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Elon Musk says Tesla Cybertruck launch will be ‘biggest on Earth this year’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has predicted that the Tesla Cybertruck launch will be bigger than any other product launch in the world this year, ahead of the delivery event set to take place on Thursday.
Musk appeared for an almost-90-minute interview with reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin for the New York Times 2023 Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, during which the two talked about subjects ranging from Tesla and SpaceX to artificial intelligence (AI), the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, free speech and more.
During the conversation, Musk predicted that the Thursday Cybertruck launch would be “by far” this year’s largest product launch, adding that he’s done “more than any human on Earth” for the environment by selling electric vehicles (EVs).
“[The Cybertruck event] will be the biggest product launch of anything by far on Earth this year,” Musk said during the summit. “Whether you hate me, like me or are indifferent, do you want the best car or not the best car?”
Tesla Cybertruck official webpage updated with delivery event countdown
Musk and Sorkin also discussed several other topics surrounding Tesla, including the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta. When pressed on how his companies were handling the competition, Musk noted that his companies aren’t intended to be competitive, highlighting how Tesla has even open-sourced its patents so other companies can use them.
Near the end of the conversation, Sorkin also asked Musk about the safety of autonomous vehicles, and when computer-driven vehicles would be “politically palatable” for the public.
“First of all, humans are terrible drivers,” Musk said. “So they will text and drive, drink and drive, they get into arguments. They, you know. They do all sorts of things in cars that they should not do.”
“So it’s actually remarkable that there are not more deaths than there are,” Musk added.
“What we’ll find with computer driving is, I think, probably an order of magnitude reduction in deaths. The U.S. has actually far fewer deaths per capita than the rest of the world. If you go worldwide, I think there’s something close to a million deaths per year due to automotive accidents. So I think computer driving will probably drop that by 90 percent or more? It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be 10 times better.”
“The self driving thing is something I’ve been optimistic about,” Musk added. “We’ve certainly made a lot of progress. If anybody has tried the has been using the sort of full self driving beta, the progresses you know, every year has been substantial. It’s really not the point where in most places, it’ll take you from one place to another with no interventions.”
“And the data is unequivocal that that supervised, Full Self-Driving is somewhere around four times safer. Maybe more than than just be human driving by by themselves. So I can certainly see it coming.”
Other topics surrounding Tesla included Musk’s prediction that the Model Y will become the world’s best-selling car this year, how much the CEO appreciates Chinese automakers, regulations on his companies and more. When asked if he thought full autonomy was another five or ten years away, Musk said “definitely not.”
Musk also disccused the recent decision from the UAW to launch union campaigns at Tesla and other automakers, saying that “if Tesla gets unionized, it will be because we deserve it and we failed in some way.”
You can watch Musk’s full interview at the New York Times Dealbook Summit below, featuring discussions on Tesla, the Chinese auto market, the U.S. political climate and much, much more.
Watch the live interview of Elon Musk from the DealBook Summit in New York. @andrewrsorkin will ask about Musk’s latest trip to Israel and the future of the tech billionaire's business empire. https://t.co/Oz2xeBlU65
— DealBook (@dealbook) November 29, 2023
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Tesla has made two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles in its lineup, and the changes come just as the new model year begins production.
Last year, Tesla launched the Model Y Standard, which separated the previous models into the “Premium” category. The Standard vehicles lack several features, including more premium interior materials, acoustic-lined glass, and storage.
@teslarati There are some BIG differences between the Tesla Model Y Standard and Tesla Model Y Premium #tesla #teslamodely ♬ Sia – Xeptemper
The Model Y “Premium” trims are now getting several new upgrades, which come after the company launched a seven-seat configuration of the vehicle last night in the North American market for an upcharge of $2,500.
The new Model Y seven-seat configuration did not come with just an additional row of seating; it also came with a slew of other goodies that now come standard and were previously only available on the Model Y Performance, which was launched late last year.
All Black Headliner
The new Tesla Model Y Premium trims will now come standard with a black headliner, something that many owners have been requesting for some time.
