Tesla AI Day is Tesla’s annual event where the company showcases all of its upcoming projects and showcases its latest technology. The event will take place on September 30 and is expected to be streamed live on both the Tesla website and YouTube. If you’re debating whether or not to tune in, here’s what you can expect.
This event is similar to the annual events of other big tech companies, such as Apple’s Far Out event held earlier this month, Samsung’s Unpacked event, or Google’s annual I/O keynotes. It’s an opportunity for the public to see what’s to come.
Although news about Tesla EVs makes up a good portion of these events, there are always surprises at Tesla. Last year’s biggest surprise was the dancing robot that took the stage to accompany Tesla CEO Elon Musk. A man in a robot suit was Tesla’s creative way of announcing their first humanoid robot, Optimus.
ZDNET predicts that the September 30 Tesla AI Day will discuss Optimus, self-driving cars, Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla Supercharger V4, Dojo chip and Robotaxi.
Optimus
After all the excitement caused by Optimus last year, expect the humanoid robot to be at the forefront of this year’s event. Musk unofficially confirmed that Optimus would be a topic of discussion at this year’s event by moving the event date from August 19 to September 30 due to the availability of an Optimus prototype at a later date.
So what’s the hype about Optimus? Aside from its futuristic design that makes it look like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie, Optimus is attracting attention because it’s a humanoid robot powered by Tesla’s AI and the way humans do things , could revolutionize.
Also known as the Tesla-Bot, Optimus would be a friendly 5-foot-8-inch robot that can perform human tasks such as carrying 45 pounds and deadlifting 145 pounds.
“It’s designed to be naturally friendly, navigating a world built for humans and eliminating dangerous, repetitive, and tedious tasks,” Musk said at last year’s Tesla AI Day.
Likewise: Tesla Bot: A conceptual humanoid robot embedded in Tesla’s vehicle AI
People remain skeptical as to who the intended consumer is for this product as it will likely be a hefty investment for an average household. Also, robots have never really been implemented in homes, with the exception of robots of the Roomba variety, so the release of this product would be a drastic departure from current technology.
Other applications for the robot would be factories and the service industry that could benefit from the support of the AI-driven robot.
Self-Driving Cars
Although Tesla’s promise of a self-driving car is nothing new, Tesla has yet to release a self-driving car to the public. At an energy conference in Norway last month, Musk announced his plans to bring Tesla’s self-driving technology to market by the end of the year, according to a report by Reuters.
Likewise: Elon Musk says self-driving Tesla could be ready by the end of the year
Musk has shown that he is very passionate about self-driving vehicle technology, proclaiming, “Self-driving electric cars will be all that matters. Gas cars without autonomy will be like riding a horse and using a clamshell phone. It still happens, but it’s so niche,” via twitter.
Since Musk first announced the idea in 2016, there have been several new release dates each year, all falling short. He even promised a self-driving Tesla trip from NYC to LA that was delayed to 2017, then 2018 and will still happen. So we can expect another update at this event, hopefully with a firm date coming before the end of the year.
The self-driving technology promised by Tesla would deviate significantly from existing features — no driver needed at all.
Tesla’s current capabilities allow its vehicles to perform multiple autonomous actions, such as: However, human leadership is still required.
Tesla Cybertruck
The Tesla Cybertruck isn’t a brand new concept either – it was originally unveiled in 2019. However, the model has yet to go into mass production. If you live in North America, you can reserve the truck on the Tesla website.
As with the self-driving car, the production date of the Cybertruck is constantly being pushed back. Earlier this year, Tesla pushed production back to the first quarter of 2023 instead of the previously expected date of late 2022, Reuters reported.
The electric pickup truck has a unique, geometric design that is different from any truck you currently see on the road. Tesla’s website claims the truck offers “better utility than a truck with more horsepower than a sports car.”
Some of its standout features include its nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, Tesla armored glass, and 3,500 pounds of payload capacity.
After taking the truck for a test drive, Musk teased that the Cybertruck was “amazing.”
We can expect Musk to give us an update on when we can expect production and delivery of the Cybertrucks.
Tesla Supercharger V4
Tesla has yet to officially announce the release of its most advanced supercharger, the Supercharger V4. This charger should surpass its predecessor, the Supercharger V3, in terms of charging power with at least 300 kW.
Likewise: The first Tesla Supercharger V4 comes to Arizona
While we haven’t announced the Supercharger, from that we know what the Supercharger V4 will look like design plans and blueprints that Tesla fans dug up and posted on Twitter, revealing blueprints of where the first site will be.
Despite the increased performance, the design of the Supercharger V4 remains basically the same. The construction plans show that it will be the same shape, with the only difference being that the nozzle will live on the outside, as opposed to the hollow interior where it now lives.
We can expect Musk to announce the release and production of the Supercharger V4, along with details on its looks, location, and performance.
Dojo chip
Dojo refers to Tesla’s in-house machine learning supercomputer – an AI training machine. “Dojo is a neural network training computer optimized for video (for self-driving),” Musk said via twitter.
At last year’s Tesla AI Day, Tesla announced the supercomputer Dojo. However, the supercomputer was still under development at the time. On this AI day we can expect updates on the development of the Dojo program.
robot taxi
Musk first said the robotaxi would be on the road by the end of 2020. Over two years later, we’re still waiting for self-driving Teslas to be released to the public, let alone a self-driving taxi.
A few months ago, during Tesla’s Q1 2022 conference call, Musk said: “We are aiming for a volume production of [the robotaxi] in 2024.”
Likewise: Elon Musk predicts that a ride in a Tesla robot taxi will cost less than a subsidized bus ticket
During that call, Musk also said that the robotaxi is the cheapest mode of transportation, as a ride on the robotaxi costs less than a subsidized bus fare.
Given the recent talk about the taxi, it wouldn’t be surprising if we got another update on Tesla AI Day.