Image: Tesla
Tesla AI Day is Tesla’s annual event in which the company reveals all of its upcoming projects and showcases its latest technology. The event will take place on September 30 and is expected to be live-streamed on both the Tesla website and on YouTube. If you are debating whether or not to tune in, here is what you can expect.
This event is similar to other major tech companies’ annual events, such as Apple’s Far Out event that took place earlier this month, Samsung’s Unpacked events or Google’s annual I/O keynotes. It’s an opportunity for the public to learn about what is to come.
Although news about Tesla electric vehicles makes up a good portion of these events, with Tesla, there are always surprises. Last year, the biggest surprise was the dancing robot that walked onto the stage to accompany Tesla CEO Elon Musk. A man dressed in a robot suit was Tesla’s creative way of announcing their first humanoid robot, Optimus.
ZDNET predicts that Tesla AI Day on September 30 will discuss Optimus, self-driving cars, Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla Supercharger V4, Dojo chip, and robotaxi.
Optimus
Image: Tesla
After all the buzz that Optimus created last year, it can be expected that the humanoid robot will 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 switching the event date from August 19 to September 30, due to the availability of an Optimus prototype at the later date.
So what is the hype about Optimus? Besides its futuristic design that makes it look like it came right out of a sci-fi movie, Optimus is garnering attention because it is a humanoid robot powered by Tesla’s AI that could revolutionize the way people do things.
Also known as the Tesla bot, Optimus would be a 5-foot 8-inch friendly robot that can perform human tasks such as carrying 45 pounds and deadlifting 145 pounds.
“It’s intended to be friendly, of course, and navigate through a world built for humans and eliminate dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks,” said Musk at last year’s Tesla AI Day.
Also: Tesla Bot: A concept humanoid robot embedded with Tesla’s vehicle AI
People remain skeptical at who the intended consumer for this product is, as it will likely be a hefty investment for an average household. Also, robots have never really been implemented into households, with the exception of robots of the Roomba sort, 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, which could benefit from the assistance the AI-driven robot could provide.
Self-driving cars
Image: Tesla
Although the promise of a Tesla 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 get Tesla’s self-driving technology ready for release by year-end, according to a Reuters report.
Also: Elon Musk says that the self-driving Tesla could be ready by the end of the year
Musk has shown he is very passionate about self-driving vehicle technology, proclaiming: “Self-driving electric cars will be all that matters. Gas car without autonomy will be like riding a horse & using a flip phone. That still happens, but it’s niche,” via Twitter.
Since Musk first announced the idea in 2016, there have been several new release dates each year, which all came short. He even promised a Tesla self-autonomous trip from NYC to LA, which got delayed to 2017, then 2018, and is yet to happen. So we can expect another update at this event, hopefully with a firm date that comes before the end of the year.
Tesla’s promised self-driving technology would significantly diverge from existing features – there will be no driver needed at all.
Tesla’s current capabilities allow its vehicles to take several autonomous actions, such as autosteer, autopark, auto lane change, identifying stop signs and traffic lights, and slowing your car down when approaching traffic signs. However, human direction is still required.
Tesla Cybertruck
Image: Gettin Images/FREDERIC J. BROWN
The Tesla Cybertruck is also not a brand-new concept – it was originally introduced in 2019. However, the model has yet to enter mass production. If you live in North America, you can reserve the truck on the Tesla website.
Like the self-driving car, the Cybertruck production date keeps getting pushed back. Earlier this year, Tesla pushed production to the first quarter of 2023 instead of its previously anticipated date at the end of 2022, Reuters reported.
The electric pick-up truck has a unique, geometric design that is unlike any trucks you currently see on the road. The Tesla website claims that the truck offers “better utility than a truck with more performance than a sports car.”
Image: Tesla
Some of its stand-out features include its nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, Tesla armor glass, and 3,500 pounds of payload capacity.
After testdriving the truck, Musk teased that the Cybertruck is “awesome.”
We can expect Musk to give us an update as to when we can expect the Cybertrucks to be produced and shipped to the public.
Tesla Supercharger V4
Tesla has yet to officially announce the release of their most advanced supercharger, the Supercharger V4. This charger is supposed to exceed its predecessor, the Supercharger V3, in charging power, with at least 300 kW.
Also: First Tesla Supercharger V4 will be coming to Arizona
Despite not announcing the Supercharger, we know what the Supercharger V4 will look like, due to design plans and construction plans that Tesla aficionados dug up and posted on Twitter, and construction plans reveal where the first site will be located.
Despite the increased power output, the design of the Supercharger V4 will remain basically the same. The design plans reveal that it will have its same shape, with the only difference being that the nozzle will live on the outside as opposed to the hollow inside where it lives now.
We can expect Musk to announce the release and production of the Supercharger V4 as well as details on appearance, location and performance.
Dojo chip
Image: Electrek
Dojo refers to Tesla’s in-house supercomputer for machine learning – an AI-training machine. “Dojo is a neural network training computer optimized for video (for self-driving),” said Musk via Twitter.
At Tesla AI Day last year, Tesla announced the Dojo supercomputer. However, at the time the supercomputer was still being developed. This AI Day, we can expect updates on the development of the Dojo program.
Robotaxi
Musk first said that the robotaxi would be on the road by the end of 2020. Over two years later, we are still waiting for self-driving Teslas to be released to the public, much less a self-driving taxi.
However, a couple of months ago, during Tesla’s Q1 2022 earnings call, Musk said: “We aspire to reach volume production of [the robotaxi] in 2024.”
Also: Elon Musk predicts a Tesla robotaxi ride will cost less than a subsidized bus ticket
During this call, Musk also said that the robotaxi would provide the cheapest type of transportation, with a robotaxi ride costing less than a subsidized bus ticket.
Because of the recent talks of the taxi, it wouldn’t be surprising if on Tesla AI Day we get another update.