Tesla Space #52: ⚡ Kim K got a Tesla Bot and you can have one too

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X OF THE WEEK

We got our first (indirect) response from Elon himself!

So there’s this 1.7M-follower account on X, @MarioNawfal, who posted about our video from more than 2 years ago on how Boring Company’s true purpose might be to tunnel in Mars instead (video itself here). In fairness to the guy, he did write “Source: The Tesla Space Boring Company” in the end of the post so I guess we were credited enough.

Elon then went and commented: “Tunnels will be important on Mars”, basically validating our whole point:

The latter was also quoted by the Boring Company account (double-win?) with:

In case you’ve missed it, yes, we are now active on X @TheTeslaSpace and you can find some stories on our account there before they hit here in the once-a-week newsletter.

TESLA, GLOBALLY

You know that celebrity effect with Cybertruck when everyone from NBA stars to Kim Kardashian flexed with one?

Wait until we see all that for Tesla Optimus.
Oh wait — Kim already got the show started in this video with her and Optimus.

She also filmed a golden Optimus sitting inside a Cybercab

She uploaded it all to her Instagram followers in 5 videos, which means Tesla already got about $10M worth of free advertising for the Bot right there…

Tesla also filed a trademark application last week for “$40 Tesla Bot Action Figure”, and then launched it as a new Tesla Shop item (sold out now but do check back):

So you see, Kim K did get a Tesla Bot and you can get one (smaller one) too once it’s back in stock so I didn’t fully clickbait you with the email subject line there did I? ;)

Tesla also just released new versions of the diecast 1:18 scale models of the Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid for $195 per one.

Oh, and there’s a Cybertruck vehicle cover on sale now for $300, plus the two 200 lbs rated Cybertruck crossbars for $800, and the Cybertruck wiper blade replacement for $75.

Speaking of the Tesla online shop, you might notice it now has Klarna support, allowing you to spread out the cost with 4 payments over 6 weeks for 0% APR.

Elon hints at a larger Tesla for families in two posts:

1 — Naomi Seibt calls “WE NEED BIG TESLAS FOR BIG FAMILIES!” — Elon responds “Ok”

2 — Rabbi S Litvin says he is working on it (against childlessness) with his 7 kids, and “Now please make a Tesla big enough for my family.” — Elon responds “Tesla Robovan is in development. Some other things too.”

This would confirm my expectations of one of the models launched in the first half of 2025 being something for families — a larger SUV, minivan, MPV perhaps?

Quick bites:

• Trump's transition team have reportedly told advisers they plan to make a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles one of the Transportation Department's top priorities, easing U.S. rules for self-driving cars. Markets seemed to have liked that — $TSLA now back at ~$334.

• Tesla is offering 3 free months of Supercharging and 3 free months of FSD (Supervised) for new inventory orders in North America delivered by the end of this year. All S3XY cars and the Cybertruck are eligible.

• Starting lease price for the US Model Y Long Range RWD has now been dropped by 39% at the same down payment — $489/month in August to $299/month in November. Now same lease price as the Model 3.

• Wes Morrill, Cybertruck Lead Engineer, made it to the TIME Top 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders in Business for 2024. Wes says “The recognition actually goes to the team of amazing folks who contributed to overcoming all the challenges to bring Cybertruck to life.“

• The Cybertrucks are now available in Tesla’s online inventory in select areas.

• Cybertruck recall: A recall for the drive inverter for the Cybertruck has gone out, saying a loss of drive power can increase risk of a crash. Potentially affected: 2431 Cybertrucks. Tesla's Bitcoin holdings are now worth $1 billion because of the recent bull run.

CYBERCAB

Cybercab is touring Europe!

Tesla is taking the Cybercab on a tour across six European cities (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Oslo, Stockholm, Berlin) in dates between Nov 20th and Dec 31st.

Find all the dates and locations here.

The fun part is I’m going to fly in to check it out next week! I’ll be visiting London for the London EV Show anyway, but I think I’d do it regardless. If you’re around, let me know and let’s meet! Of course, I’ll report back for you next week on what I found and think.

On the US side, Cybercab is popping up in some more showrooms, including Bellevue Square Mall in Bellevue, WA; Legacy West store in Plano, Texas, and Miami Design District showroom.

SUPERCHARGING

While it’s been quite a while since Elon posted that, we’ve now got something a bit stronger than the children’s toy:

Tesla reveals the V4 Supercharging cabinet, allows for 500kW - 1.2MW.

