Lifestyle
When Tesla ideas go mainstream… again
There are times in life where you have a lightbulb moment, so to speak, where suddenly a new way of doing things seems obvious. A month doesn’t seem to go by where Tesla isn’t doing some form of that to the auto industry.
First, it was electric cars. Against all odds, Tesla has proven that electric cars can be beautiful, compelling, practical and fast, all at once.
Next, it was over the air updates. A car that gets better over time? Unfathomable. Same goes for their off-cycle upgrades. A car company that doesn’t work in model years? Absurd!
Then, in what’s probably the least likely of Tesla’s practices to be copied, it was not making parts and service a profit center. While traditional dealers make a majority of their profits from these areas, Tesla chooses not to. Insanity!
Tesla also built out their own refueling infrastructure. Making it free or low cost is just not something anyone ever pictured with regards to the auto industry. Outside of gimmicky “free gas for a year” promotions, it’s just unheard of.
There are many more: the effective use of social media, the refusal to pay for traditional advertising, not paying sales folks on commission, online ordering, built-to-order cars, up front pricing, and many more. All of these items on their own amount to mosquito bites on the bare skin of other automakers. This small, once thought insignificant start up from California had no chance in their deeply entrenched good ole’ boys club. Except, that’s just not true anymore. 250,000 reservation deposits in two days for a new car proves it. Tesla is here to stay and has changed the course of how other companies in the auto industry will have to operate to stay alive.
In fact, I got a surprising email from a major auto insurance company recently. The subject was “About those driver’s-assist features you love.” The content provided some great and practical advice to using them, reminding drivers to provide the brains and not to fall into the trap of say, failing to check your blind spot just because your car has blind spot detection. That advice however, wasn’t what I noticed first. “Tesla did this,” I thought to myself, before I even read the content of the email. Tesla has brought attention to the lightening-fast march of car technology so much so that a major insurer felt compelled to talk to customers about it.
Speaking of insurers, Tesla wants to go there too. Place another checkmark in the column of industries Tesla is stepping on the toes of. They can get in line behind ride-sharing giants, since Tesla has also mentioned ride sharing in their Master Plan Part 2. Which reminds me that the airline industry may also take a hit.
My personal favorite change, however, is the car dealership experience. The current model is obsolete. No matter how well prepared I was, how keen to their tricks, how adamantly against being sold an extended warranty, it still took me three whole hours to help a neighbor buy a car recently. It took at least that long to buy our last Jeep and longer than that to buy my first new car, a Scion. I just want to do some research, narrow down choices, go for a test drive, then buy a darn car. I don’t care if it takes weeks to get, as long as those weeks are spent at home doing my own thing and not sitting in an uncomfortable dealership filled with stale pretzels and fluorescent lighting. I don’t want to haggle. I especially don’t want my intelligence insulted by being shown monthly payment terms that hide the fact that your first offer was actually $9,000 over MSRP. (I’m talking to you, Jeep.) I have a calculator. Actually, I have a printed out spreadsheet that shows my monthly payments for 10 different price points and 3 different interest rates since I know you insist on negotiating in monthly payment terms rather than total purchase price. I’m a dealership’s worst nightmare. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Tesla proves it. Scion claimed they did – pure pricing they called it. I knew wherever I shopped, my 2008 tC was going to cost me exactly $18,400. It still took me all day to buy that car. Buying my Model S was a joy.
And now, a couple hundred thousand of my closest friends are about to experience that same joy. Actually, they may experience something better. Tesla appears to be trying to best themselves by providing a 5-minute delivery model. After all, Tesla doesn’t discriminate when it comes to who they show up when they decide they’ve found a better way, they just do it.
Elon Musk has been pretty open about the idea of FSD being the difference maker for Tesla’s future.
If Tesla succeeds in achieving FSD, it could become the world’s most valuable company. If it doesn’t, then the company would not be able to reach its optimum potential.
FSD Supervised’s safety benefits:
- But even if FSD is still not perfect today, FSD Supervised is already making a difference on the roads today.
- This was highlighted in Tesla’s Q4 2024 Vehicle Safety Report.
- As per Tesla, it recorded one crash for every 5.94 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.
