Tesla Space #61: This asteroid is a... Roadster instead?!

Xs OF THE WEEK

I went through all of Elon’s timeline for the whole week. I found three (3) total posts that refer to Tesla, and a very few others on SpaceX. All the rest of it is, you know, politics and other stuff. So I thought we should see all three today:

1) “Cool”:

2) the one about the Roadster (we cover the story below as well):

3) he reposted one of the New Model Y videos.

That’s it! ✌️ 

TESLA, GLOBALLY

Is that…

Yep. Joe Rogan. Checking out his new Unplugged Performance (UP) upgraded Tesla S-APEX.

Meanwhile, here’s a video of UP.FIT, the law enforcement arm of UP, showing officers from eight Police Departments their Tesla police vehicles and what they can do. An entertaining watch.

Oh look we found an asteroid… wait, it is a WHAT?!

You know the Tesla Roadster that SpaceX launched into orbit in 2018?

Here’s a great headline I did not expect to find:

It has reappeared somewhere less than 150,000 miles (240,000km) from Earth and was mistaken at first as an unusual asteroid by scientists.

Well, I can’t really blame them either — probably not many cars floating around in the area they research…

Quick bites:

• Tomorrow is Tesla’s Q4 & FY 2024 earnings call! Here are all the questions the shareholders have listed and voted for on the Say platform.

• The Cybertunnel is ready and is already birthing Cybertrucks!

• Tesla joins BYD, SAIC and Geely in suing the European Union in Luxembourg over the China→EU EV tariffs.

• A study in the US finds that Tesla Model 3 is the most affordable car to run in the United States, with the annual energy costs at just $636 per year. That’s 71.68% lower than the study average of $2,246.

• Tesla has announced that, effective February 1, all models in Canada will get huge price increases — Model 3 gets a $4,000-$9,000 increase (depending on trim), Model Y +$4,000 increase on all trims, Model S/X: +$4,000 increase on all trims.
  This is an interesting move considering that the country’s iZEV rebate program also ran out just now, making all Tesla purchases a lot more expensive in total.

• Tesla Shop: Tesla Cybercab Tee for $40.

• Update on the Semi factory: the walls on Tesla Semi factory are now complete and the factory is enclosed. Mass production set to start this year!

VEHICLES

Here’s the video for the launch from Tesla’s official account. I grabbed a screen from the video to show you how the rear lights would look like in the fog, above.

The New Tesla Model Y is now also available in the US and in Europe!

Tesla is initially only selling the new "Launch Series" Model Y, and the starting price for the Long Range AWD version is $59,990. In Canada CA$84,990. In Europe, €60,990.

While the Launch Series is obviously the higher trim that will be followed with cheaper ones, here’s an explanation what you get and why it’s actually a good deal if you are considering some of the features anyway.

I won’t go over every single new detail here — we already did that — and here is more in a full list of everything that is upgraded on the US version. And here’s a video thread from Ryan (The Kilowatts) on some further details others have missed. I’ll go over just some of the details below.

Did you know the new Launch Series Model Y has a custom entry animation?

Tesla has reportedly received over 130,000 orders for the new Model Y in 16 days after the launch, in China alone.

We now also get reviews from content creators (like actual hands on ones), take your pic between these or see them all:

• carwow

• Top Gear

• Kyle from Out of Spec

• Teslawelt 

Oh, and here’s why the broken-up front lightbar is actually great: the new Model Y lightshow is that much cooler. Here’s another light show, you can see it uses every light in the show, including the ambient lights inside!

This is the very first new Model Y off the line in Germany, which all the employees involved signed:

The new Model Y is popping up in a lot of showrooms as we speak, so you might be able to go and check it out already.

Here’s a video from Tesla prepping for the new Model Y launch in Giga Berlin.

All new Model Ys built at Tesla's Fremont, Giga Texas, and Giga Berlin factories reportedly do not have any logo or badge on the front of the car, unlike the old Model Y. Only new Model Ys built at Giga Shanghai have a front badge.
So Tesla seems to be go more and more logo-less. Is this a good thing?

As I expected, the new Model Y looks especially great in solid black, currently exclusively produced in Giga Berlin:

Solid black isn’t available in the US right now but we’ve got reason to believe it is coming since a previously covered test vehicle from Giga Texas was now spotted without covers, in solid black.

And here it is in Ultra Red from China:

And here’s the Ultra Red in video from California.

Also, check out this close-up of the TESLA lettering in the tail light.

Perhaps this is a good angle to show what the indirect reflective body panel tail light is about:

A great small detail in the new Model Y parcel shelf. Below the load floor, there’s a space cut out to put it so you don’t lose it.

The seatbelt hole was moved from the seat to the C-pillar so it no longer gets in the way when unfolding the seats

Quick bites:

• Some updates by Siddhant on Cybertruck:

  • Cybertruck Off road armor and Rocker accessory launch running with delays but likely End of March

  • Finish delivering Wheel covers to customers. We have secured supply but distribution is the bottleneck now (32% complete)

  • Air suspension controls and features improvements

• This week’s “you can’t park there mate” comes to you in the form of a Cybertruck:

FSD & SOFTWARE

I found this note from Phil Duan interesting — he is the senior staff software engineer at Tesla AI and closely working on the FSD program.

FSD in China incoming? Chris Zheng, one of the sources we’ve found reliable in the past, confirmed tests are happening: “I just received a 55-second FSD video. Despite careful blurring of all key details, one specific detail still confirms that the video was filmed in China — Tesla is conducting public road testing and validation of FSD in China.”

This would fit in well with Tesla’s roadmap. I’m afraid, however, that Europe might not happen as hoped yet given the regulation is still stuck. I still have hopes that perhaps just a few specific countries can override that locally?

The Tesla 2025.2 software update is now rolling out to the 2nd batch of vehicles (reaching ~3% of the fleet)!

Release notes:

• Third-Party Fast Charger Preconditioning

  “Your vehicle now supports preconditioning for additional third-party fast chargers, even if they aren’t listed on the charger list. Simply set a fast charger as your destination, and battery preconditioning will start automatically when needed to optimize charging performance.”

• Rear Cross-Traffic Chime

• “When you shift into Reverse, a warning sound will play from the direction of an incoming object detected crossing behind you, such as a vehicle or pedestrian.”

• Hands-Free Trunk or Frunk Opening for Android

• Weather information is now displayed for both the final destination and the waypoints in your route’s turn-by-turn list.

• The Battle of Polytopia - "The Forgotten" Aquarion Skin - This update comes with a new Aquarion skin, new languages, and balance changes.

• Improvements to Service Model & Service Mode Plus

SUPERCHARGING

Tesla shared this graph about the Supercharger sessions in 2024, as a percentage of historic maximum. You can see the peak reached in the end of December this year in all regions, really interesting to watch. Max de Zegher from Tesla also gave an insight into how Tesla builds its network:

“We also have a future forecast of this graph, which helps us plan new Superchargers to meet demand. We don't always get it right, but do our best to stay ahead.

Unique to the Supercharger network is a mission-driven approach, prioritizing dependability & freedom to travel instead of maximizing for profit with smaller sites. We don't build for usage for the typical day, we build for the busy days so customers can depend on their cars. This is why the Supercharger network has become critical infrastructure in many countries.”

Max also commented on the news that all V4 posts in North America can now charge the CT at up to 325kW.