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Tesla launches more Superchargers in China to supplement growing demand

Credit: Tesla Greater China/Twitter

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Tesla announced that it officially added 40 new Supercharger stations in China in August, adding 168 individual Superchargers to the country’s infrastructure of Tesla-specific electric vehicle chargers. The announcement comes as an addition to the automaker’s main accomplishment of completing capacity expansion projects at its vehicle production factory in Shanghai, which has pushed wait times for Tesla EVs in China to the shortest timeframes in several years.

Tesla made the announcement on Saturday via its Weibo account, which it uses for social media interaction in China. “Tesla added 40 Supercharging stations and 168 Supercharging piles in August in 25 cities/counties across the country, summer to autumn. Follow Tesla’s charging network and set off freely together,” the automaker said in the post.

Shanghai gov’t: Tesla Giga Shanghai production capacity expansion is done

Listing each country in an extensive graphic, Tesla added between three and nine Supercharging piles at each project. Most of the Supercharging stations received just three new Supercharging piles, but every Supercharger installed in China in August was a V3, the company’s most advanced released technology for charging its cars.

The automaker has experienced a considerable level of success since first delivering vehicles built at the Giga Shanghai factory in early 2020. Tesla has surged to become one of the best-selling automakers in China, with the Model Y being the current most popular vehicle for the company. It has struggled to keep up with some of the highly-competitive Chinese automakers like BYD, and the General Motors-SAIC-Wuling conglomeration, which has yielded one of the best-selling EVs in China over the past several years: the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV.

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tesla superchargers china

Credit: Tesla Greater China/Twitter

Nonetheless, Tesla has utilized Giga Shanghai as a factory for both Chinese and foreign customers as it exports some of the vehicles produced at the factory to the European market. The increase in Supercharging stations in China currently supplements the increase in vehicles Tesla has in China as the automaker continues to celebrate strong sales figures each month. In August, Tesla delivered 76,965 vehicles in China, according to government data. It was Tesla’s second-best sales month in 2022, following only June when it sold 78,906 cars.

Combined with the increased demand for company vehicles and the increased production expansion at Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla is also reducing wait times for its Model 3 and Model Y in China. Delivery projections for some vehicles, like the base Model Y Rear-Wheel-Drive, are listed as low as just one week. While the Model 3’s Rear-Wheel-Drive and Performance trim levels are listed at a longer 6-10 week wait, this is a major adjustment from the previously-listed 12-16 week estimations Tesla listed on their site prior to September 7, when the delivery times were officially adjusted.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@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 CEO Elon Musk shades Waymo: ‘Never really had a chance’

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shaded Waymo in a post on X on Wednesday, stating the company “never really had a chance” and that it “will be obvious in hindsight.”

Tesla and Waymo are the two primary contributors to the self-driving efforts in the United States, with both operating driverless ride-hailing services in the country. Tesla does have a Safety Monitor present in its vehicles in Austin, Texas, and someone in the driver’s seat in its Bay Area operation.

Musk says the Austin operation will be completely void of any Safety Monitors by the end of the year.

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With the two companies being the main members of the driverless movement in the U.S., there is certainly a rivalry. The two have sparred back and forth with their geofences, or service areas, in both Austin and the Bay Area.

While that is a metric for comparison now, ultimately, it will not matter in the coming years, as the two companies will likely operate in a similar fashion.

Waymo has geared its business toward larger cities, and Tesla has said that its self-driving efforts will expand to every single one of its vehicles in any location globally. This is where the true difference between the two lies, along with the fact that Tesla uses its own vehicles, while Waymo has several models in its lineup from different manufacturers.

The two also have different ideas on how to solve self-driving, as Tesla uses a vision-only approach. Waymo relies on several things, including LiDAR, which Musk once called “a fool’s errand.”

This is where Tesla sets itself apart from the competition, and Musk highlighted the company’s position against Waymo.

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Jeff Dean, the Chief Scientist for Google DeepMind, said on X:

“I don’t think Tesla has anywhere near the volume of rider-only autonomous miles that Waymo has (96M for Waymo, as of today). The safety data is quite compelling for Waymo, as well.”

Musk replied:

“Waymo never really had a chance against Tesla. This will be obvious in hindsight.”

