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Tesla AI Day News Roundup: Optimus, FSD Beta & Dojo updates
Tesla AI Day has officially kicked off. Guests have started entering the venue already.
AI Day is an event mainly held to recruit talented people and welcome them to Tesla. However, it is still a Tesla event, so everyone expects some product surprises and updates, specifically about the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, Dojo, and Full Self-Driving.
Teslarati will be closely following the event. This is our news roundup for 2022 AI Day, covering key information Tesla reveals at the event.
Photos and Videos aren’t allowed during the event from attendees. However, guests were able to capture some cool photos of a Tesla Semi with Cybertruck graffiti, a literal fork on the road, and some other cool set ups around the premises.
Tesla’s former AI Head, Andrej Karpathy, has brought out the (metaphorical) popcorn. His brief “comment” hints that AI Day 2022 might be as exciting as everyone anticipates.
Elon Musk set some expectations about Optimus, reminding everyone that during AI Day 2021, Tesla’s humanoid bot was just “a guy in a robot suit.” Musk also laid out the topics for AI Day 2022, saying that Tesla will talk about Autopilot and Dojo, too.
Optimus Takes the Stage
Tesla didn’t waste any time and brought out Optimus immediately. According to a Tesla mechanical engineer, AI Day 2022 is the first time Optimus has been “let out”– so to speak– without any external support.
“This is literally the first time the robot has walked on stage without a tether, on stage tonight,” Musk added. “The robot can actually do a lot more than we showed you. We just don’t want it to fall on its face.”
Tesla reveals videos of Optimus or in this case “Bumble-Cee” doing “work” around the Tesla office. Optimus carried a box from one area to another, watered plants, and even worked at the factory for a bit. The Tesla bot’s vision is very similar Autopilot.
Tesla also revealed Optimus’ potential final unit one production design. “Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as soon as possible,” said Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO also shared that Tesla aims to make Optimus’ price less than $20,000 or cheaper than a car.
Tesla is using some of the technology in its car in Optimus’ body as well, such as the battery pack, cooling system and more. The company also uses that same technology it uses for its cars to simulate Optimus’ movements and reactions to external collisions.
Tesla is basing Optimus’ body design on the human body. The company has been closely studying the structure of the human body while making the humanoid robot’s overall design. For instance, Tesla designed Optimus’ hands with the idea that factories worldwide are designed ergonomically, or optimized for the human hand. Teslarati briefly covered the significance of robots’ hands in a previous article, linked below.
FSD Beta Updates
The Tesla FSD Beta now has 160,000 customers, compared to 2,000 customers in 2021. Tesla is expected to release v.10.69.2.3 after AI Day, although a precise roll out date has not be announced yet.
Tesla explained the progress its made with Full Self-Driving Beta. The Tesla FSD experts explained how the Full Self-Driving makes decision to AI day guests and the role that customer data played to refine the software. The company also explained occupancy and the role it plays with 3D mapping and providing a birds-eye-view for the car. Tesla is working hard to optimize its video model training as well.
Tesla also talked a lot about its FSD Lane Networks during AI Day 2022. In the past few weeks, Teslarati has received reports from FSD testers, who specifically brought up issues with lane selection. To see “under the hood”–so to speak–somewhat explains the lane issues FSD testers experience on the road.
After multiple test loops and drives, there’s really just one main problem remaining for me at this point on 10.69.2, it’s significant, and that is lane selection,” noted long-time FSD tester Les.
Tesla has developed a new auto-labeling machine to help with 3D labeling. The FSD experts explained how the software uses other clips to fill out the picture under certain conditions when the camera shows an unclear picture.
Tesla also talked a bit about simulation. The experts showed how it could simulate worlds or environments, using the data gathered from its fleet. It revealed a simulation of San Francisco that was created within two weeks by one employee. Tesla may update a simulated world quickly and as updated develop.
Dojo Updates
Tesla’s goal with Dojo is to build a single accelerator. A key step to realizing its goals was its training tile, which it unveiled during AI Day 2021. Tesla has been trying to figure out how to make its Dojo design scalable and has run into challenges along the way. However, the company’s “fail fast” mindset has helped it push through road blocks and move forward.
The Dojo team showed images of a Cybertruck and Semi running on Mars using stable diffusion achieved through Dojo.
Tesla experts explained that Dojo reduced work that would usually take months to a single week.
Tesla plans to build its first Exapod by 2023, which is expected to significantly increase its autolabeling output . It will be the first Exapod of 7 that Tesla plans to build in Palo Alto.
Tesla ended AI Day 2022 by answering questions from attendees. Tesla hopes that through their thorough explanations during the event, the company would be seen as more than an automaker. And, of course, Tesla hopes that its AI Day 2022 presentation also entices talented individuals to join the company.
The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
In a pointed message on X, Elon Musk warned that firms maintaining significant short positions in SpaceX over time face “very low” survival probability.
The statement comes amid post-IPO volatility for the rocket company, now trading under the ticker $SPCX.
The survival probability of firms who maintain a significant short position in SpaceX over time is very low
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2026
Five weeks after what was described as the largest IPO in history, the stock had fallen roughly 30% from its peak above $2.6 trillion, briefly surpassing Microsoft and Amazon in market value. Short sellers celebrated gains of about $8.7 billion, but Musk’s reply underscores his long-term conviction.
The warning directly echoes a detailed bullish analysis arguing that Starship’s cost reductions could unlock a multi-trillion-dollar space economy. Projects ranging from solar power beamed from orbit and asteroid mining to orbital data centers and Mars terraforming were projected to create over $100 trillion in new market capitalization.
