News
Tesla launches “Project Loveday” contest for fan-made commercials
Less than four days after Elon Musk responded to 10-year old Bria Loveday’s open letter, suggesting that Tesla should consider holding a competition to find the best homemade commercial, the company replied with “Project Loveday”.
Tesla has published terms and conditions to the new “Project Loveday” contest aimed at finding the best fan-made commercials ending May 8, 2017. According to the blog post on Tesla’s website, entrants can submit a link to a 90 second or less YouTube video along with a brief description.
Tesla will select ten “Winners” that will be judged on a point scoring system based on originality, creativity, relevance to Tesla and its mission, and entertainment value. Additionally, a Grand Prize Winner along with a Top 3 will be selected from all eligible video submissions on May 22, 2017.
Updated May 5, 2017: Tesla extended the deadline for submissions to the end of the day on June 5, 2017. Some of the top fan submissions can be found here.
We’ve provided full details to Tesla’s Project Loveday contest, as follows:
Project Loveday
Terms and Conditions
Project Loveday is a video submission contest sponsored by Tesla, Inc., 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA (“Tesla”).
1. OVERVIEW
Project Loveday begins on March 4, 2017, at 12:00 A.M. PT and ends at the end of the day on June 5, 2017.
2. ELIGIBILITY
Project Loveday is open to individuals who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry or to individuals under the age of 18 with the express permission of their parent or guardian (“Entrant”). All federal, state and local laws apply and Project Loveday is void where prohibited or restricted by law. By participating in Project Loveday, the Entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and all final decisions of Tesla.
3. HOW TO ENTER
During the Entry Period, an Entrant may create and submit a video entry (“Submission”) by completing an entry form located here. Each Submission must comply with the guidelines in Section 4 below. By entering Project Loveday, the Entrant agrees to these Terms and Conditions. Each Entrant may only enter one Submission, and each Submission may only have one individual Entrant.
4. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submissions must be submitted via the online Entry Form
Submissions must comply with these Terms and Conditions
Videos must be no longer than 90 seconds
Videos must relate to Tesla, SolarCity, our products, or our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy
Videos hosted on third-party social media platforms must comply with that platform’s Terms of Service
Videos must be approved for all ages; i.e., it cannot contain violence, nudity, or inappropriate language or behavior
Any text or voice-overs in the videos must be in English
Submissions must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including, but not limited to, privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights
Submissions must not in any way mention, refer or otherwise allude to the name, logo or trademark of any entity, individual, product or brand other than those of Tesla and its brands
Submissions must not contain material that is not the original work of the Entrant
NOTE: By submitting a Submission, the Entrant agrees that his or her Submission conforms to the Submission Guidelines and that Tesla may, at its discretion, disqualify him or her from Project Loveday if Tesla decides that the Submission fails to conform to these Terms and Conditions or for any other reason.
5. LICENSES
Entrant grants Tesla (and its affiliates) a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish or create derivative works from and display the Submission in whole or in part, on a worldwide basis, and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, including for promotional or marketing purposes. If requested, the Entrant will sign any documentation that may be required for Tesla or its designees to make use of the nonexclusive rights to use the Submission. No rights in or to the Submission are reserved by Entrant.
Entrants may only use Tesla’s name, product, trademarks and logos (collectively, “Tesla’s IP”) for the sole purpose of entering Project Loveday. Entrants are not permitted to make any other use of Tesla’s IP, and Tesla may, at any time, revoke any permissions granted by Tesla. No rights, title or interests in and to Tesla’s IP, except for the limited permissions granted to Entrant in these Terms and Conditions, are transferred or created.
6. JUDGING AND WINNER SELECTION
After the Entry Period, all eligible Submissions will be judged by Tesla personnel (“Judges”). The Judges will score each eligible Submission based on originality, creativity, relevance to Tesla and its mission, and entertainment value. Entrants of Submissions that receive the 10 highest scores from the Judges will be deemed the Winners. Entrants of the 3 highest scoring Submissions will be declared Top 3 Winners. The highest scoring Submission will be declared the Grand Prize Winner. All Winners are subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Terms and Conditions.
7. PRIZES
Approved Submissions will be hosted on Tesla’s website located here. In addition, the winning Submissions will receive the following.
Winner Prizes (10): The top 10 winning Submissions will be featured and shared on Tesla’s social media channels.
Top 3 Winner Prizes (3): The top 3 winning Submissions will receive additional promotion across social media channels.
Grand Prize Winner (1): The Entrant with the top winning Submission will be invited to and introduced at a future Tesla product launch event. Tesla will pay for reasonable travel expenses and accommodations for 2 people for 2 nights.
