News
Tesla brings out next-gen Roadster at computer vision conference in Los Angeles
Tesla brought out its next-generation Roadster to the 2019 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) conference taking place in Long Beach, California.
A video posted online by a conference attendee provided a full walkaround of the all-electric ‘halo car‘ as it was surrounded by excited onlookers taking turns capturing photographs of the futuristic steering wheel, high-tech console, and other innovative features.
CVPR is an annual event put on by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Computer Vision Foundation (CVF) for pattern recognition, computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence researchers to present advances made in their fields. Various presentations, tutorials, workshops, demos, exhibitions, and social events promoting relevant topics are made available to attendees. This is the 32nd year for CVPR, taking place June 16-20 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
- Tesla’s next-gen Roadster makes an appearance at CVPR 2019. | Image: LordOfBilkent/YouTube
- Tesla’s next-gen Roadster makes an appearance at CVPR 2019. | Image: LordOfBilkent/YouTube
Along with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capabilities, the next-generation Roadster may have some other features that would be of particular interest to CVPR attendees. CEO Elon Musk revealed last year that the tri-motor ‘supercar killer’ would be equipped with a feature an augmented mode that would enhance a driver’s abilities when operating the vehicle. “Definitely. Will also have Augmented Mode that will massively enhance human driving ability. Like a flying metal suit, but in car form,” he teased on Twitter in response to a question on whether the Roadster would have Autopilot. Augmented and mixed reality are computer vision problems at their core.
Furthering speculation surrounding Augmented Mode was Tesla’s former Senior Manager, Design, Andrew Kim. Prior to working at Tesla, Kim worked for Microsoft, where he helped develop the HoloLens headset, a holographic computer that allows users to see and interact with holograms within an environment. Kim’s LinkedIn profile also noted that he was “leading experiences” in Tesla’s Model S, X, 3, Semi, Roadster 2, and Model Y, as well as “confidential future products and experiences.”
Elon Musk is notoriously associated with Marvel’s famous Tony Stark character, making the heads-up display connection between Roadster and the one featured in the Iron Man suit a highly anticipated prediction. Software and technical marvels aside, the next-generation Roadster will perform to the tune of 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, the standing quarter-mile time in 8.9 seconds, and capable of achieving 620 miles of range thanks to a 200 kWh battery. Musk has also described a SpaceX package with cold-gas thrusters on several occasions which would push the performance of the electric car even further.
Test drives for the new Roadster are estimated to start at the end of this year. See the full walkaround video from Roadster’s appearance at CVPR 2019 below:
Investor's Corner
SpaceX gets initial stock coverage from Tesla’s biggest bull
Wedbush Securities is initiating stock coverage on SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX), marking the first comments on the company since it went public several weeks ago. Wedbush and its analyst handling coverage, Dan Ives, are widely bullish on fellow Musk company Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA).
Ives wrote his first note initiating coverage of SpaceX shares on Wednesday with a $190 price target and an ‘Outperform’ rating. The firm believes the company is well positioned off of its IPO because of its wide array of projects, including AI compute power and infrastructure, connectivity projects, and launches.
“We view SpaceX as one of the most differentiated assets within the tech market with a strong footprint across its three core markets, with Starlink driving success with connectivity,” Ives wrote, “Starship launches leading to a demand flywheel and increasing deal flow for its Colossus clusters.”
Elon Musk called it Epic: The full story of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 12
Wedbush leans heavily on Starlink, which they say is the “profitability driver given the strength of its recurring revenue base of ~12 million subscribers as of June 5th.” Ives believes Starlink is still in the “early innings” of penetrating the global telecommunications and broadband market, as it only holds less than a 1 percent share. However, this number is sure to increase over time.
It also highlights the importance of Starship, which it says is an “essential layer” of SpaceX’s overall success. SpaceX developing and displaying the ability to reuse rockets is a major cost and reliability advantage “as it reduces the necessary hardware launch costs while generating a feedback loop for future flights to improve their launch flight rate without accelerating capex spend.”
Finally, SpaceX’s recent AI/Compute projects are also very elementary, Ives writes. It is worth mentioning Wedbush said its $190 price target is derived from a valuation forecast that sees the company yielding roughly $2.48 trillion of implied enterprise value.
