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2 million people watched the Tesla Semi Delivery event on Twitter

Credit: Tesla

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Two million people watched Tesla deliver its all-electric Class 8 Semi trucks to its first customers live on Twitter. The Tesla Semi, which is a non-consumer product targeted at business-to-business customers, was received by Frito-Lay and PepsiCo on Thursday night at the company’s Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.

Tesla always live streams its events on its YouTube channel, and its Cyber Rodeo event topped 3 million views. However, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, is now the owner and CEO of Twitter, and he promoted Tesla’s live stream on the platform.

Aside from YouTube influencers who held their own live-streamed watch parties for the delivery events and Tesla’s own channel, many watched the event right on Twitter.

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Tesla has over 2 million followers on its YouTube account, but as you can see in the screenshot below, the live stream had 974,702 views at this time. That number is expected to go up over time when more people watch the replay.

 

Tesla’s other live stream events, such as the Cyber Rodeo at Giga Texas and AI Day part 2, crossed the one-million view mark. Some of its other live-streamed events, such as its Q3 2022 financial results and Q&A webcast, received under 500,000 views.

On Twitter, Tesla’s live stream topped 2 million views.  Although Tesla’s live stream on Twitter had higher views, there is a lot of feedback and room for improvement.  There were a few tweets asking for the ability to stream from Twitter to the TV.

 

 

Other feedback and requests included allowing to set the live stream as a background with some transparency so users can tweet while watching the event.

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https://twitter.com/DarnellTheGeek/status/1598480616978350086

Gail Alfar, the owner of the WhatUpTesla blog, told Teslarati, “I almost always watch SpaceX launches on Twitter live, so I was super happy to hear that a Tesla event will be live on Twitter! And watching Tesla events is a family event for us, so we all wanted to gather together, and the TV does not have a Twitter app (yet), so we all watched it on YouTube. We are looking forward to a possible Twitter app for TVs!”

Al Shen told Teslarati that he also watched the live stream on YouTube.

“I decided to live stream the Tesla Semi delivery event via Youtube for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to share the live stream experience with a few Youtube personalities that were conducting virtual “watch parties” and allowing for more engaged interaction in real-time. Live streaming on Twitter still has room to evolve.”

“If there’s a designed live stream watch party feature where a more controlled group of guests could view, comment, and still readily and easily tweet from their accounts, that would be exciting. Half the fun is the engagement with others.”

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Twitter’s live stream feature does have a lot of room for improvement, and given Elon Musk’s openness to feedback from his followers, we may begin to see those improvements over time. Did you watch the event on Twitter or on YouTube? What are your thoughts?

Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.  

Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.

Teslarati is now on TikTok. Follow us for interactive news & more. Teslarati is now on TikTok. Follow us for interactive news & more. You can also follow Teslarati on LinkedInTwitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Elon Musk confirms Tesla FSD V14.2 will see widespread rollout

Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/X

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will be implementing a wide rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) V14 with the system’s V14.2 update. Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X. 

FSD V14.1.2 earns strong praise from testers

Musk’s comment came as a response to Tesla owner and longtime FSD tester AI DRIVR, who noted that it might be time to release Full Self-Driving to the fleet because V14.1.2 has already become very refined.

“95% of the indecisive lane changes and braking have been fixed in FSD 14.1.2. I haven’t touched my steering wheel in two days. I think it’s time, Tesla AI,” the longtime FSD tester wrote

AI DRIVR’s comment received quite a bit of support from fellow Tesla drivers, some of whom noted that the improvements that were implemented in V14.1.2 are substantial. Others also agreed that it’s time for FSD to see a wide release.

In his reply to the FSD tester, CEO Elon Musk noted that FSD V14’s wide release would happen with V14.2. “14.2 for widespread use,” Musk wrote in his reply

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Mad Max mode makes headlines

One of the key features that was introduced with FSD’s current iteration is Mad Max mode, which allows for higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than the previous “Hurry” mode. Videos and social media posts from FSD testers have shown the system deftly handling complex traffic, merging seamlessly, and maintaining an assertive but safe driving behavior with Mad Max mode engaged.

Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy recently noted in a post on X that Mad Max mode was built to handle congested daytime traffic, making it extremely useful for drivers who tend to find themselves in heavy roads during their daily commutes. With Musk now hinting that FSD V14.2 will go on wide release, it might only be a matter of time before the larger Tesla fleet gets to experience the notable improvements of FSD’s V14 update.

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Multiple Tesla Cybercab units spotted at Giga Texas crash test facility

The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size.

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

It appears that Tesla is ramping up its activities surrounding the development and likely initial production of the Cybercab at Giga Texas. This was, at least, hinted at in a recent drone flyover of the massive electric vehicle production facility in Austin. 

Cybercab sightings fuel speculations

As observed by longtime Giga Texas drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, Tesla had several covered Cybercab units outside the facility’s crash testing facility at the time of his recent flyover. The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size. Tegtmeyer also observed during his flyover that production of the Model Y Standard seems to be hitting its pace.

The drone operator noted that the seven covered Cybercabs might be older prototypes being decommissioned or new units awaiting crash tests. Either scenario points to a ramp-up in Cybercab activity at Giga Texas, however. “In either case, this is another datapoint indicating production is getting closer to happening,” Tegtmeyer wrote on X, highlighting that the autonomous two-seaters were quite exciting to see.

Cybercab production targets

This latest sighting follows reports of renewed Cybercab appearances at both the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas. A test unit was recently spotted driving on Giga Texas’ South River Road. Another Cybercab, seen at Tesla’s Fremont Factory, appeared to be manually driven, suggesting that the vehicle’s current prototypes may still be produced with temporary steering controls.

The Tesla Cybercab is designed to be the company’s highest-volume vehicle, with CEO Elon Musk estimating that the autonomous two-seater should see an annual production rate of about 2 million units per year. To accomplish this, Tesla will be building the Cybercab using its “Unboxed” process, which should help the vehicle’s production line achieve outputs that are more akin to consumer electronics production lines.

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Teslas in the Boring Co. Vegas Loop are about to get a big change

Elon Musk has a big update for Teslas that operate within the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop.

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the boring company's vegas loop entrance
(Credit: Sam Morris, LVCVA/Las Vegas News Bureau)

Tesla vehicles operating in the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop are about to get a big change, CEO Elon Musk said.

In Las Vegas, the Boring Company operates the Vegas Loop, an underground tunnel system that uses Teslas to drop people off at various hotspots on the strip. It’s been active for a few years now and is expanding to other resorts, hotels, and destinations.

Currently, there are stops at three resorts: Westgate, the Encore, and Resorts World. However, there will eventually be “over 100 stations and span over 68 miles of tunnel,” the Vegas Loop website says.

The Loop utilizes Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to send passengers to their desired destinations. They are currently driven using the Full Self-Driving suite, but they also have safety drivers in each vehicle to ensure safety.

Tesla Cybertruck rides are crucial for Vegas Loop expansion to airport

Tesla and the Boring Company have been working to remove drivers from the vehicles used in the Loop, but now, it appears there is a set timeline to have them out, according to CEO Elon Musk:

Musk says the Boring Co. will no longer rely on safety drivers within the Teslas for operation. Instead, Tesla will look to remove the safety drivers from the cars within the next month or two, a similar timeline for what Musk believes the Robotaxi platform will look like in Austin.

In Texas, as Robotaxi continues to operate as it has since June, there are still safety monitors within the car who sit in the passenger’s seat. They are there to ensure a safe experience for riders.

When the route takes the vehicle on the highway, safety monitors move into the driver’s seat.

However, Tesla wants to be able to remove safety monitors from its vehicles in Austin by the end of the year, Musk has said recently.

In early September, Musk said that the safety monitors are “just there for the first few months to be extra safe.” He then added that there “should be no safety driver by end of year.”

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