PRIZE CONDITIONS: Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution, redemption or cash equivalent will be allowed. All applicable taxes, and all other fees and costs not specifically identified in these Terms and Conditions as a prize element, are the sole responsibility of the prize winner.
8. HOW TO CLAIM A PRIZE
On or about May 29, 2017, the Grand Prize Winner will be sent an email notification with instructions on how to claim the prize. The Grand Prize Winner may be required to provide the winning video in a format requested by Tesla and to execute any requested documents within the time period requested by Tesla. The prize must be claimed by June 2, 2017 or, at Tesla’s sole discretion, the prize may be forfeited and awarded to the Entrant whose Submission received the next highest score.
9. PRIVACY POLICY
Any personally identifiable information collected during an Entrant’s participation in Project Loveday will be used for purposes of the proper administration of this contest and in accordance with Tesla’s Privacy Policy, available here.
10. PUBLICITY RIGHTS
By participating in Project Loveday, each Entrant agrees to allow Tesla and its designees the perpetual right to use his or her name, biographical information, photos, videos, entries, likeness, and statements for Project Loveday and for trade, commercial, advertising and publicity purposes in any form of media worldwide.
11. GENERAL
Tesla reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant found, in Tesla’s sole discretion, to be acting in violation of these Terms and Conditions or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike manner or otherwise acting in bad faith.
12. WINNER LIST
To obtain a list of prize winners, interested individuals should send a written request with a self-addressed, stamped business-sized envelope to: Tesla, Inc., 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, Attn: Project Loveday. Winner List requests must be received by May 31, 2017.
News
Rivian unveils self-driving chip and autonomy plans to compete with Tesla
Rivian, a mainstay in the world of electric vehicle startups, said it plans to roll out an Autonomy+ subscription and one-time purchase program, priced at $49.99 per month and $2,500 up front, respectively, for access to its self-driving suite.
Rivian unveiled its self-driving chip and autonomy plans to compete with Tesla and others at its AI and Autonomy Day on Thursday in Palo Alto, California.
Rivian, a mainstay in the world of electric vehicle startups, said it plans to roll out an Autonomy+ subscription and one-time purchase program, priced at $49.99 per month and $2,500 up front, respectively, for access to its self-driving suite.
CEO RJ Scaringe said it will learn and become more confident and robust as more miles are driven and it gathers more data. This is what Tesla uses through a neural network, as it uses deep learning to improve with every mile traveled.
He said:
“I couldn’t be more excited for the work our teams are driving in autonomy and AI. Our updated hardware platform, which includes our in-house 1600 sparse TOPS inference chip, will enable us to achieve dramatic progress in self-driving to ultimately deliver on our goal of delivering L4. This represents an inflection point for the ownership experience – ultimately being able to give customers their time back when in the car.”
At first, Rivian plans to offer the service to personally-owned vehicles, and not operate as a ride-hailing service. However, ride-sharing is in the plans for the future, he said:
“While our initial focus will be on personally owned vehicles, which today represent a vast majority of the miles to the United States, this also enables us to pursue opportunities in the rideshare space.”
The Hardware
Rivian is not using a vision-only approach as Tesla does, and instead will rely on 11 cameras, five radar sensors, and a single LiDAR that will face forward.
It is also developing a chip in-house, which will be manufactured by TSMC, a supplier of Tesla’s as well. The chip will be known as RAP1 and will be about 50 times as powerful as the chip that is currently in Rivian vehicles. It will also do more than 800 trillion calculations every second.
Meet the Rivian Autonomy Processor.
Fast, smart, scalable and purpose-built for autonomous driving and the world of physical AI. Hitting the open road in 2026. pic.twitter.com/0wYXi5WKy7
— Rivian (@Rivian) December 11, 2025
RAP1 powers the Autonomy Compute Module 3, known as ACM3, which is Rivian’s third-generation autonomy computer.
ACM3 specs include:
- 1600 sparse INT8 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second).
- The processing power of 5 billion pixels per second.
- RAP1 features RivLink, a low-latency interconnect technology allowing chips to be connected to multiply processing power, making it inherently extensible.
- RAP1 is enabled by an in-house developed AI compiler and platform software
As far as LiDAR, Rivian plans to use it in forthcoming R2 cars to enable SAE Level 4 automated driving, which would allow people to sit in the back and, according to the agency’s ratings, “will not require you to take over driving.”
More Details
Rivian said it will also roll out advancements to the second-generation R1 vehicles in the near term with the addition of UHF, or Universal Hands-Free, which will be available on over 3.5 million miles of roadway in the U.S. and Canada.
More than any other feature, our owners have asked for more hands-free miles.
With Universal Hands-Free, you can now enjoy hands-free assisted driving on any road with clearly defined lanes. That’s roughly 3.5 million miles in the U.S. and Canada.
