Tesla Autonomous Cars

Tesla’s Autopilot has changed the way cars are driven, and the automotive world will never be the same. While this was introduced as a technology to assist the driver, many people have taken it on its face value – or word value in this case. The company’s Level 2 self-driving system has come under scrutiny many times for various reasons, and it still haunts Elon Musk, who is tired of reiterating that people cannot rely completely on it as a full self-driving system. He recently spoke to Automotive News, and blamed the owners for not using it the way it was intended to be used.

Tesla’s Autopilot is about to get smarter now. According to new reports, the brand’s semi-autonomous technology will halt at red signals and stop signs. The feature is still in beta phase, but will be added to Autopilot in the future.

A video demonstrating the feature was uploaded on Out of Spec Motoring’s YouTube channel wherein a Tesla Model 3 automatically stopped at the red light when the Autopilot was engaged. This was perhaps rolled out to a group of people because Tesla hasn’t officially announced anything about it.

Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving tech in the automotive industry, but competitors are hot on its heels trying to match the broad array of features provided by its Autopilot system. Now the EV maker is consolidating its position as a leader in this field with its newly released Advanced Tailgater mode that will be added for free to all Autopilot-equipped Tesla models via an over-the-air update.

Tesla has unveiled the final entry in its S3XY all-electric lineup - the 2020 Model Y! Revealed in a live stream event broadcast from Hawthorne, California, the Model Y offers impressive performance and surprising practicality, including a top speed up to 150 mph and optional seating for seven. Read on for all the early specs.

We have been hearing stories about how the autonomous system has failed in cars and even killed people in some cases. How about we talk about a life-saving incident for a change? A 45-year old man in his Tesla Model S was spotted by the cops cruising on an expressway fast asleep. They chased the car for minutes before successfully stopping it. Imagine the dire consequences had it not been for the Autopilot system.

You could argue that the original automobile was invented to get around the hassle of dealing with horses and all the difficulties associated with using a giant mammal to get from A to B. Sure, that’s a gross simplification, and there were certainly other factors at play, but convenience undoubtedly played a major role all the same. Now, with the advent of autonomous drive systems, our lives are about to get a whole lot easier, as evidenced by this Tesla owner’s novel use of the Summon feature.

This is the latest Autopilot crash; but it wasn’t the system’s fault. A couple, who was too busy engrossed in something else other than focusing on the road, rear-ended a Nissan SUV despite the system warning and chiming its brains out. How can one trust a machine blindly?

For a layman, autonomous technology is Autopilot. That’s how synonymous Musk has made it; so naturally, one would assume it to be the best one. However, according to Consumer Reports, it’s not Tesla’s autopilot, but Cadillac’s Super Cruise that’s the best system in the market today. Surprised?

Tesla keeps on improving its Autopilot system and the new version is now able to overtake other cars in traffic with the "Navigate with Autopilot" function. It features a "Mad Max" mode for more assured passes.

Tesla cars have been driving themselves around and about for quite a while now, but passing hasn’t been anywhere near second nature for the American EVs. To initiate an overtake when navigating with the Autopilot system turned on, you had to toggle the turn signals yourself. Now, with version 9 of the system being available, this is no longer the case.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is so bullish about the prospect of Tesla using custom hardware for artificial intelligence that he doubled down on his position at a recent company party for industry and academic researchers. Speaking to a crowd of smart industry heads, Musk even predicted that the specialized AI hardware the company is developing under the stewardship of Jim Keller will be the “best in the world.”

Elon Musk is, undeniably, a very busy and ambitious man. But, it comes at a cost. In this case, that cost is the reliability of his word when it comes to timetables. It almost seems as if every time we turn around Tesla is missing one of its targets, and now, that’s about to happen again. Not only did Elon Musk tweet that its semi-truck unveiling would be pushed back, but that the Model 3 was “deep in production hell.” You know what that means? It means you’re probably not going to get your Model 3 when the company said you would. When a customer asked Musk if he would get his Model 3 this year, Musk’s reply was a little sketchy: “December will be a big month, so probably, but it is impossible to be certain right now.”

The truth is, Tesla is in some hot water as far as Model 3 production goes. Musk had originally projected that Tesla would produce 1,500 examples of the Model 3 in the third quarter but fell far short, with official numbers stopping at 260. To add to that, of those 260, only 220 of them were actually delivered. Apparently, there is a huge bottleneck happening, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that some parts for the Model 3 were being made by hand back in September. Of course, this isn’t the only thing holding the company back, as Musk now has a deal with Puerto Rico to help bring power back to the island after it was ravaged by mother nature . As such, some sources have also been diverted to increasing Tesla battery production.

