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GM plans to become EV software leader, expand EV lineup to 20 by 2028: Reuters

Renovations and new construction continue at General Motors Factory ZERO Friday, July 2, 2021, in Detroit, Michigan. GM is investing $2.2 billion to convert the former Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant into its first fully dedicated electric vehicle assembly facility. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors)

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General Motors plans to set itself up as the leader of electric vehicle software and intends to tell investors at a meeting next week that this, along with expanding its electric vehicle lineup to 20 models by 2028, is its focus over the next several years in the United States market.

Sources close to the matter told Reuters earlier this week that GM intends to shift from an automaker to a platform company as it could be the key to broadening its profit margins. “GM’s gone from an automaker to a platform company, and here are all the things you can do with that,” the source said. “The question you should ask yourself is will we see doubling of revenues? Will we see margin expansion? Those are the sorts of things that you’re going to see over a period of time. Stay tuned for pretty impressive numbers on revenue and margin expansion.”

Next week at the Investor meeting, GM plans to show how it will spend its $35 billion budget for expanding its electric vehicle lineup through 2025. Additionally, the sources said that executives would discuss its plans for autonomous vehicles and give five-year targets for revenue and profit margins.

GM has announced on several occasions that it will be all-electric by 2035. Its electric vehicle program already consists of the Chevy Bolt EV, which has been plagued with battery issues in 2020 and 2021. However, the company will resurrect the Hummer line with the GMC Hummer EV, which will enter production in the Fall, the automaker said. GM plans to unravel additional details regarding the Hummer EV during the meeting, which will take place next Wednesday. Additionally, the company will give more information on the EV600 delivery van, the Cadillac Lyriq, and new product launches like the electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup, which could come in late 2022 and late 2023, respectively.

GMC shows off Hummer EV “CrabWalk” feature in real-world conditions

GM introduced its new software platform called Ultifi last week. The company highlighted that software-oriented products would be vital in keeping profit margins high during the transition from ICE to EV. It will detail some plans for this at the meeting as well, as well as how it will leverage partnerships with LG to cut the cost of EV production, which is pricey due to the cost of batteries.

By 2028, GM wants to have at least 20 new EVs in the US, mainly consisting of the region’s most popular body styles. These include SUVs, pickup trucks, and crossovers.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with tips! Email us at tips@teslarati.com, or you can email me directly at joey@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Cybercab uses a unique strategy for picking up the right rider

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Credit: ARTSIMAGE | X

Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.

Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.

This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.

Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.

Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.

Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.

Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.

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Tesla will launch Cybercab on September 3

Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.

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Tesla ends in-house wrap service that always seemed like a short-term program

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.

After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.

By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.

Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing

It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.

However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:

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Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.

However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.

Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.

Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.

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Tesla Robotaxi fleet gets a brain upgrade ahead of Cybercab launch event

Tesla’s Robotaxi service now runs longer hours nationwide as its unsupervised fleet quietly grows larger.

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Tesla’s Robotaxi service just got easier to catch, with the company’s official Robotaxi account noting that rides are now available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, across its operating footprint. The account also said its unsupervised fleet is “a lot bigger” than before, though without specifics. The bigger change is what Tesla says upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution and routing is what’s actually cutting wait times, not a new Full Self-Driving version.

While Tesla did not name the team behind the upgrade, the language points to its AI and fleet software group rather than the driving stack itself. Vehicle distribution and routing in Robotaxi has functioned mostly as a dispatch problem with the software deciding which idle car goes to which rider, and how far it has to travel to get there. “Upgraded intelligence” suggests a smarter version of that dispatch logic, likely using demand forecasting to position idle cars near where riders are about to request them rather than reacting once a request comes in. Tesla’s AI division has built similar prediction systems for other parts of the business, including the neural networks that power FSD itself, so applying that same approach to fleet logistics would be a natural extension rather than a new discipline for the team.

Tesla is also about a week away from a separate robotaxi milestone. The company plans to launch Cybercab, its purpose built two seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, in Austin on September 3. Cybercab has been giving employees rides on public and private roads for weeks, and the September event is expected to fold those vehicles into the existing Robotaxi fleet within days of the launch.


Austin previously ran Robotaxi from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. as of last September, a schedule set before the service expanded into Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and the Bay Area. Wednesday’s post did not specify whether that extended overnight window still applies in Austin specifically or whether 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. is now the standard across every market. Tesla’s post, visible on its official Robotaxi account, framed the change simply as fewer riders waiting around for a car.

Whether the wider hours hold once Cybercab enters the fleet next week is the next thing worth watching. Tesla has tended to expand Robotaxi in increments, first geofence, then hours, then fleet size, and each step so far has arrived without much advance notice.

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