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Automakers will focus on self-driving technology at CES 2017

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9 years ago

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The 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas opens to the public on January 5 but will be preceded by press and preview days on January 3 and 4. This year’s show will span across 2.5 million square feet of floor space spread across multiple venues and feature 3,800 exhibitors.

“One of the big themes is going to be connectivity,” Jeff Joseph, senior vice president for communications and strategic relationships at the Consumer Technology Association, which hosts CES. “For example, Internet of Things, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, voice-activated communication with things like Alexa and Google Home and higher-value content – 4K-produced content that you can move from device to device.”

Faraday Future

In the past few years, more and more car companies and automotive suppliers have used CES to showcase their technological prowess, particularly in the area of self-driving cars. Faraday Future says it will reveal its first production car via a live stream beginning at 6:00 pm on January 3. The all electric vehicle appears to be a crossover SUV based on teaser videos the company has released ahead of the show.

Hyundai Ioniq

Hyundai says it will be providing show goers rides in its new Ioniq equipped with autonomous driving technology. In a preview earlier this year, C/Net RoadShow reporter Antuan Goodwin found the self driving Ioniq competent if a little boring. The car never exceeds the speed limit, for instance, and deals with pedestrians and turns within city limits with painfully slow precision.

Chrysler Pacifica

Chrysler is expected to introduce a battery electric version of its Pacifica minivan at CES 2017. The car is not expected to be available for sale before 2018 and little is known at this time about battery size, range, or other specifications. Chrysler has just started selling a plug-in hybrid version of the Pacifica in the US. 100 of those cars have been modified at a separate facility in Detroit to use Google’s self driving technology. Google has recently announced that it is no longer considering manufacturing its own self-driving car.

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Honda NeuV

Honda will bring a “box on wheels” concept electric car to the Las Vegas show. Called the NeuV, the car can recognize the occupants’ mood and adjust lighting, visual displays, and driving characteristics to match. It will also showcase vehicle to vehicle communication systems designed to speed the flow of traffic in congested urban areas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-XMA6YAh5c

Rinspeed

Not to be outdone in the goofiness department, Rinspeed will present its highly unusual and totally unique Oasis concept. The car is intended to answer the question, “What will drivers and passengers do with their time when self driving cars become the norm?” One answer, says Rinspeed, is an onboard garden that occupants can tend to while under way.

MobilEye

MobilEye, Tesla’s former partner for autonomous driving systems, has linked up with Delphi, a major component supplier to the automotive industry, to create a self driving platform that will be marketed to various car makers. The two companies will offer show visitors a 6.3 mile long test drive of their Centralized Sensing Localization and Planning (CSLP) automated driving system. It won’t be production ready until 2019, but the two companies insist it is “the first turnkey, fully integrated automated driving solution with an industry-leading perception system and computing platform.”

https://vimeo.com/193388153

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Keynote speakers at CES 2017 will include Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, who will talk about “the latest in artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, VR, and gaming.” Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan, is also scheduled to give a keynote address.

CES is about more than automobiles. New advances in televisions, smartphones, and personal assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo will be featured as well as advances in gaming and virtual reality technology. No one could see, touch, and experience everything that every exhibitor will bring to the show.

We will attempt to keep you informed about new technologies that will apply to the automotive and mobility industries, beginning with the first press conferences next Tuesday, January 3. Like us on Facebook and get a behind the scenes look from CES 2017.

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Cybertruck

Tesla clears the air on Cybertruck ‘deactivation’ video that is obviously fake

Tesla has cleared the air on the viral video, stating it is fake.

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2 hours ago

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August 11, 2025

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Credit: Cybertruck | X

Tesla has cleared the air regarding a video that has been circulating, where the owner claims his Cybertruck was “deactivated” by the company while he was driving.

The video was shared on X and showed a driver pulled over on the side of the road, claiming his Cybertruck had been deactivated by Tesla in the middle of traffic. It is very obviously fake to those who know the company, but these kinds of things have a tendency to pick up steam.

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The video shows a screen that says:

“Tesla Cybertruck De-Activated. Critical Issue Detected | Contact Customer Service, Comply with Cease & Desist to Re-Activate. Update Failed, Return to Dealer.”

