Elon Musk hints at ‘Advanced Manufacturing Technologies’ to ramp Tesla Model Y in China

Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke of new “advanced manufacturing technologies” for the Model Y crossover at the company’s Model 3 event in Shanghai.

“Model Y will also have some advanced manufacturing technology that we will reveal in the future. I think it will be exciting to show the kind of manufacturing technology associated with the Model Y and it will be exciting to learn about these technologies,” Musk said when speaking about the production of the company’s first crossover.

The addition of these new “advanced technologies” could be Tesla’s answer to reaching the goal of producing 500,000 vehicles annually at Gigafactory 3. It also brings some interesting possibilities to mind, such as the potential use of a giant casting machine that reduce welds in the vehicle’s body, as hinted at by patents from the company.

Tesla officially launched the Model Y program today at Gigafactory 3 by pouring glasses of champagne on top of a ‘Y’ sculpture located at the production plant on the outskirts of Shanghai. CEO Elon Musk could be seen smiling while launching he Model Y in China, which could result in the crossover entering production in Gigafactory 3 within this year.

After a leaked photo of a poster sparked rumors of the company’s plans to begin the Model Y program on January 7, many speculated the production of the vehicle would be accelerated as well. However, there is no official timeline to build the Model Y in Shanghai as Tesla officials did not speak in detail about the upcoming Model Y ramp.

Model Y production in China should not be a difficult task to complete for the site’s production team. The crossover utilizes around 75% of the same parts as the Model 3, meaning there is not a huge difference between the two vehicles’ actual building process. Building these two cars side-by-side would not be a difficult challenge and would ultimately prove beneficial to Tesla’s ultimate goal to achieve a 500,000 vehicle production rate at Gigafactory 3.

The plant has already started producing the Model 3 at a run-rate of 3,000 vehicles per week. Without the Model Y, Gigafactory 3 is building around 150,000 Model 3 vehicles a year. If Tesla can produce the Model Y at the same rate, the company would be well on its way to achieving the half-a-million-a-year vehicle goal they are aiming for.

Elon Musk hints at ‘Advanced Manufacturing Technologies’ to ramp Tesla Model Y in China

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Tesla Cybertruck wins Concept Car of the Year award for its insanely unique design

The Tesla Cybertruck has been subjected to many nods of both praise and criticism. But as we begin the new year and a new decade, we can mark another tally in the vehicle’s “Praise” section, as Automobile Magazine has named the electric pickup truck from Tesla as their Concept Car of the Year.

Automobile Magazine made it simple: the basic idea and shape of the car were simply so unique that it was easily the best concept of 2019. Inspired by the late Syd Mead’s designs in Blade Runner, the truck was met with a lot of criticism early on due to its XY design, and critics were particularly vocal about their discontent. Nevertheless, the truck has inspired a lot of interest, part of which fueled at least 250,000 reservations for the vehicle.

“Some critiques we read in the first few hours after its initial reveal suggested it to be a manifestation of unimaginative brutality, crude, ugly, and totally impractical. It is certainly different from traditional pickups, which apart from size have not really changed in concept in 100 years. Is it better than the tens of millions of pickups made during the past century? That remains to be seen, but as a concept vehicle it’s both exciting and profoundly interesting,” the publication wrote.

Cumberford believes that someone who fails to recognize the Cybertruck’s unique structure and states that it is “brutal” would show a “complete lack of comprehension as to how subtle and intelligent the Cybertruck’s designers were in defining its outer skin.”

The motoring publication also noted how the Cybertruck features a lot of practical features, such as its adaptive suspension that makes it easier for the vehicle to load and unload cargo. The all-electric pickup’s off-road capabilities were also considered as key strengths of the Tesla Cybertruck.

With this award, the Cybertruck joins the ranks of Tesla’s other vehicles like the Model 3, which has also been receiving multiple awards due to its mix of performance, practicality, and price. Since then, the truck has been talked about by people from all different walks of life. Automotive industry veterans and musicians have commented or given the truck their nod of approval. The Cybertruck was even used as a hero vehicle in a rap video, together with its companion all-electric ATV and Elon Musk’s Not-a-Flamethrower.

The Cybertruck’s Dual Motor AWD and Tri-Motor AWD variants will both enter production at the tail end of 2021 and will cost $49,990 and $69,990 respectively. The Single Motor RWD trim will be built the following year and will cost $39,990.

Tesla Cybertruck wins Concept Car of the Year award for its insanely unique design

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Tesla will protect bicyclists from “dooring” in future OTA update, notes Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that a future update will help protect bicyclists from being the victim of unintended door openings.

Car dooring or more commonly referred to as “dooring” happens when a car driver or passenger opens a vehicle’s door while failing to check for cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians, or other vehicles. These unfortunate incidents commonly happen in urban areas where vehicles are parked along the side of the road and may lead to serious injuries or even fatalities.

Burhan Halilov, a victim of dooring himself took to Twitter to suggest the feature to Musk. The Tesla anti-dooring feature will leverage the vehicle’s side cameras to detect potential dooring victims and temporarily lock itself for approaching bicycles in the car’s blind spot.

The advocate group National Safety Council recommends far hand reach technique or the Dutch Reach to prevent dooring. This technique recommends using the hand farthest from the door to open it. As one reaches across their body for the door handle, the body will naturally turn and give one a glimpse of the side mirror or the blind spot of the vehicle and see if there’s an oncoming bike, traffic, or pedestrians.

As for Tesla, a quick over-the-air software update can enable the electric vehicle’s cameras to help prevent unwanted accidents such as dooring. It may also use the car’s sound system to warn occupants about the possible danger when opening their vehicle’s doors.

Tesla is known to continuously update the feature sets on its fleet of vehicles to make the road safer for everyone, including cyclists. In December, the electric car manufacturer rolled out a Holiday Update with improved inner-city Full Self-Driving visuals of its surroundings. The latest Tesla firmware under Hardware 3 can identify multiple traffic lights, stop signs, parking spots for the handicap, road markings, and even garbage cans.

Driving data collected by Tesla are fed into a Neural Network that gets smarter and smarter in recognizing people and objects on the road. While waiting for Tesla’s anti-dooring feature, check out this video on how to do the Dutch Reach:

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Tesla will protect bicyclists from “dooring” in future OTA update, notes Elon Musk

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