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BYD announces $14B investment in smart car technology, including ADAS

(Credit: BYD)

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BYD announced plans to invest $14 billion in smart car technology, including autonomous driving software and driver-assistance systems. 

China’s top automaker, BYD, recently hosted 2024 Dream Day at its global headquarters in Shenzhen. During the event, BYD unveiled its strategy of Integrated Vehicle Intelligence and launched the XUANJI Architecture for smart new energy vehicles.  

BYD’s Integrated Vehicle Intelligence strategy aims to remold and design smart energy vehicles around the XUANJI Architecture. The Chinese automaker seeks to improve its advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) as it increasingly becomes a major selling point for customers in China and worldwide, reported Automotive News.

“Integrated Vehicle Intelligence is set to steer the future direction of vehicular intelligence and so accelerate the transformation of the automotive industry,” said the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BYD Wang Chuanfu.

The XUANJI Architecture will act as the brain and neural network of BYD’s upcoming smart new energy vehicles. Alongside the XUANJI Architecture, BYD also rolled out the XUANJI AI Large Model, a multimodal vehicular artificial intelligence. 

BYD plans to roll out an advanced driver-assistance system called Navigate on Autopilot, enabling drivers to take their hands off the wheel and feet off the pedal in certain situations. The ADAS will require drivers to touch the steering wheel every 15 seconds. 

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Navigate on Autopilot will be installed in BYD smart new energy vehicles with prices over RMB 300,000. It is already available in BYD’s Denza N7 EV. BYD’s ADAS will be available to purchase as an upgrade for BYD smart cars priced over RMB 200,000, like the company’s Yangwang luxury models. 

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla rolls out new, more affordable trim of the Model Y Juniper in U.S.

Two months after launching the new Model Y with the Launch Series, Tesla has brought out an All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the ‘Juniper’ build.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has finally rolled out a new trim level of the new Model Y “Juniper” in the United States, bringing a more affordable option of the revitalized version of its best-selling vehicle to market.

On Friday, Tesla officially launched the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive version of the new Model Y in the United States. Before the $7,500 federal tax credit, the configuration starts at $48,990.

Just a few days ago, we reported on Tesla ramping up production of non-Launch Edition configurations of the new Model Y at Gigafactory Texas. While the company initiated sales of these trim levels in other countries, the U.S. was still waiting for more affordable options to become available.

The Launch Series version of the new Model Y had 327 miles of range, a top speed of 125 MPH, and a 4.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate. The Long Range All-Wheel-Drive trim of the new Model Y has nearly identical specs: it offers the same 327-mile range rating with the same top speed of 125 MPH. However, it has a 4.6-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate.

The Launch Series also came with Full Self-Driving included. The new, more affordable trim does not, so owners will have to pay $8,000 for FSD if they’d like to purchase it outright. There is also a monthly subscription service that costs $99/mo.

Now that the new Model Y has a new, more accessible configuration available and Tesla has already started ramping production, this could be a good sign of things to come for the company as Q2 kicks off.

Tesla reported lower-than-expected delivery figures for Q1 earlier this week, with the company stating that the shutdown of production lines to changeover to the new Model Y design impacted “several weeks” of manufacturing.

Inventory levels for Tesla were also high, as production outpaced deliveries by a margin of nearly 22,000 vehicles. This could be due to the number of units that have not made their way to delivery centers quite yet, but more information on this will likely be shed by Tesla during its earnings call on April 22.

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Investor's Corner

“Nothing Magnificent about Tesla (TSLA),” claims Jim Cramer

Cramer shared his thoughts about the matter in a comment to CNBC.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the stocks in the “Magnificent Seven,” which is comprised of U.S. tech companies that have driven notable market growth. But as per finance veteran Jim Cramer, electric vehicle maker Tesla no longer qualifies for the group’s moniker.

Cramer shared his thoughts about the matter in a comment to CNBC.

Not “Magnificent” Anymore

The Magnificent Seven (Mag 7) stocks are comprised of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Tesla, and Nvidia. The companies are known for their large market caps, innovation, and domination in their respective fields. As per Cramer in his recent comments, however, there are essentially no Mag 7 stocks anymore amid the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“You can buy some low multiple techs, industrials, and banks here. We did that for the charitable trust today, right under the teeth of the selloff. I would not jump back into the Magnificent 7 because, as of tonight, there is no ‘Mag 7’ anymore. I came up with that name, and I’m scrapping it right now — no moniker fits the two or three that remain viable. And I’m not going to put it out there — there’s nothing magnificent about Tesla or Nvidia,” Cramer noted.

Trump Tariffs

Donald Trump’s tariffs are expected to affect a variety of industries, including automakers like Tesla. Despite this, Tesla’s domestic factories such as Gigafactory Texas and the Fremont Factory should shield Tesla to some degree. As per TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli, “Tesla (is) a relative beneficiary given [its] 100% U.S. production footprint, substantial U.S. sourcing, and with Model Y competing in a midsize crossover segment where close to ~50% of vehicles could be subject to tariffs.”

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Elon Musk, however, has noted that the effects of Trump’s tariffs to Tesla are no joke. “To be clear, this will affect the price of parts in Tesla cars that come from other countries. The cost impact is not trivial,” Musk wrote in a post on X. 

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Elon Musk

Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country

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Credit: MarcoRP | X

Tesla is planning to build a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country — Roswell, New Mexico.

Back in 1947, a crash of debris led to rumors of an alleged crash of a UFO just 75 miles north of Roswell near Corona, New Mexico. The crash was officially noted as the recovery of a military balloon, but over the years, speculation persists that the “flying disc” many saw might have been extraterrestrials trying to make contact with Earth.

As a result of the 1947 crash, Roswell has adopted it and used it as the inspiration for much of its tourism. As Tesla is planning to build a Supercharger in the area, it is using the same sort of inspiration for the location, which will feature just eight charging stalls located under a CyberCanopy.

It was first spotted by MarcoRP, a noted Supercharger permit insider:

Here are some better pictures of the design:

Tesla’s Head of Charging for North America, Max de Zegher, confirmed that the site will be inspired by the events near Roswell in 1947. He noted that Tesla “wants to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worth of the trip itself.”

This will undoubtedly be one of those locations, and along with the Tesla Drive-in Diner Supercharger in Santa Monica, it seems the company could be moving toward some more unique designs for the future, making the charging experience more fun and interesting for owners:

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