The same person who posted the video also shared an image of what appears to be a Cease and Desist letter from Tesla, but it is also likely fake:

The company finally responded to the video on Monday afternoon, stating that the video is, in fact, fake, reiterating that it will not disable vehicles remotely for any reason.

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It is a shame that these types of things happen, especially as people are prone to believe anything they see on the internet. As there is so much misinformation circulating surrounding Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, it is no surprise that someone would leverage the situation for their own benefit.

If that Cease and Desist letter is not real, perhaps the next one might be. These types of things can truly cause damage to a company’s reputation, and someone getting an idea that Tesla would remotely deactivate a car could prevent them from buying one.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk is stepping up for Tesla Service in a big way

Elon Musk has stepped up to resolve a handful of customer issues regarding vehicle service.

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4 hours ago

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August 11, 2025

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tesla service
Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk is stepping up to help customers in a big way, especially when they are having issues with Tesla’s Service.

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages Tesla owners have is access to Musk through X, his social media platform. Over the years, we’ve seen Tesla add features, refine its cars’ performance, and more, all through asking Musk directly through a post.

Now, Musk is stepping up in another way by resolving a few Service complaints that customers had.

The first occurred last week when a recall on a Tesla battery was not honored by Service. The company sought $30,000 for a replacement and labor, which was not right. Musk responded that he would personally investigate the matter. The vehicle was fixed at no cost as it was a recall, and was ready for pickup the next day.

It also revealed a new strategy Tesla is using to combat service communication issues:

Tesla creates clever solution to simplify and improve its Service

The next occurred with a Cybertruck owner who was in Japan. Their car was parked at an airport in the U.S. and had lost a vast majority of its state of charge, leaving them just fifty miles of range at the time.

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Musk reached out to the owner and said Service will take care of the car and will investigate the cause of the battery drain:

There are not too many companies out there where the CEO will get involved with individual issues like these. It’s pretty exclusive to Tesla, as Musk has commonly stepped up to resolve complaints with vehicles or to confront features that some owners might find useful.

Service has been a weak point of the company for some time, but it has worked to refine and resolve customer complaints by building more Service Centers across the world that can handle these issues.

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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is opening to the public: here’s when

Anyone will be able to request a Tesla Robotaxi in September, Elon Musk said this morning.

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6 hours ago

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August 11, 2025

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company’s Robotaxi platform is opening to the public, and he even gave a timeline for when anyone will be able to access one for a ride.

Tesla’s Robotaxi platform launched to a small group on June 22 in Austin, Texas. The company has continued to expand the number of riders and its geofence over the past month and a half.

Tesla officially launches Robotaxi service with no driver

Additionally, it launched rides in the Bay Area of California, but it differs slightly, as the Texas Robotaxi platform does not utilize a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. In California, the monitor sits in the driver’s seat.

As the geofence, service areas, and testing populations expand, Tesla fans are awaiting their elusive emails that enable their ability to use the Robotaxi platform. It now seems that the email will come soon, as Musk said Tesla will open up public access to Robotaxi next month:

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Tesla has been prioritizing safety over anything else with the launch of the Robotaxi platform, which is why it has been slow to push invitations to new riders. It is confident in the abilities of the platform and its Full Self-Driving suite, which has been proven with data.

However, even a single accident could set Tesla back years in terms of its development of self-driving cars. It is not a risk it is willing to take.

Musk said during the recent Q2 Earnings Call:

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“We need to make sure it works when the vehicles are fully under our control. It’s kind of one step at a time here. We don’t want to jump the gun. As I said, we’re being paranoid about safety. But I guess next year is I’d say confidently next year. I’m not sure when next year, but confidently next year, people would be able to add or subtract their car to the Tesla, Inc. fleet.”

As the platform will expand in Austin and the Bay Area for anyone, Tesla still continues to reiterate that Robotaxi will be available for everyone sometime next year, as Musk said in the quote above.

Things will continue to improve over time, and Tesla will likely expand its geofence in both regions in the coming weeks. It has already done that in Austin twice, with about a doubling in size occurring both times.

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