Tesla stands to have a much larger fleet of vehicles in the coming years if it chooses to activate Robotaxi services with all passenger vehicles. A simple Over-the-Air update will activate this capability, while Waymo would likely be confined to the vehicles it commissions as Robotaxis.

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Tesla supplier Samsung preps for AI5 production with latest move

According to a new report from Sedaily, Samsung is accelerating its preparation for U.S. production of the AI5 chips by hiring veteran engineers for its Customer Engineering team.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla supplier Samsung is preparing to manufacture the AI5 chip, which will launch the company’s self-driving efforts even further, with its latest move.

According to a new report from Sedaily, Samsung is accelerating its preparation for U.S. production of the AI5 chips by hiring veteran engineers for its Customer Engineering team, which will help resolve complex foundry challenges, stabilize production and yields, and ensure manufacturing goes smoothly for the new project.

The hiring push signals that Tesla’s AI5 project is moving forward quickly at Samsung, which was one of two suppliers to win a contract order from the world’s leading EV maker.

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TSMC is the other. TSMC is using its 3nm process, reportedly, while Samsung will do a 2nm as a litmus test for the process.

The different versions are due to the fact that “they translate designs to physical form differently,” CEO Elon Musk said recently. The goal is for the two to operate identically, obviously, which is a challenge.

Some might remember Apple’s A9 “Chipgate” saga, which found that the chips differed in performance because of different manufacturers.

The AI5 chip is Tesla’s next-generation hardware chip for its self-driving program, but it will also contribute to the Optimus program and other AI-driven features in both vehicles and other projects. Currently, Tesla utilizes AI4, formerly known as HW4 or Hardware 4, in its vehicles.

Tesla teases new AI5 chip that will revolutionize self-driving

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AI5 is specialized for use by Tesla as it will work in conjunction with the company’s Neural Networks, focusing on real-time inference to make safe and logical decisions during operation.

Musk said it was an “amazing design” and an “immense jump” from Tesla’s current AI4 chip. It will be roughly 40 times faster, and have 8 times the raw compute, with 9 times the memory capacity. It is also expected to be three times as efficient per watt as AI4.

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AI5 will make its way into “maybe a small number of units” next year, Musk confirmed. However, it will not make its way to high-volume production until 2027. AI5 is not the last step, either, as Musk has already confirmed AI6 would likely enter production in mid-2028.

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Tesla discloses interesting collaboration partner for Supercharging

This BOXABL collaboration would be a great way to add a rest stop to a rural Supercharging location, and could lead to more of these chargers across the U.S. 

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Credit: Grok

Tesla disclosed an interesting collaboration partner in an SEC filing, which looks like an indication of a potential project at Supercharger sites.

Tesla said on Tuesday in the filing that it was entering an agreement with BOXABL to design and build a Micromenity structure. Simply put, this is a modular building, usually a few hundred square feet in size, and it has been seen at Superchargers in Europe.

In Magnant, France, Tesla opened a small building at a Supercharger that is available to all EV owners. There are snacks and drinks inside, including ice cream, coffee, a gaming console, and restrooms. It gives people an opportunity to get up and out of their cars while charging.

This building was not built by BOXABL, but instead by bk World Lounges. It is likely the final Supercharging stop before people get to Paris, as it is located 250 kilometers, or 155 miles, from the City of Light.

 

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Une publication partagée par Gerold Wolfarth (@gerold_wolfarth)

Magnant has 56 stalls, so it is a large Supercharging stop compared to most. The building could be a sign of things to come, especially as Tesla has opened up larger Supercharger stations along major roadways.

It is for just a single building, as the Scope of Work within the filing states “a comprehensive package for one Micromenity building.”

Superchargers are commonly located at gas stations, shopping centers, and other major points of interest. However, there are some stops that are isolated from retail or entertainment.

This BOXABL collaboration would be a great way to add a rest stop to a rural Supercharging location, and could lead to more of these chargers across the U.S.

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Tesla has done a lot of really great things for Supercharging this year.

Along with widespread expansion, the company launched the “Charging Passport” this week, opened the largest Supercharger in the world in Lost Hills, California, with 168 chargers, opened the Tesla Diner, a drive-in movie restaurant in Los Angeles, and initiated access to the infrastructure to even more automakers.

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