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We’ve been waiting and waiting for Tesla to finally begin deliveries of the new Model 3, and now, the wait is over. The first 30 Model 3’s destined for private owners just got handed over to their beaming owners in a live stream broadcast on Tesla’s website. Attending the event were swarms of the automaker’s designers and engineers, with quick back and forth tosses that provided a look inside the Tesla assembly line in Fremont, CA, as well as the newly erected “Gigafactory” in Nevada. The event also provided some hard specs on the new 3, plus a look at the final exterior design and the interior.

The Model 3 is a hugely important vehicle, both for Tesla and EV fans in general. Framed as the California-based automaker’s first entry-level, mass-market, affordable vehicle, the 3 promises sexy styling, long range, peppy performance, and zero local emissions, all for around $35,000 before incentives. We’ve got the lowdown on everything that was revealed during the stream, plus lots of new pics to sort through, so read on.

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The Tesla Model 3 is hands-down the most anticipated model of the year, promising to bring an affordable EV to the masses. It’s been a long time coming, but today is the day that the handover party kicks off and Tesla will hand over the keys to the first 30 models to roll off of the line. It’s obviously a very small first step, considering the hundreds of thousands of reservations, but it’s only a matter of time before Tesla really ramps up production. The party kicks off at 8:45 PM PST tonight and will be live streamed right on Tesla’s homepage.

The Model 3, which will finally be completely revealed later tonight, is basically a smaller, more basic version of the Model S, and has a set starting price of $35,000. As far as the exterior goes, it’s rather bland, just like the interior which is about as spartan as they come. It will be void of an instrument cluster, speedometer, or a conventional dashboard. Initial customers of the new baby EV will also be limited as far as options go, with the only choices to make being exterior color and wheel choice. As far as tonight’s event goes, there’s no word as to who the first 30 customers are, but we know the first model is going Elon Musk himself, as Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis gifted his place in the queue to the big guy. As far as the other 29 models, they will go to Tesla employees or current owners of other Tesla EVs. We’ll be sure to embed the live steam to this video as soon as we have it, but until then, keep reading to learn a little more about the Model 3.

Out in the Nevada desert, near the city of Sparks, Tesla is busy building something called Gigafactory 1. Occupying some 24 million square feet and soaking up roughly $5 billion in investments, this mammoth facility is destined to create the lithium-ion power cells used to motivate Tesla’s various EV models. It is, without a doubt, a truly massive undertaking, tasked with mass-producing the components needed to transform the way the world consumes its energy. But Tesla isn’t one to rest on its laurels, and the latest news is that there are now a few more Gigafactories coming down the pipeline.

Tesla CEO and possible inter-dimensional renegade, Elon Musk, confirmed as much recently at the National Governors Association, according to a recent report from our friends over at elektrek. Details on the exact where and when these factories will be built are still forthcoming, but you can rest assured the states will be clamoring to get those Tesla manufacturing jobs within their borders. Further gigafactory construction is expected overseas, including in Europe and Asia. In addition to churning out batteries, the new factories are also expected to have a hand in creating the Tesla powertrains and final vehicle construction.

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Very few details have been revealed of Tesla’s planned electric semi truck, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk sure isn’t wasting any time dropping some intriguing bits and pieces about the vehicle. Musk’s latest revelation, or at least the closest thing to one, came recently during an appearance in Vancouver where he was promoting his new "The Boring Company." While his time there was mostly spent describing his plans for building underground transportation, Musk also took some time to shed a few slivers of light about the Tesla electric semi truck, revealing, among other things, the truck’s ability to be driven like a sports car.

It does seem like the man behind the Model S and Model X has yet to lose his ability to throw out a few hyperboles. Other details about the semi truck that he revealed, including the promise of the truck “out torquing any diesel semi,” were no less significant, maybe even a little more important in shaping the performance and handling characteristics of the truck. But for the said EV semi to “drive around like a sports car?” Now that’s something that’s worth keeping an eye on considering what Musk’s comments have been worth all these years. Hopefully, more details about the EV semi truck are revealed beyond vague promises and teaser photos, but we’ll need more information before validating if it can, in fact, drive around like a sports car.

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Leave it to Elon Musk to drop a bombshell just as we’re all getting ready for the weekend. The always provocative Tesla CEO took to Twitter last Friday, April 14, to announce plans to introduce the automaker’s first venture into the world of semi-trucks this coming September. The news itself isn’t groundbreaking since Musk already laid out what the company’s intentions were back in July 2016 as part of its “Master Plan, Part Deux” mission. But, until late last week, those plans were of the vague persuasion, devoid of any specific timetable.

