Tesletter - Issue 129 - Battery day is next week!

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Issue 129 - Battery day is next week! 🔋

Batteries & Solar

Battery Day is almost here 9/22

Battery Day is scheduled for next Tuesday, Sep. 22nd. What 'many exciting things' do you think Elon is referring to in this tweet? I'm so bummed I didn't get an invite... but still excited. For when the time comes, you will find the live stream here. Of course, Elon or Tesla employees, if you want to give me an invite you can just reply to this email 😜
 

Why Tesla Solar is so cheap

Elon explains it: "The other solar companies spend heavily on salespeople, advertising and complex financing instruments. We do not." Tesla is well known for not advertising, they have created a really strong brand based on its strong referral program, and well, for having a very active CEO on Twitter.


Panasonic expanding at Tesla Gigafactory

Panasonic is going to be making higher-capacity batteries with lower costs at the Giga 1 in Nevada. They are going to be adding a 14th production line earlier next year, after some construction work in the next couple of months. I'm sure we'll know more in less than a week at Battery Day, one of the strongest rumors is that there's going to be new battery tech coming for the Model S and the Model X.



Software updates
Autopilot '4D' rewrite 

Tesla has been talking about an Autopilot rewrite for a while now, which would presumably use 4D vision (instead of 2D). Elon has recently shared a new timeline on Twitter: 

• Private beta in 2-4 weeks
• Public beta (Early Access Program) in 4-6 weeks
• Tesla owners in the US in mid-December

In case you don't know, Elon and Tesla are calling 4D vision to the process of stitching all cameras together in motion, with the 4th dimension being time.

 

Improvements around the life of the 12 V battery are coming 

In reply to @teslavibes on Twitter, where the user was inquiring about warnings for the 12 V battery when it's about to die, Elon Musk has shared that software improvements to actually extend its life and other improvements- unclear what those are- are coming soon. The 12V battery is one of the most common failures for Tesla's, especially for early Model S and Model X.


Support for 'narrow spaces' on Autopilot is coming

According to Greentheonly, who has looked into the latest update 2020.36.10 a bit more in-depth than what the release notes say, support for 'narrow spaces' in the form of mirrors auto-folding in such places is coming. Not sure about this feature while driving but useful while parking for sure!



Hardware, new models, accessories
Several Model 3 with heat pump & octovalve at Fremont 📷

We had heard rumors about this but nothing confirmed until now. Tesla introduced many improvements during the production of the Model Y, and we were all hoping they would be applied to the Model 3 as well, or at least the most relevant ones. Now we see that the first modernized Model 3s produced at Fremont—with heat pump and octovalve—were just delivered to Europe.

 

New Model 3 rumors

There are rumors of a new Model 3 MIC which could potentially introduce the following improvements:

• New steering wheel
• Center console 2.0 (whatever this means)
• New headlights and tail lights
• Power lift trunk
• Chrome delete
• Octovalve
• Double-layer glass for better noise isolation

Quick bandit for Model 3/Y & HEPA filter bundle 📹

"Quick Bandit" is a Tesla front license plate bracket that can be installed and removed in seconds. It's been very successful with the Model 3 and now it's also available for the Model Y.  Made in California by @tonytesla4life, a member of the Tesla community who we've had the pleasure of meeting IRL and we love working with. If you happen to be in the market for a front license plate bracket and also need to change your cabin air filters (or are going to have to do it soon), get the bundle and save $20. (Or you can also get the HEPA cabin air filters separately and watch @Seasonedtech replace them in under 4 minutes!).

 

Tesla aims for ‘first completion’ of Gigafactory Texas in May 2021 📷

The new Gigafactory, also referred as to the 'Cybertruck Factory', which will also be producing the Tesla Semi and Model 3/Y to supply demand from the East Coast, is scheduled to finish its first substantial completion by May 1st, 2020. Seems aggressive but not for Tesla. 

 
What the acronym?

As Tesla fan, I find myself sometimes having to remember what are all those acronyms, here is a list of the ones you can find in this issue.

• MIC - Made In China
• HEPA - High-Efficiency Particulate Air

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