath the surface of this feature, but many will be disappointed to hear that this will not be coming to cars with ultrasonic sensors at first. He clarifies that it will eventually come to those cars, but we don't have any information on when this may be. This means that only cars shipped after October of 2022 are going to be getting this feature. I own a 2022 Tesla Model Y and I won't be getting this feature because I have parking sensors. This does beg the question, why can't this be released to both? Maybe they still are working with entirely different models for cars that use parking sensors and ones that don't. I wonder why this couldn't simply ignore the parking sensors in favor of camera data to deliver this feature the same as newer cars, but it may be because ultrasonic sensors are still superior and more reliable as Tesla gets this vision system improved. Hopefully this feature will be rolled out soon to all cars because as it stands, people who bought their cars earlier are being left out a bit in the cold and it's funny that it's because they have more sensors.
Next up today, Tesla executives just confirmed something pretty big that we've been wondering about for a while now. As of right now, when you need to charge an EV, you plug it in with a cable. It's the best way to get effective charging done at great speeds and the entirety of North America is now in the process of switching to Tesla's NACS connector. That connector is being standardized, but of course this is Tesla. They don't stay still with any technology, especially when they have the vision of a future robo-taxi in mind.
One robo-taxi problem to solve is how well a cable will be plugged into a robo-taxi without a human doing it. Tesla worked on a pretty crazy prototype robot arm that could automatically plug into a Tesla charge port, but it seems this never actually made sense. Since then though, we've heard rumors about Tesla working on inductive wireless charging for their vehicles. For many years, Tesla never seemed too interested in this technology and a big contributor there was the fact that wireless charging efficiency hadn't reached levels that made sense. Earlier this year though, Tesla seemingly changed their tune. During their investor day presentation, Tesla showed off an image that teased a wireless charging pad inside of a garage.
They didn't comment on this image or tech specifically, but this did show that this idea was on their radar for the first time and this slide was particularly to show that the charging wing of their business is innovating. They aren't simply making more superchargers and calling it a day, they are doing that and working on the next thing. In August of this year, Tesla bought the German company Wafarian who specializes in industrial wireless charging technology. Only a few months later, Tesla sold off the company but kept most of its engineers. It seemed odd that Tesla would do this, but it shows that they probably had more interest in the people behind the scenes than they did in the specific technology that Wafarian was working on. Now we have an update on the future of Tesla wireless charging.
Jay Leno did another deep dive into the Cybertruck, this time with Tesla's chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen and VP of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravie. In that video, they talk about a lot of interesting stuff that will detail in a minute, but von Holzhausen confirmed that Tesla was actively working on wireless charging technology. He said, quote, we are working on inductive charging. You don't even need to plug anything in at that point. You just drive over the pad in your garage and you start charging. There are companies that already have this technology out there and it looks pretty cool in practice. You simply drive over the charging pad and you're good to go.
Jay Leno进行了另一次深入探讨Cybertruck的访谈,这次他和Tesla的首席设计师Franz von Holzhausen以及车辆工程副总裁Lars Moravie一起参与了访谈。在视频中,他们谈到了许多有趣的内容,我将在一分钟内详细说明,但是von Holzhausen确认Tesla正在积极研发无线充电技术。他说:我们正在研发感应充电技术。在那个时候你甚至都不需要插任何东西。你只需将车开到车库的充电垫上,就可以开始充电。已经有一些公司拥有这项技术,实际操作看起来非常酷。你只需将车开过充电垫就可以了,非常方便。
Other companies are also working on this but integrated into a roadway. I would imagine that Tesla's vision is one that encompasses all of their technology into one. In the future, you could simply park at a grocery store with these pads lining the parking spots and from there it automatically links to your car, to your Tesla account and payment and it takes even less time than it does to plug in and start charging at a supercharger today. Of course, that will all depend on its efficiency and scalability, which is surely what Tesla is working on here. Then once self-driving does get solved, a robo-taxi could be running all day and all it needs to do is take an automated pit stop to a wireless charging spot when it's running low on battery.
Tesla is always working on exciting new technology that will revolutionize the way people think about and use electric cars. Franz didn't give any more information about this technology, but it is definitely something interesting to keep our ears open for. For the time being, the main charging advances at Tesla are going to be the opening of their supercharger network to other EVs and the introduction of V4 superchargers that support 350 kilowatt charging speeds.
In the Cybertruck, this will be available, but their other cars will need some upgrading to go faster than 250 kilowatts and we'll have to wait and see when they may announce that. Next up today, Tesla's most popular car is the Model Y. Recently, we heard that over in China, they are ramping the Model Y faster than the Model 3 and this surely relates to demand. The same is the case in the US and then their Berlin and Texas factories exclusively make this car.