This latest piece of the Tesla Supercharging puzzle we knew was coming and have been waiting for — the V4 cabinet upgrade. Here’s the TL;DR:

✔ 500kW now max per charging post,
✔ 1.2MW for the Tesla Semi.
✔ One Cabinet can be used for 8 stalls!
✔ Supports 400V-1000V vehicle architectures.

If you’re a bit confused as the V4 Superchargers are out there, let me brief you:

In 2023, Tesla launched its V4 Supercharging Post — which is the charging dispenser — and which was an upgrade on the previous already. However, the cabinet, the one powering these dispensers close to the site, has been sitting in V3 until now, greatly limiting the V4 Supercharger capabilities. Now, with the V4 cabinet launch, these limitations are gone.

Now, the other thing limiting EVs charging is their own architecture, and this is why the current “upgrade” is mostly for capable EVs from other makers + the Tesla Cybertruck. The latter now charges 30% faster, while the rest of the S3XY don’t really gain anything and stay at their 250kW charge rates.

Tesla, however, wins of this upgrade the most — it can now install 2x the stalls per cabinet, now eight, and lowers the footprint and complexity of site developments. Tesla is also using the “cutting-edge power electronics designed to be the most reliable on the planet, with 3X power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.”

The first sites with V4 Cabinets are going into permitting now. First openings in 2025.

I also found an interesting comment from a Tesla team member, Max de Zegher, Director - Charging, North America,

“Posts can peak up to 500kW for cars, but we need less than 1MW across 8 posts to deliver maximum power to cars 99% of the time.
No more DC busbar between cabinets. Power comes from a single V4 cabinet to 8 stalls. Easier to install, cheaper, more reliable.
Even some of the small incremental improvements matter. V4 Cabinet has a 2% efficiency improvement. Superchargers already deliver over 5 TWh/year, 100 GWh/year in waste heat that can be saved.”

In other Supercharging news,

• 🇪🇺 Tesla starts showing occupancy status (as in, how many of the stalls are free) at select third-party chargers in Europe.

• Tesla’s Supercharger network was rated the #1 charging network in the UK, by a survey of 3,700 EV drivers across the country via Zap Map. And same goes for Norwegian drivers.

• In Texas, Tesla launched a promotion where you get 1 year of unlimited overnight vehicle charging for $5/month if you take delivery of a new Tesla & enroll in a Tesla Electric Fixed Plan by Dec 31, 2024.

THE MUSKONOMY

Starship flight 6 — today!

Targeted to launch Tuesday, November 19, at 4:00 pm CT

Objectives include the booster once again returning to the launch site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine while in space, and testing a suite of heatshield experiments and maneuvering changes for ship reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean.

The latter will, by the way, happen now in daylight so we should get quite a good visibility of Starship splashdown this time.

Per some reports, Trump is coming to today’s launch as well.

Here’s the latest “SpaceX: Making Life Multi-Planetary” minute-long video from SpaceX for some motivation today.

Oh, and if the Starship launch does take place today, SpaceX will achieve a new record of launching 4 rockets within 48 hours (yes, three done already!).

In case you’ve missed it, here’s the mural of Mars at Starbase:

(SpaceX’s) Starlink

You can now get an official Starlink backpack in the US for $199.

John Deere plans to go into full production with the Starlink service in January of next year.

Ontario has signed a $100-million deal with SpaceX to provide Starlink internet to 15,000+ people in rural Canada, going live in summer 2025.

🇮🇳 SpaceX has finally filed the proper paperwork to operate Starlink in India, according to the nation's telecom minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia. I can’t believe they called the Starlink the “Muskband” haha.

Europe: airBaltic has started unpacking and installing Starlink equipment on their planes, making them the first European airline to bring high-speed internet connectivity onboard (and making it free it seems).

xAI

xAI is now reportedly valued at $50 billion after raising another $6B to buy 100,000 more Nvidia chips. $5B of it reportedly comes in from sovereign funds in the Middle East.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Well, I’m not sure this one will stay in our Muskonomy section here, but let’s see. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE, is led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, and with its 18 months of existence focuses on slashing excess regulations, cutting wasteful expenditures, and restructuring Federal Agencies. It now has a 1.8M-follower X account @DOGE. On a totally unrelated note, the dogecoin $DOGE price has gone up 178% in one month.