In this vision, SpaceX acts as the essential infrastructure provider, akin to AWS for cloud computing, capturing monopoly-like revenues from launches, crew transport, and data traffic across a rapidly expanding frontier.
This is far from the first time Musk has targeted short sellers. With Tesla, he has repeatedly framed persistent bears as destined for major losses. In July 2024, Musk declared that once Tesla achieves full autonomy and volume production of Optimus robots, “anyone still holding a short position will be obliterated. Even Gates,” referencing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ reported short bets.
Elon Musk reveals what Tesla stock surge could do to Bill Gates
Earlier, in 2018, he taunted shorts that they had “about three weeks before their short position explodes,” a remark followed by sharp stock gains. Musk has also called short selling “value destroying” and once suggested it “should be illegal,” viewing it as betting against innovation and progress.
Critics often dismiss Musk’s optimism as hype, especially when near-term metrics like quarterly deliveries or stock fluctuations disappoint.
Yet his pattern remains consistent: framing short positions against his companies as fundamentally misjudging exponential technological leaps. For SpaceX shorts, the message is clear: betting against multi-planetary ambitions and the infrastructure monopoly they enable carries existential risk for the firms involved.
As Musk and supporters see it, the space economy’s upside dwarfs Earth-bound valuation models, making today’s dips temporary in a decades-long ascent.
Tesla has evidently revealed which of its vehicle models will be the first to receive Starlink integration: the Cybercab.
Tesla’s Santana Row showroom now has a full-fledged display of the Cybercab, with an extensive bit of information hung around an exhibit that seems to reveal the vehicle’s newest feature: an integrated Starlink antenna that will enable secure and reliable internet access during trips.
Credit: @Starscream_SJC | X
Cybercab is geared toward autonomous ride-hailing for one or two passengers. The production units rolling off the lines at Gigafactory Texas are built without steering wheels or pedals, meaning when public rides begin, passengers will not need to interact with a human being or control the vehicle in any way outside of what appears on the center screen for their entertainment during the ride.
Tesla Santana Row will be reopening tomorrow with a full focus on self-driving. Everything in the showroom is about Robotaxi and Cybercab with stats and information about the technology. The Cybercab on display is the production model. pic.twitter.com/yIUYdOGFOp
— Shaun Cassidy (@Starscream_SJC) July 20, 2026
Along the display, Tesla wrote this message about Cybercab:
“Cybercab is built for autonomy. It has no steering wheel, no side mirrors, and no pedals. It goes where you tell it to go and how you want it to, so you can relax along the way. It is hyper aware and responsive to your surroundings, monitoring other drivers, responding to emergency vehicles, utilizing its expertise in the rarest scenarios to help keep you safe.”
Tesla has been teasing a potential Starlink integration for quite some time now. In December, the company hinted at potential Starlink internet terminal integration within its vehicles in a patent that described a vehicle roof assembly with integrated radio frequency (RF) transparency.
The company wrote in its patent application that a new roof design built with materials that differ from the standard metallic or glass elements used in today’s cars would allow it to integrate modern vehicular technologies, in particular, ones that require radio frequency transmission and reception.
Tesla suggested high-strength polymer blends, like Polycarbonate, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, or Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate.
This is the first time we’ve seen Tesla officially confirm the Starlink integration into the Cybercab. It’s not much of a surprise considering the company’s intention behind the Cybercab, which is to make travel autonomous.
Productivity will now be at a maximum during a work-related commute, while the center screen could be utilized for Netflix or potentially even live TV for those who are heading to dinner or to a fun activity.
SpaceX has updated its target for the thirteenth integrated flight test of Starship, aiming for as early as Thursday, July 23. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
The target flight was initially rescheduled for today, but SpaceX pushed it back again.
This latest adjustment follows an aborted attempt earlier in the week and reflects the iterative, rapid-development approach that has defined the Starship program. With the vehicle already stacked and ground teams making final preparations, the mission represents another step toward proving the full reusability of the world’s most powerful rocket system.
Now targeting to launch Starship’s thirteenth flight test as early as Thursday, July 23 → https://t.co/Rp7VwBzpWx pic.twitter.com/Y0YNzfc5zk
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 19, 2026
The original launch attempt on July 16 was scrubbed at T-0 when several Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster failed to ignite properly. The automatic abort system triggered just as the engines began their startup sequence, preventing liftoff.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that some engines did not start as expected, prompting the decision to replace two Raptors on Booster 20 to ensure reliability. The issue occurred despite a successful full-duration static fire earlier, highlighting the complexities of coordinating 33 engines under flight conditions.
This cautious approach underscores SpaceX’s commitment to safety amid an aggressive test cadence.
Flight 13 builds directly on the lessons from Flight 12 in May 2026. The Super Heavy booster’s primary goals include a successful liftoff, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America.
Hardware and software modifications address the off-nominal flip and boostback burn problems from the prior flight, where propellant slosh and engine relight issues led to an uncontrolled impact.
For the Starship upper stage, objectives include deploying 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, the first real payload of this type, performing a single Raptor engine relight in space, and executing a controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Propulsion upgrades aim to improve engine-out capability after one vacuum Raptor was lost on Flight 12.
Additional test elements focus on heat shield performance. Six satellites carry cameras to image the tiles during flight, while white-painted tiles and upgraded attachments on flaps and the aft skirt will gather data for future reusability.
The FAA completed its mishap investigation into Flight 12 earlier this month, clearing the regulatory path.
This suborbital mission, the second with V3 vehicles, advances Starship toward operational missions, including potential crewed flights and support for NASA’s Artemis program. Success would mark significant progress in rapid reusability and satellite deployment from the massive system.
Elon Musk sends first warning to SpaceX short sellers
Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration
