Innovation

Musk Reads: Elon Musk plans new Tesla production tech

Berlin is set to stun and Tesla delivers a huge number of vehicles. What about a Tesla heads-up display?

by Mike Brown
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Berlin is set to stun and Tesla delivers a huge number of vehicles. What about a Tesla heads-up display? It’s Musk Reads: Tesla Edition #208.

A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.

Musk quote of the week

“Lot of new technology will happen in Berlin, which means significant production risk. Fremont & Shanghai will transition in ~2 years when new tech is proven.”

Tesla

Tesla’s Berlin factory is set to feature some big advancements in manufacturing, Musk claimed this week. The new facility, which is expected to eventually produce 500,000 cars per year, will produce the recently unveiled 4680 battery cell with the pack designed to form part of the car’s structure. It will also debut a new paint system. Musk previously teased that Berlin would offer “the world’s most advanced paint shop” back in April. These advancements are set to reach the Fremont and Shanghai facility in around two years’ time.

Tesla had another big quarter of car production, surpassing expectations. On Friday, the firm announced it had produced 145,036 vehicles and delivered 139,300 vehicles in the third quarter of 2020. Of those produced, 16,992 were Model S and X, while 128,044 were Model 3 and Y. Of those delivered, 15,200 were Model S and X while 124,100 were Model 3 and Y. Bloomberg-surveyed analysts had predicted deliveries to be around 129,950 cars.

For current Tesla owners, an important new security update: Electrek reports that Tesla has launched two-factor authentication for user accounts. The system asks users to download an app to their mobile device that will generate codes. The codes will be used alongside the password to log into the account. This should help make accounts more secure by ensuring that an attacker cannot access the account with the password alone.

What’s next for Tesla: Tesla is expected to release a private beta of its planned Autopilot “4D” upgrades sometime in the first half of October. Read more.

In other Musk news…

  • Tesla’s new batteries might offer benefits for more than just cars – it could mean big things for the electric jet. Read more.
  • In a company email obtained by Bloomberg, Tesla claimed that one employee “maliciously sabotaged” a part of the factory.
  • Want to know what the Tesla Model S Plaid is all about? Read more.
  • One Tesla Solar Roof buyer found their home was stuck without a roof and tarps over the course of two months, according to Electrek.
  • The world’s first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus launched in Aberdeen, Scotland, on Wednesday. The bus is produced by Wrightbus, which also agreed this week to provide Birmingham, England, with 20 hydrogen buses. Musk has previously criticized hydrogen fuel cells as “staggeringly dumb.”
  • Two highly anticipated electric cars received their ratings from the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency this week, according to Slashgear. The Polestar 2 offers 233 miles per charge, while the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge offers 208 miles.

Musk Reads mailroom

Blaine Bershad writes:

I have a client with a Tesla X, so I have spent time behind the wheel. It’s a great car. I have a friend with a 2019 Prius. A lot slower, but it has something that is difficult to understand why it isn’t on the Tesla: Heads Up Display. It is certainly not fancy, but having the speed, basic map directions, turn signals, etc. increases the driving experience in a quality manner. The X is a lot of fun to drive and I ‘may’ have driven it too fast. It would be a lot safer to have a better heads up display!

This could help a lot in a car like the Tesla Model 3, which lacks the instrument cluster found on the S and X. Ahead of the car’s launch, fans speculated the final car could ship with an HUD. One fan, Steve Ono, mocked up how a Tesla car could look with a projected HUD, complete with hand-based interactions. After Musk expressed interest in bringing Pokémon Go to the car, perhaps an augmented reality-powered display could be the future?

Les A Fors writes:

Why doesn’t Musk manufacture his cars in the US?

He does! Last week’s Musk Reads explained how Musk plans to use Giga Shanghai and Giga Berlin to design future cars, but that’s only part of the story. Tesla has factories in California, Nevada, and New York State, and the company plans to open a fourth factory in Texas. The Texas facility will be used to build the Cybertruck and Semi vehicles, plus the Model 3 and Y for the eastern half of North America. The California plant will then produce the Model 3 and Y for the west half, plus the S, X, and Roadster for a global audience.

Got any comments or queries? Don’t forget to send them over to muskreads@inverse.com.

Photo of the week

Model 3 in the Swiss countryside.

Got a photo or video you’d like to see featured? Send it over to muskreads@inverse.com!

The ultra-fine print

This has been Musk Reads: Tesla Edition #208, the weekly rundown of essential reading about futurist and entrepreneur Elon Musk. I’m Mike Brown, an innovation journalist for Inverse.

What did you think of today’s stories? Hit reply to this email to let us know. Thanks for reading!

A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.

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