News
Tesla starts hunt for team that will work its humanoid “Tesla Bot”
During AI Day, Tesla announced its plans to make a humanoid robot that could perform tasks that are generally repetitive, dangerous, or boring. Recently, Tesla posted jobs on its Careers page for the humanoid robot, hinting at how serious the EV maker is about the project.
Elon Musk announced that Tesla aims to unveil a prototype of the Tesla Bot in 2022. With only a few months left of 2021, Tesla isn’t wasting time on the Tesla Bot prototype, and the company’s Careers page reflects that.
Tesla has posted at least four jobs on its Careers page that directly link to the Tesla Bot. Overall, there are four jobs posted for humanoid robots, all of which are located in Palo Alto, CA.
Tesla wants to fill two mechanical engineer jobs, one of which focuses on actuator gear designs and systems. The other mechanical engineer job concentrates on the mechanical design and the integration of the actuator components of the Tesla Bot.
Tesla also opened up two jobs for a senior humanoid mechatronic robotic architect and a senior humanoid modeling robotic architect. Both positions call for someone to help the humanoid robotics modeling team build a Tesla Bot that can support manufacturing operators in “tedious and exhaustive tasks.”
“For the Tesla bot, it’s going to start with work that is boring and repetitive. Basically, work that a person would least like to do,” said Elon Musk during AI Day.
-->The architect job listings suggest that Tesla believes its humanoid robot could help with manufacturing.
The responsibilities of each job are listed below:
Mechanical Engineer – Actuator Gear Design (Humanoid Robot)
- Design and integration of rotary and linear speed reduction systems for high performance motion control actuator applications.
- Collaboration with electromagnetic motor design engineers to develop the most torque dense and efficient electromechanical actuator systems in the world.
- Continuously evaluate new technologies and design improvements to develop the most power dense, efficient, low cost, and reliable electromechanical gear systems and actuators.
- Design and build motor, gear, and actuator prototypes for the validation of mechanical and electromechanical performance.
- Basic fabrication, machining, wiring, general electronics, debugging, and parts chasing.
- Collaboration with supply chain, vendor, and manufacturing engineers.
Mechanical Engineer – Actuator Integration (Humanoid Robot)
- Mechanical design and integration of rotary and linear electromechanical actuators.
- Collaboration with electromagnetic motor design engineers to develop the most torque dense and efficient electromechanical actuator systems in the world.
- Design and integration of rotary and linear speed reduction systems for high performance motion control actuator applications.
- Collaboration with supply chain, vendor, and manufacturing engineers.
- Continuously evaluate new technologies and design improvements to develop the most power dense, efficient, low cost, and reliable electric motors and actuators.
- Design and build motor and actuator prototypes for the validation of mechanical and electromechanical performance.
- Basic fabrication, machining, wiring, general electronics, debugging, and parts chasing.
- Strong skills in CAD (CATIA, NX, Inventor, Solid Works, etc.).
- Programming skills in Matlab/Simulink are preferred.
Senior Humanoid Mechatronic Robotics Architect
- Robot modelling architecture
- Conceptual design of biped robots
- Accurate modeling of kinematic chains
- Abstraction and conversion of joint mechanisms into rigid body trees
- Physics/model representations of joints, limbs
- Design and support of new mechanism
- Measurement and matching of model and simulation
- Complex controls simplification for fast analysis
Senior Humanoid Modeling Robotics Architect
- Robot modelling architecture
- Conceptual design of biped robots
- Accurate modeling of kinematic chains
- Abstraction and conversion of joint mechanisms into rigid body trees
- Physics/model representations of joints, limbs
- Design and support of new mechanisms
- Measurement and matching of model and simulation
- Complex controls simplification for fast analysis
The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