Of course, Texas is beginning to make the Cybertruck, but Model Y production remains the focus there and according to their guides for installed annual capacity, the Model Y will continue to exceed Cybertruck production for a while. Logically, it would exceed it forever as the crossover SUV is the most popular shape of any car. In any case, the Model Y at this point is in a bit of a limbo. We know that Tesla has released the refreshed Highland Model 3 out of their Chinese factory.
In response to that, they made a couple small changes to the Model Y like adding an LED light strip, but the real rumored Juniper refresh is yet to come. As far as the timeline there, it's expected that Tesla will introduce the refreshed Model 3 in the US in early 2024.
Then following the same basic rollout as the Model 3, the Model Y Juniper will be introduced in China first. This will be a similar full refresh, taking all the features that the new Model 3 brings and putting them into the Model Y, making it an even better vehicle. Since the Model Y is so popular, they may need to be a bit tighter with the delay between a China release and a US release, but the Model Y is still expected to come to the US after China. Their Chinese factory is just too good and efficient, and the Model Y out of the US has to be retooled in both Texas and Fremont. In any case, that timeline would put a Model Y refresh in the US coming sometime in late 2024.
按照Model 3的基本推出路线,Model Y Juniper将首先在中国推出。这将是一次相似的全面提升,将新款Model 3的所有功能都应用到Model Y上,使其成为一款更好的车辆。由于Model Y非常受欢迎,他们可能需要在中国发布和美国发布之间延迟时间稍微收紧,但预计Model Y仍将在中国之后进入美国市场。他们在中国的工厂太好而且效率高,而美国的Model Y则需要在得克萨斯州和弗里蒙特进行重新工装。无论如何,按照这个时间表,美国的Model Y更新预计将在2024年底的某个时候推出。
The working name for this is Juniper, and it would come with a new front and rear fascia, tweaked body panels, updated wheel designs, new colors, likely ultra red and stealth gray, improved build quality, reduced noise, vibration and hardness, changes to the suspension and a reworked cabin. Inside that will bring a slightly larger screen, the removal of stocks, upgraded ventilated seats, and LED lighting strip, a rear screen and more.
Those are already exciting changes, but one thing to consider is the Cybertruck. While the Cybertruck looks crazy enough from the outside, some argue that the crazier part comes underneath. There are three big changes Tesla has made that simplify things and future proof that truck. The first is the move to an 800 volt architecture. This allows the Cybertruck to charge its speeds up to 350 kilowatts worth supported. This will come at V4 superchargers and seemingly third party stations that already have those speeds. That's the big improvement, faster charging, but beyond that is the introduction of bi-directional charging. This allows the Cybertruck to charge other vehicles or back up one's home. Then the Cybertruck introduces a 48 volt architecture, which allows higher powered accessories and features in this truck and helps to reduce wiring. Then the Cybertruck uses an ether loop for all of the cars wiring, reducing the number of wires that need to travel across the vehicle. Those help with efficiency and cost.
For the Cybertruck, these new technologies make sense. To start, this truck costs a lot, so advances here are possible, but we're still potentially a year away from seeing that refreshed Model Y. By that point, the Cybertruck will be on the road and in the hands of many customers. Tesla will be scaling production and starting to recognize the true potential of these future features. So will they bring these things to the Model Y juniper? The Model Y is already a popular vehicle, but some of its competitors use an 800 volt architecture. This hasn't really mattered since superchargers are still far more reliable and plenty fast, but with V4 superchargers scaling around the world and 350 kilowatt charging becoming a regular part of Cybertruck ownership, they may finally find that it's the right time to add this into the Model Y. In practice, this could take that quoted charging speed, test the gibs of around 200 miles in 15 minutes and cut that down even further. In an ideal scenario, maybe you can charge for 10 minutes and get the same range thanks to V4 superchargers. That may not sound like a huge difference, but when charging up more than 200 miles, it really could make the Model Y even more competitive. For those with range anxiety or worried about charging speeds on a road trip, this move could alleviate that concern.
Then with Tesla proving out 48 volts and ether loop on the Cybertruck and sourcing all of those parts, they could find that an entire rewire of the low voltage systems in the Model Y not only helps reduce weight, thus improving efficiency, but helps reduce cost. The long-term goal is always for Tesla to be able to sell their cars for less and this innovation could help significantly on that front. Not only could they reduce wiring cost, which reduces the cost they need to charge for the car, but the reduced weight with better efficiency could allow them to deliver the same range in a smaller battery pack. Even if it's a small change, it adds up to a lot with scale.
Furthermore, the ether loop could allow the Model Y to deliver some more advanced features like active road noise cancellation for a reduced cost. Another benefit of that 800 volt architecture would be bidirectional charging. That's another big feature that could make the Model Y that much more enticing. Not only is it a great electric car, but if you need it, it can also back up your home.
Today, the Model Y starts at $43,990, but these upgrades could be a way that the Juniper refresh not only improves the user experience, but reduces the price of this car. With that said, the Model Y does seem to be selling quite well as it is today. Many of the competitors that people thought would take on Tesla are not producing their cars and volumes that truly compete. Tesla is very data and cost driven and tends to make most of their decisions only when necessary.
For the Model Y, even a year from now, they may not find these changes necessary. Instead, the Juniper Model Y could still have a 12 volt architecture with 400 volt charging, but what about Tesla's next car? The Cybertruck is somewhat of a testing bed for new technology, and Tesla's next EV has been in the works for some time now. They are clearly waiting to introduce this until it can deliver a great range at a great price. This will be enabled by revolutionary manufacturing, but likely things like an 800 volt high voltage and 48 volt low voltage architecture.
就 Model Y 而言,即使再过一年,他们可能仍然认为这些改变是不必要的。取而代之的是,Juniper Model Y 仍然可能采用 12 伏电压架构和 400 伏充电,但特斯拉的下一款车又会怎样呢?Cybertruck 在某种程度上是新技术的试验平台,特斯拉的下一款电动车已经进行了一段时间的研发。他们显然正在等待一个能够以出色的续航里程和优惠的价格交付的时机来推出它。这将通过革命性的制造技术实现,但可能包括 800 伏高电压和 48 伏低电压架构等因素。
That faster charging could allow for an even smaller battery pack since customers feel confident that charging is very fast. Then of course, cost and weight cutting with the rest of those features. The Cybertruck is exciting to some people and a joke to others, but many seem to forget that all of this tech trickles down to Tesla's other products. Soon we could see a Model Y or a next generation Tesla utilizing the technology the Cybertruck is delivering.
Last up today's some updates from other automakers. Volkswagen has officially begun rolling out support for bidirectional charging to the ID4. This feature was originally planned to be introduced all the way back in 2022, but they had some unexpected software delays. They launched a pilot program for that project in Sweden a while ago in a partnership with Hager Energy. The program was seemingly a success as this feature has started to roll out to customer vehicles.
According to a press release from VW, the vehicle should be able to supply about two full days of power to the average home when connected to the system. Going forward, this feature should be available on most upcoming ID models and will begin to work with already delivered models with ID Software 3.5. For now, this feature is reserved for customers who have an S10 home power station from Hager Energy. VW says that compatibility with other home power stations for bidirectional charging will be coming at a later date.
Volvo officially started sales of their EX30 electric SUV in November of this year. This car was unveiled in June, targeting a younger audience than Volvo has traditionally been popular with. Volvo's goal for this car was to offer a quick and fun ride packaged in an affordable EV. Volvo is clearly hanging a lot of their hopes on this vehicle, calling it the cornerstone of their EV plans. While their EV sales have grown over the last year in all major markets, they did face a pretty big slip in November with sales down 14%. They sold 10,031 electric vehicles in November of 2023.
The president of Volvo USA has said that they are confident that the demand for our recharge vehicles will bring the company to being fully electric by 2030. They believe that this car, as well as their upcoming additions to their EV lineup, will help give them the sales push necessary to meet this goal. The EX30 starts at $34,950. It offers two powertrains. The single motor extended range version will offer up to 275 miles on a charge, while the twin motor performance version will offer a 3.4 second zero to 60 for a $10,000 price increase.
This low starting cost will surely be an attractive selling point, coming in approximately $8,000 cheaper than the base Model Y pre-incentives. This is an exciting EV option, and I can't wait to see it in action and to learn more about it. Deliveries of this vehicle are expected to begin in 2024.
这个低起始成本肯定是一个有吸引力的卖点,比基本款 Model Y(未纳入补贴)要便宜约8,000美元。这是一个令人兴奋的电动汽车选择,我迫不及待地想看到它的性能,并了解更多相关信息。预计这款车将于2024年开始交付。
That's all the latest test the news for today. So in the meantime, if you want to see all the hidden details and features the Cybertruck is bringing, you can check out that video linked up here or in the description below. Thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you on the next one.