The previous grey headliner and trim within the vehicle is now gone; it will be all black on all of the Premium trims from here on out, a welcome change:
Credit: Tesla
Larger and Higher Resolution Center Touchscreen
The center touchscreen in the new Model Y Premium configuration is now larger and has a higher resolution than the previous version.
In last year’s Model Y configurations (apart from the Performance), the center touchscreen was 15.4″. Now, Tesla has decided to go with the 16″ version across all Premium trims, which is a nice step up. It was nice to see this in the Performance, but it is really great to see Tesla include this in the Model Y’s more Premium trim levels.
Tesla Model Y Seven Seater
Tesla launched the latest iteration of the seven-seater for the Model Y on Monday night. Traditionally, the Model Y seats five passengers in total, but there were calls for a more spacious version several years ago.
Tesla released it, but it was extremely tight in the back, basically reserving those back seats for only small people or children.
Credit: Tesla
The new configuration looks to be slightly more spacious in the third row, but not as much space as most would require or want. Instead,
Elon Musk
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Lufthansa Group has announced a partnership with Starlink that will bring high-speed internet connectivity to every aircraft across all its carriers.
This means that aircraft across the group’s brands, from Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines to Brussels Airlines, would be able to enjoy high-speed internet access using the industry-leading satellite internet solution.
Starlink in-flight internet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellites are expected to provide significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency than traditional in-flight Wi-Fi, which should enable streaming, online work, and other data-intensive applications for passengers during flights.
Starlink-powered internet is expected to be available on the first commercial flights as early as the second half of 2026. The rollout will continue through the decade, with the entire Lufthansa Group fleet scheduled to be fully equipped with Starlink by 2029. Once complete, no other European airline group will operate more Starlink-connected aircraft.
Free high-speed access
As part of the initiative, Lufthansa Group will offer the new high-speed internet free of charge to all status customers and Travel ID users, regardless of cabin class. Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx shared his expectations for the program.
“In our anniversary year, in which we are celebrating Lufthansa’s 100th birthday, we have decided to introduce a new high-speed internet solution from Starlink for all our airlines. The Lufthansa Group is taking the next step and setting an essential milestone for the premium travel experience of our customers.
“Connectivity on board plays an important role today, and with Starlink, we are not only investing in the best product on the market, but also in the satisfaction of our passengers,” Vranckx said.
Elon Musk
Tesla locks in Elon Musk’s top problem solver as it enters its most ambitious era
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla has granted Senior Vice President of Automotive Tom Zhu more than 520,000 stock options, tying a significant portion of his compensation to the company’s long-term performance.
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla secures top talent
According to a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tom Zhu received 520,021 stock options with an exercise price of $435.80 per share. Since the award will not fully vest until March 5, 2031, Zhu must remain at Tesla for more than five years to realize the award’s full benefit.
Considering that Tesla shares are currently trading at around the $445 to $450 per share level, Zhu will really only see gains in his equity award if Tesla’s stock price sees a notable rise over the years, as noted in a Sina Finance report.
Still, even at today’s prices, Zhu’s stock award is already worth over $230 million. If Tesla reaches the market cap targets set forth in Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, Zhu would become a billionaire from this equity award alone.
Tesla’s problem solver
Zhu joined Tesla in April 2014 and initially led the company’s Supercharger rollout in China. Later that year, he assumed the leadership of Tesla’s China business, where he played a central role in Tesla’s localization efforts, including expanding retail and service networks, and later, overseeing the development of Gigafactory Shanghai.
Zhu’s efforts helped transform China into one of Tesla’s most important markets and production hubs. In 2023, Tesla promoted Zhu to Senior Vice President of Automotive, placing him among the company’s core global executives and expanding his influence beyond China. He has since garnered a reputation as the company’s problem solver, being tapped by Elon Musk to help ramp Giga Texas’s vehicle production.
With this in mind, Tesla’s recent filing seems to suggest that the company is locking in its top talent as it enters its newest, most ambitious era to date. As could be seen in the targets of Elon Musk’s 2025 pay package, Tesla is now aiming to be the world’s largest company by market cap, and it is aiming to achieve production levels that are unheard of. Zhu’s talents would definitely be of use in this stage of the company’s growth.
Tesla makes two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