There are also some factors that Wedbush did not take into account with its initial coverage. The firm wrote in the note:
“We note that there is optional value coming from Starship’s accelerating scale towards sub-$200/kg unit economics, orbital data centers, and enterprise AI monetization as these factors could drive meaningful upside but these face major hurdles, so we do not take that into account with our valuation.”
SpaceX shares are down just over 2 percent today, trading at around $167 at the time of publication.
News
Tesla expands massive safety feature worldwide in latest update
Tesla has expanded the footprint of a massive safety feature worldwide with a recent Software Update labeled as 2026.20.6. The expansion of the “Blind Spot Warning While Parked” feature represents the more widespread availability of the feature, which aims to prevent “dooring.”
Dooring is when a driver or passenger opens a car door into the path of an oncoming road user, usually a cyclist or motorcyclist. It is among the most common types of cycling accidents, the League of American Bicyclists says.
For this reason, Tesla created a feature that warns occupants not to open the door because an object is approaching. The feature will sound a chime, and it will also delay the opening of the door to prevent an incident.
The release notes state (via Not a Tesla App):
“If you attempt to open a door while an approaching object is detected in your blind spot (for example, a bicyclist approaching from behind) a chime sounds, and your door will not open upon initial button press. Wait a short time and press the button a second time to override the warning.”
Tesla initially rolled out this feature back in 2024 with the Model 3 “Highland.” However, it remained with the Model 3 exclusively for over a year; that was until Tesla added it to the Cybertruck this past Spring.
Now, it is making its way to the new Model Y, 2021 and newer Model S, and 2021 or newer Model X.
The prevention of dooring incidents could eliminate many injuries to cyclists, especially in an urban setting. Dooring accounts for 10-20 percent of bike-related crashes in major cities, and over 17,000 dooring-related incidents were treated in the U.S. over the course of a decade. These usually involve fractures, contusions, and head trauma.
News
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
Tesla confirmed this morning that it has sent the first production units, manufactured with no steering wheel or pedals, to on-road testing in Austin, sharing video of the first rides with no human controls.
The lack of steering wheels and pedals in the Cybercab aligns with Tesla’s self-certification of Robotaxi as Level 4 SAE, a platform it plans to make widespread through internal vehicles and customer-owned cars that will operate and generate revenue for individuals.
The start of these engineering tests is a major signal for Tesla, which plans to bring driverless, wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercabs to market in the coming months. With production already well underway at Gigafactory Texas, where the Cybercab is built, there is some inclination to believe the first public rides could happen sooner rather than later.
Engineering tests of the first production Cybercab have begun in Austin pic.twitter.com/fk3KQvcE8a
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 30, 2026
Tesla’s engineering tests will put the Cybercab in real-world scenarios, testing not only the hardware, but more importantly, the software that drives the car around Austin with nobody supervising it within the car.
This is perhaps the biggest part of the internal testing process, especially prior to allowing regular, everyday people to hail the Cybercab for an autonomous ride. These early rides serve as a true benchmark for Tesla: How many rides can it achieve safely? How many miles did it travel consecutively without needing an intervention? What scenarios challenge the Full Self-Driving suite the most?
The proper precautions have already been put into place as well, as Tesla released the First Responders Guide to Cybercab over the weekend, ensuring that emergency services have 24/7 access to Robotaxi Assistance, as well as other boundaries, such as Geofencing features that can be used to redirect autonomous vehicle traffic due to accidents, road closures, construction, or maintenance.
Cybercab seems genuinely close to being added to the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, but Tesla has prioritized safety throughout this entire process. Therefore, we think it could be months before it truly starts giving rides to the public. People have been frustrated with this, but Robotaxi in Austin has a tremendous safety record so far, so the slow rollout has kept people safe and accidents to a minimum.
The most important thing is that Tesla continues to show consistent progress in the Cybercab’s ramp-up toward fleet addition. A few weeks back, we saw the EPA reward the Cybercab a Certificate of Conformity, allowing it to enter the stream of commerce. Then, we saw Tesla add decals, signaling that it was likely about to start testing it publicly. That has now happened.
The next big move will be the announcement of the first rides, so this Summer should be filled with anticipation.