- For comparison, the most recent data available from the NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) showed that there was one automobile crash every 702,000 miles in the United States.
This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.
— JC Christopher (@JohnChr08117285) January 29, 2025
The convenience of…
FSD user’s tale:
- As per an FSD user’s post on social media platform X, FSD Supervised was able to help him drive a relative to a medical facility safely even if he was exhausted.
- During the trip, the driver only had to monitor FSD Supervised’s performance to make sure the Tesla operated safely.
- In a vehicle without FSD, such a trip with an exhausted driver would have been quite dangerous.
- “This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.
- “The convenience of sending the hospital’s address directly from my iPhone to my Tesla while still inside my house, then just a single button press once inside, and 40 miles later we were precisely in front of the hospital’s admissions area.This experience really underscores just how transformative this technology can be for society,” Tesla owner JC Christopher noted in his post.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
There are few things that prove an enthusiast’s love towards a company more than a dedicated short film. This was highlighted recently when YouTube’s SoKrispyMedia posted a 10-minute action movie starring Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, as well as several of the company’s most iconic products.
The video:
- Shot like a Hollywood action flick, the video featured a rather humorous plot involving a group of thieves that mistakenly targeted a Tesla Model 3 driver.
- The Model 3 driver then ended up speaking to Tesla for assistance, and some high-octane and high-speed hijinks ensued.
- While the short film featured several Tesla products like the Model 3, Superchargers, and the Cybertruck, it is Optimus that truly stole the show.
- Optimus served several roles in the short film, from an assistant in a Tesla office to a “robocop” enforcer that helped out the Model 3 driver.
Future Robo-cop @Tesla_Optimus
— SOKRISPYMEDIA (@sokrispymedia) January 12, 2025
full video: https://t.co/TXpSRhcP5K pic.twitter.com/YFHZ7siAP7
Cool inside jokes:
- The best Tesla videos are those that show an in-depth knowledge of the company, and SoKrispyMedia definitely had it.
- From the opening scenes alone, the video immediately poked fun at TSLA traders, the large number of gray Tesla owners, and the fact that many still do not understand Superchargers.
- The video even poked fun at Tesla’s software updates, as well as how some Tesla drivers use Autopilot or other features without reading the fine print in the company’s release notes.
- The video ended with a tour de force of references to Elon Musk products, from the Tesla Cybertruck to the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower, which was released back in 2018.
Check out SoKrispyMedia’s Tesla action short film in the video below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla definitely seems to be determined to release the coolest lineup of accessories for its coolest vehicle. As could be seen in an update to the Tesla Shop, the electric vehicle maker has now launched a metal key card for the Cybertruck—because why not?
Cybertruck keys:
- The Cybertruck, similar to Tesla’s other vehicles, is shipped with a regular key card.
- The vehicle could also be accessed and locked through a phone key.
- As per the Cybertruck’s Owner’s Manual, the all-electric pickup truck is capable of supporting a total of 19 keys.
The Cybertruck’s Metal Key Card:
- Tesla’s Cybertruck Metal Key Card functions much like the vehicle’s regular key card, but it is finished using premium stainless steel
- As per Tesla’s description of the item:
- “Convenient, durable, versatile. The Cybertruck Metal Key Card is a premium stainless-steel alternative to our traditional plastic key cards, making it easy to access your Cybertruck without your Phone Key. Ideal for when your phone is unavailable or when sharing your vehicle with a friend or valet.”
- The Cybertruck Metal Key Card costs $60.
- In comparison, the Cybertruck’s regular key card is sold for $40.
- The Cybertruck Metal Key Card comes with the metal key card itself, as well as a bifold key card wallet.
Tesla Cybertruck merch push:
- Being the company’s most eye-catching vehicle, it is no surprise that that Tesla has been releasing quite a lot of merchandise inspired by the all-electric pickup truck.
- These include a $250 levitating Cybertruck model, as well as a $35 Cybertruck wind-up racer, both of which are out of stock.
- Tesla also sells the $35 “CyberMug,” a $40 “CyberStein,” and a $50 “CyberVessel.”
- Other Cybertruck-inspired merchandise are the $60 Cyberwhistle Stealth, and the $50 CyberOpener.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
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