Lately, it seems the only headlines written about Tesla Motors are brimming with controversy, so wonderCEO Elon Musk decided to change the channel the best way he knew how — by generating 100 megawatts of hype.
As he’s known to do, Musk took to Twitter last night to tease something big. Well, a looming announcement of something big. But something that could change the world. But no details just yet. In typical Bond villain-esque fashion, Musk tweeted, “Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish later this week.”Suddenly, we’re all thinking about what type of robot butler (which doubles as a rocket!) we’re going to see, and the headlines of the past two weeks fade to the background. The timing can easily be seen as suspect, but the curiosity his tweet generated is genuine, and with good reason.
Musk’s wording alludes to his original business blueprint, which mapped out a roughly decade-long game plan for automobile production, culminating in the Model 3. Will “Part 2” detail the next ten years? We’ll dutifully stay tuned to see what comes of it, though Tesla fans will treat the wait like the night before Christmas.
For Musk and Tesla, the speculation partially changes the channel from the controversy surrounding the company’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system, which is at the center of separate investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NHTSA is looking into the causes of two Tesla crashes — a fatal Model S crash in Florida where Tesla admits that the vehicle’s Autopilot was fooled by light conditions, and a July 1 Model X rollover in Pennsylvania. Consumer and safety organizations criticized Musk and Tesla for not perfecting the Autopilot technology before installing it in vehicles.
In his defense, Musk repeatedly claimed that the system is meant to work as a driver’s aid for alert, attentive occupants, and not as a hands-off autonomous driving service.
The CEO recently faced a backlash over his plan to acquire solar energy provider SolarCity and integrate it into his company’s fold. This, at a time when the automaker is exhausting all of its energy to ramp up production ahead of the Model 3.
[Image: Tesla Motors]
They’ll be published long before the first Model III is delivered.
Probably true of the Model 3, but …
NTSB reports of this magnitude take about a year to prepare, which means Tesla will be on version 257.78 of the Autopilot system and the report will therefore be functionally obsolete on the day of publication.
I am the only one reminded of Pinky and the Brain?
Oh pfft, its the same thing he does every night.
no, because I thought the same thing.
Narf!
Amazing! I was just sitting here humming the words to the theme song…Pinky, and the Brain, Brain, Brain…
Brain: The game does not conclude until the woman with the eating disorder ululates.
This is where he announces his real name is Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
I think we’d have seen the cat by now.
Here you go:
http://gregstevens.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/elon-musk-will-control-the-entire-world-by-2050.jpg
Brilliant!
That man really knows how to grab a cat.
Germany’s Federal Office for Motor Vehicles (KBA) would not have approved the autopilot system installed on Tesla (TSLA.O) cars if the technology was still in a beta-phase version, it told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag…
…European approval for the autopilot system was gained in the Netherlands, but the view of KBA is significant because Germany is Europe’s biggest car market.
“If the word beta-phase means an incomplete status of the software, the KBA would not authorize (such) a functionality,” the newspaper quoted the KBA as saying.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-tesla-idUKKCN0ZQ0IM
__________
Don’t be surprised if NHTSA follows suit.
Correction: The KBA would not have approved it…unless it was built by a German company.
New Audis use essentially the same self-steering technology.
Tesla is hoping that describing it as a “beta” will shift the liability to the consumer. (“Hey, we told you that it might not work.”)
That might work with software, but that dog don’t hunt for vehicle safety.
FREE Beta is one thing, but CHARGING PEOPLE BIG MONEY to have beta is another. A cash grab in the works for something that is NOT tried and true.
Yep. This.
Give it a name “autopilot” though and people suddenly lose their shit. :)
Did your Elon Musk fan club membership include a wall poster? Is he wearing a shirt?
@Pch101
I think TTAC needs to be TTAC again and start a Tesla death watch. It would be nice to see irreverent commentary come back. I’d write it, but my skills are more in the dialogue/screenplay arena.
I’m not expecting Tesla to die, so I vote nay on the Death Watch idea. (FWIW, I also objected to the Ford Death Watch of the Farago era, and my position turned out to be correct.)