Well, the timetable has arrived…and it’s literally five months from now.
Not one to be caught saying too much in the way of juicy details, Musk kept the announcement short and sweet, opting only to say that the “team has done an amazing job,” presumably in the development of the semi-truck and that the vehicle itself is “seriously next level.” Those statements aren’t much to go by at this point, but the mere hint that we’re closer to seeing the actual vehicle - even if it’s a prototype - so soon after its announcement is pretty indicative of the company’s intentions in staking its name into the electric semi truck arena.

At this point, the waiting game now begins on more details surrounding the semi-truck. If Musk’s past comments about the development are anything to go by, expect the Tesla Semi - or whatever name it ends up getting - to “deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate."

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Following up on an announcement that all future Tesla models will come equipped with advanced self-driving capabilities, CEO Elon Musk has declared the technology will get a public demonstration by the end of next year. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the California-based automaker will send one of its models from Los Angeles to New York without any human assistance whatsoever.

The proposed cross-country tour was revealed last Wednesday following a blog post on Tesla’s website. In the blog post, the all-electric car producer said each of its models would come with the equipment needed for fully autonomous driving, including cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and radar, enabling “full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.” The stated end goal is transportation that’s safer, more affordable, and more accessible.

The fully autonomous features will be activated using an over-the-air software update issued at an unspecified point in the future. Prior to the feature’s activation, Tesla says it needs to clock “millions of miles of real-world driving” to help calibrate the system.

However, all Tesla cars currently being produced will include the necessary hardware, including the up-and-coming Model 3. This is similar to the strategy Tesla employed with its current Autopilot system.

New cars equipped with the fully autonomous hardware will not immediately offer the same Autopilot features as older models, including automatic emergency braking and active cruise control, among others. However, these features will be activated via updates currently planned for release every couple of months.

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Tesla recently announced that all new models built going forward would have all of the hardware necessary to sustain level 5 autonomy – effectively make the Model S, Model X, and upcoming Model 3 true, self-driving vehicles. This is a huge step forward for the innovative company, and all of the hardware should be fully functional (after several OTA updates) by 2018. This is great and all, but Tesla has been known to have some pretty quirky clauses built into their sales contracts, and level-five capable vehicles are no different. So what funky clause am I talking about this time? How about the fact that you can’t use your new Tesla for car sharing or ride-hailing?

Yes, you read that correctly. On Tesla’s AutoPilot page where the system is described fairly well, but there is a very interesting clause toward the bottom of the page: “It is not possible to know exactly when each element of the functionality described above will be available, as this is highly dependent on local regulatory approval. Please note also that using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride-hailing for friends and family is fine, but doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network, details of which will be released next year.”

Did you catch that? Tesla is quietly announcing its own ride-sharing network that will be available in 2017. That’s great and all, but right in the middle is that clause that says you can’t use your Tesla for ride-hailing or car sharing outside of its own network. So, in other words, you can’t make money off of your self-driving Tesla, unless Tesla is making money at the same time.

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Tesla’s AutoPilot system, which is promoted as the best semi-autonomous system in the world, has been under fire ever since that fatal accident back in July of 2016. Since then, it seems like it’s been nothing but trouble for Tesla. German safety regulators were already criticizing the system after Musk described it as being in the “Beta” phase, and now, the German Transport Ministry has called Tesla’s AutoPilot system a “considerable traffic hazard” in a recent report obtained by German Magazine Der Spiegel.

Things that have raised the interest of the German Transport Ministry include the system not alerting drivers when there is a situation the software can’t handle or fully recognize, as well as issues with the automatic emergency braking. The Transport Ministry later reported to Reuters that the results are part of a much larger evaluation of the system, and the full report has yet to be finished as there are other tests that are being conducted.

The results so far aren’t really that surprising, as the system has been under increasing scrutiny following a number of accidents. Just recently, Tesla quit using the term “AutoPilot” on its Chinese website, as it insinuated to users that the car was “self-driving” and gave them a false sense of the system’s capabilities. California has also recently announced its interest in banning the term for the same reason. Just recently the system received a major update that included more safety features, one of which would disable the autopilot system if the driver ignored alerts to keep his hands on the wheel.

The next big move for Tesla is to integrate “AutoPilot 2.0,” which is said to bring even more Autonomous capabilities to Tesla vehicles. The system will include more radar units and three new forward-facing cameras. So far, no time frame has been announced, but newly produced Model S and Model X vehicles already have the hardware mounting locations for the new technology, indicating that a retrofit to previously purchased models will be possible. Tesla has just announced that a new “unexpected” announcement will take place on October 17.

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