Look for it in our next… pic.twitter.com/ZFhwVzvt6b
— Rivian (@Rivian) December 11, 2025
Rivian will now join the competitive ranks with Tesla, Waymo, Zoox, and others, who are all in the race for autonomy.
News
Tesla partners with Lemonade for new insurance program
Tesla recently was offered “almost free” coverage for Full Self-Driving by Lemonade’s Shai Wininger, President and Co-founder, who said it would be “happy to explore insuring Tesla FSD miles for (almost) free.”
Tesla owners in California, Oregon, and Arizona can now use Lemonade Insurance, the firm that recently said it could cover Full Self-Driving miles for “almost free.”
Lemonade, which offered the new service through its app, has three distinct advantages, it says:
- Direct Connection for no telematics device needed
- Better customer service
- Smarter pricing
The company is known for offering unique, fee-based insurance rates through AI, and instead of keeping unclaimed premiums, it offers coverage through a flat free upfront. The leftover funds are donated to charities by its policyholders.
On Thursday, it announced that cars in three states would be able to be connected directly to the car through its smartphone app, enabling easier access to insurance factors through telematics:
Lemonade customers who own @Tesla vehicles in California, Oregon, and Arizona can now connect their cars directly to the Lemonade app! ⚡🚘
Direct connection = no telematics device needed 📵
Better customer experience 💃
Smarter pricing with Lemonade 🧠This is a game-changer… pic.twitter.com/jbabxZWT4t
— Lemonade (@Lemonade_Inc) December 11, 2025
Tesla recently was offered “almost free” coverage for Full Self-Driving by Lemonade’s Shai Wininger, President and Co-founder, who said it would be “happy to explore insuring Tesla FSD miles for (almost) free.”
The strategy would be one of the most unique, as it would provide Tesla drivers with stable, accurate, and consistent insurance rates, while also incentivizing owners to utilize Full Self-Driving for their travel miles.
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets an offer to be insured for ‘almost free’
This would make FSD more cost-effective for owners and contribute to the company’s data collection efforts.
Data also backs Tesla Full Self-Driving’s advantages as a safety net for drivers. Recent figures indicate it was nine times less likely to be in an accident compared to the national average, registering an accident every 6.36 million miles. The NHTSA says a crash occurs approximately every 702,000 miles.
Tesla also offers its own in-house insurance program, which is currently offered in twelve states so far. The company is attempting to enter more areas of the U.S., with recent filings indicating the company wants to enter Florida and offer insurance to drivers in that state.
Tesla Model Y configurations are getting hefty discounts and more benefits as the company is in the phase of its final sales push for the year.
Tesla is offering up to $1,500 off new Model Y Standard trims that are available in inventory in the United States. Additionally, Tesla is giving up to $2,000 off the Premium trims of the Model Y. There is also one free upgrade included, such as a paint color or interior color, at no additional charge.
NEWS: Tesla is now offering discounts of up to $1,500 off new Model Y Standard vehicles in U.S. inventory. Discounts of up to $2,000 are also being offered on Model Y Premiums.
These discounts are in addition to the one free upgrade you get (such as Diamond Black paint) on… pic.twitter.com/L0RMtjmtK0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 10, 2025
Tesla is hoping to bolster a relatively strong performance through the first three quarters of the year, with over 1.2 million cars delivered through the first three quarters.
This is about four percent under what the company reported through the same time period last year, as it was about 75,000 vehicles ahead in 2024.
However, Q3 was the company’s best quarterly performance of all time, and it surged because of the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which was eliminated in September. The imminent removal of the credit led to many buyers flocking to Tesla showrooms to take advantage of the discount, which led to a strong quarter for the company.
2024 was the first year in the 2020s when Tesla did not experience a year-over-year delivery growth, as it saw a 1 percent slide from 2023. The previous years saw huge growth, with the biggest coming from 2020 to 2021, when Tesla had an 87 percent delivery growth.
This year, it is expected to be a second consecutive slide, with a drop of potentially 8 percent, if it manages to deliver 1.65 million cars, which is where Grok projects the automaker to end up.
Tesla will likely return to its annual growth rate in the coming years, but the focus is becoming less about delivery figures and more about autonomy, a major contributor to the company’s valuation. As AI continues to become more refined, Tesla will apply these principles to its Full Self-Driving efforts, as well as the Optimus humanoid robot project.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
These discounts should help incentivize some buyers to pull the trigger on a vehicle before the year ends. It will also be interesting to see if the adjusted EV tax credit rules, which allowed deliveries to occur after the September 30 cutoff date, along with these discounts, will have a positive impact.
Rivian unveils self-driving chip and autonomy plans to compete with Tesla
Tesla partners with Lemonade for new insurance program