But I don’t expect Tesla to change the world, either. And I am willing to bet that the shareholders will eventually get pummeled (although Musk will come out of it just fine.)
I find it interesting you think shareholders could get pummeled but Tesla will not fail.
What’s the end game in your view? Tesla misses a major milestone, such a failing to deliver Model 3, shares nose dive and there is a buyout or hostile takeover?
The market will eventually realize that there isn’t much profit potential here, and stock will correct accordingly. It’s difficult to predict when that will happen and exactly what would prompt it, but there comes a point when investors start demanding actual returns instead of promises.
On the other hand, there is some value to the brand, and someone will figure out what to do with it. It’s well managed, and it’s rare for well managed businesses with good brands to just disappear.
Clearly there are meaningful differences between the two. Audi sells way more cars, so if their tech is just as flawed why did Tesla have the honor of the first autopilot related death?
We don’t know that there haven’t been any deaths while the Audi system was on duty. Would investigators even know to look for that? It’s marketed as a sort of augmented cruise control.
Also, maybe they follow VW policy and erase all traces of autopilot use after a crash.
If there was an allegation against Audi, then NHTSA would know about it.
“a driver’s aid for alert, attentive occupants”
Is the choice of “occupants” and not “driver” Teslas? Rear passenger is equally charged with staying alert and attentive?
And if I have to remain alert and attentive, eff the gizmology.
The funny thing about this is that Steph chooses to pretend this isn’t what Musk does, pretty much every single day.
Read his twitter feed. It’s full of comments for ALL of his companies talking about what he has going on. Additionally, he’s been saying since the Model 3 reveal that he was going to do exactly this. Did he potentially move up his timing? Sure. But it’s not like this is out of the blue :)
Hey, ya gotta come up with stories in the journo game.
It will be a Model Y CUV which self-charges using Solar City panels integrated into the paint.
$39,900, 400k units per year by 2019.
Oddly, ‘Autopilot’ will not be available. But there will be a mysterious feature called ‘Dog is my Copilot’.
You may be onto something, SCE to AUX,
Musk may try bundling solar panels + battery + EV into a singly monthly payment.
Fisher actually came out with that first. Alas, the number of solar panels you can put on the roof of a car is woefully insufficient to charge anything but a standard starting battery …
No. Putting solar panels on cars is stupid – you don’t have the sq ft to power anything beyond a fan. I meant a bundled package of panels on the roof of your house, plus batteries, plus EV.
“Alas, the number of solar panels you can put on the roof of a car is woefully insufficient to charge anything but a standard starting battery”
You and I know this, but maybe Iron Man will promise a breakthrough on that front. Heh.
At this moment, I am expecting someone to remind us that Musk landed a rocket ship on a barge in the ocean. Barefoot, in a snowstorm, uphill – both ways.
Since you asked! Here’s four years of SpaceX falcon 9 development:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU1b1H2EWU4
;)
I heard it was during a typhoon as well.
That’s it, VoGo! A rocket powered electric flying car!
If it’s called autopilot, I’m going to be sipping on gin and juice while it drives me down the road. After all, I got my mind on my money and my money on my mind. I think!
Just so I stay consistent…Tesla sucks.
Another tweet to keep the stock value high.
There ya go, BTSR.
STEP 1: Gather all the world’s underpants
STEP 2:
STEP 3: Profit
Get it?
If Elton would turn a profit, that would impress me. Or make a car that can go more than 50 miles in a Michigan winter. Or make a car real people can afford
Tesla will try to be the best EV manufacturer in the world. I feel they will succeed even when competition arises as I seriously doubt it will put them out of business. After all, Tesla has positioned themselves as the Apple of the automotive world. We all know the cult following of people Apple has. When is the last time you heard of a three day camp out from a ANDROID store to get the latest Samsung or LG phone?? People sell their souls just to have one….for some odd reason.
I for one will probably never own a Tesla (or afford one), but I do enjoy reading about the company and where it’s future lies.
Please-be-dinosaur-cloning-please-be-dinosaur-cloning-please-be-dinosaur-cloning
Birds are dinosaurs, and they can give us the flu. Who knows what other diseases dino’s can give us?