Tesla has received 325,000 preorders for the Model 3

[doctorjj]

Fully autonomous is going to take some fairly significant hardware upgrades from what is currently on my Model S. That being said, the basic system behind the current Autopilot already has the ability to incorporate many more cameras and radars, which is what will be needed. I believe Musk is right on the money regarding the timetable. Autopilot is already proving itself. I love using it.

 

[_CY_]

Tesla Motors
Master Plan, Part Deux
Elon Musk July 20, 2016

The first master plan that I wrote 10 years ago is now in the final stages of completion. It wasn't all that complicated and basically consisted of:

1. Create a low volume car, which would necessarily be expensive
2. Use that money to develop a medium volume car at a lower price
3. Use that money to create an affordable, high volume car
   And...
4. Provide solar power. No kidding, this has literally been on our website for 10 years.

The reason we had to start off with step 1 was that it was all I could afford to do with what I made from PayPal. I thought our chances of success were so low that I didn't want to risk anyone's funds in the beginning but my own. The list of successful car company startups is short. As of 2016, the number of American car companies that haven't gone bankrupt is a grand total of two: Ford and Tesla. Starting a car company is idiotic and an electric car company is idiocy squared. ~

So, in short, Master Plan, Part Deux is:

Create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage
Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments
Develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual via massive fleet learning
Enable your car to make money for you when you aren't using it

https://www.tesla.com/blog/master-plan-part-deux

 

[Mos Eisley]

I wonder where in his master plan was the importing of illegal foreign workers and paying them less than $5 an hour?

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_30146343/tesla-contractors-settle-injured-foreign-worker

 

[YukonGlocker]

I wonder where in his master plan was the importing of illegal foreign workers and paying them less than $5 an hour?

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_30146343/tesla-contractors-settle-injured-foreign-worker

That isn't what happened. Tesla was found to have *no* responsibility in what happened by the courts. Also, Tesla could have dropped the case and moved on with life, but decided to help out the guy anyway because a subcontractor screwed him (not Tesla), and also set policies in place to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future (even though they didn't have to).

 

[Mos Eisley]

They didn't have to? You'd think that the building of your plant would require some of your attention and responsibility.

There's a pretty thorough subcontractor vetting process put in place on government contracts, the company I work for, and most major businesses. And this is California. There are rules governing everything we do where I work, then there are the additional ones for units in California.

 

[YukonGlocker]

Tesla isn't a govt. contractor, so that doesn't matter. Tesla had no fault in that issue. Nearly everyone has told Tesla "you can't do this" and "you can't do that"...and they just keep on doing it anyway!

 

[_CY_]

Tesla Opens Gigafactory to Expand Battery Production, Sales
July 26, 2016

Sparks, Nev. -- It's Tesla Motors' biggest bet yet: a massive, $5 billion factory in the Nevada desert that could nearly double the world's production of lithium-ion batteries.

Tesla officially opened its Gigafactory on Tuesday, a little more than two years after construction began. The factory is about 14 percent complete, but when it's finished, it will be about 10 million square feet, or about the size of 262 NFL football fields. That will make it one of the largest buildings in the world.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...igafactory-to-expand-battery-production-sales

 

[_CY_]

Elon Musk on Tesla fully autonomous car: ‘What we’ve got will blow people’s minds, it blows my mind… it’ll come sooner than people think’

Tesla Elon Musk self-driving car Tesla Autopilot


During a conference call today, Elon Musk talked about Tesla’s progress in level 4 fully autonomous driving and while he didn’t want to make an announcement on the call, he said that it is coming sooner than people think:

“What we’ve got will blow people’s minds, it blows my mind …it’ll come sooner than people think.”

Musk’s most recent prediction placed the technology being ready in Q4 2017, around the time Model 3 will enter production.

Of course, Musk always emphasises that the technology will be ready long before regulators will approve the technology for the public.

http://electrek.co/2016/08/03/elon-musk-tesla-fully-autonomous-car-blows-mind/

 

[_CY_]

Elon Musk: Tesla’s Model 3 factory could look like an alien warship
August 4

Robots named Thundebird and Cyclops work together to lower a Tesla vehicle onto the assembly line at Tesla Motors factory in Fremont, Calif.

The machine will ultimately be so complex that no humans will be expected to operate it directly, or to participate in the actual building of each Model 3.

"You really can't have people in the production line itself," said Musk. "Otherwise you'll automatically drop to people speed." (He didn't elaborate on how much faster these machines will be able to work.)

With Tesla coming under increasing pressure to meet its production targets, Musk's factory will need to move at much greater than "people speed" if it wants to satisfy demand. There'll still be people working in the factory, though, mostly overseeing the robots and making sure everything is running at peak efficiency.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-will-be-devoid-of-people-according-to-tesla/

 

[_CY_]

Tesla car drives owner to hospital after he suffers pulmonary embolism
08/08/16

A US driver made it to hospital while suffering a pulmonary embolism after putting his car into autopilot.

Joshua Neally was driving his Tesla Model X home from his office in the US city of Springfield, Missouri, to nearby Branson.

But after pulling onto the highway, he started suffering piercing pain in his stomach and chest.

Rather than call an ambulance, the lawyer decided to find a hospital using his car's self-driving mode.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/artic...-hospital-after-he-suffers-pulmonary-embolism