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Tesla’s radar-less Autopilot performance improves in heavy rain

Credit: Kevin Smith | YouTube

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Tesla Vision, the electric automaker’s radar-less and camera-based Autopilot approach, is improving significantly with each software update the company releases. New videos from an owner who has regularly tested the performance of Tesla Autopilot in heavy rain conditions show the vehicle is operating more confidently and with increased precision thanks to improvements released by Tesla.

Kevin Smith, known as @Spleck online, has been regularly using Autopilot in his Tesla Model Y in rainy conditions to test the vehicle’s performance in tough weather with the camera-based approach the company shifted to a few months ago. In May, Tesla announced the adoption of Tesla Vision, stating that it would permanently remove radar from the Model 3 and Model Y, using only cameras to operate Autopilot and FSD. It was a long-awaited move for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, who saw the use of radar as a crutch for the camera system to operate more accurately. Eventually, Tesla will move the Model S and Model X to the camera-only system as well. For now, it only applies to Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

Tesla Model 3, Model Y builds in May 2021 will no longer equip radar

The vehicle regularly reduced speed due to heavy rainfall and decreased visibility, a normal reaction from the camera-based approach and even some human drivers in tough conditions. However, the vehicle was reducing speed to an uncomfortable and frustrating amount. Smith explains that previous software versions were too timid and lacked confidence in heavy rain conditions. Software version 2021.4.18.1, which was released in June, was the first instance where Smith realized his vehicle was slowing down at an increased rate due to the excessive rainfall, alerting the driver with a message that read “Speed Limited for Visibility.” Eventually, Smith was kicked out of Autopilot by the vehicle due to visibility issues.

There were still persisting issues with July’s 2021.4.18.10 release, although the Model Y could stay in Autopilot with the rain. However, there was a fairly drastic decrease in speed even though Autopilot stayed active during the drive. The speed reduction was reported even in “moderate rain,” Smith said.

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August’s 2021.4.21.3 update was the most impressive to date, Smith said. Autopilot is reacting much more confidently in even heavy rainfall, drastically improving from the heavy speed reductions that were encountered in previous versions.

Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving improve with every software update thanks to the company’s neural network, which compiles data after every mile driven. Tesla has billions of miles of data that continue to improve the vehicle’s performance in tough weather conditions and challenging driving scenarios. The improvements with driving in the rain are evident. Tesla’s camera-based approach for the Model 3 and Model Y is evidently becoming more confident with the additional data and experience the cars are compiling.

Tesla Vision is also expanding to other features, like Autopark, as radar will eventually be completely phased out from the company’s vehicles.

Check out Kevin Smith’s video below.

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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

Elon Musk

Tesla board reveals reasoning for CEO Elon Musk’s new $1 trillion pay package

“Yes, you read that correctly: in 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s Board of Directors has proposed a new pay package for company CEO Elon Musk that would result in $1 trillion in stock offerings if he is able to meet several lofty performance targets.

Musk, who has not been meaningfully compensated since 2017, completed his last pay package by delivering billions in shareholder value through a variety of performance-based “tranches,” which were met and resulted in the award of billions in stock.

Elon Musk’s new pay plan ties trillionaire status to Tesla’s $8.5 trillion valuation

However, Musk was unable to claim this award due to a ruling by the Delaware Chancery Court, which deemed the payout an “unfathomable sum.”

Now, the company is taking steps to ensure Musk gets paid, as the Board feels that it is crucial to retain its CEO, who has been responsible for much of the company’s success.

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This is not a statement to undermine the work of all of Tesla’s terrific employees, but a ship needs to be captained by someone, and Musk has proven he is the right person for the job.

The Board also believes that, based on a statement made by the company in its proxy, various issues will be discussed during the upcoming Shareholder Meeting.

Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson recognized Musk’s contributions in a statement, which encouraged shareholders to vote to approve the payout:

“We’re asking you to approve the 2025 CEO Performance Award. In designing the new performance award, we explored numerous alternatives. Ultimately, the new award aims to build upon the success of the 2018 CEO Performance Award framework, which ensure that Elon was only paid for the performance delivered and incentivized to guide Tesla through a period of meteoric growth. The 2025 CEO Performance Award similarly challegnes Elon to again meet a series of even more aspirational goals, including operational milestones focused on reaching Adjusted EBITDA targets (thresholds that are up to 28 times higher than the 2108 CEO Performance Award’s top Adjusted EBITDA milestone) and rolling out new or expanded product offerings (including 1 million Robotaxis in commercial operation and delivery of 1 million AI Bots), all while growing the company’s market capitalization by trillions of dollars.

Yes, you read that correctly: in 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.

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In addition to these unprecedented performance milestones, the 2025 CEO Performance Award also includes innovative structural features, born out of the special committee’s considered analysis and extensive shareholder feedback. These features include supercharged retention (at least seven and a half years and up to 10 years to vest in the full award), structural protections to minimize stock price volatility due to administration of this award and, thereafter, incentives for Elon to participate in the Board’s continued development of a framework for long-term CEO Succession. If Elon achieves all the performance milestones under this principle-based 2025 CEO Performance Award, his leadership will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company in history.”

Musk will have a lot of things to accomplish to receive the 423,743,904 shares, which are divided into 12 tranches.

However, the Board feels he is the right person for the job, and they want him to remain the CEO. This package should ensure that he stays with Tesla, as long as shareholders feel the same way.

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Tesla Robotaxi app download rate demolishes Uber, Waymo all-time highs

After two and a half months of testing with a group of hand-picked Tesla influencers and some media, the company has officially launched Robotaxi rides in both Austin, Texas, and the California Bay Area to the public.

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Credit: @BLKMDL3 | X

Tesla launched its Robotaxi app to the general public yesterday, and the number of downloads is a testament to the platform’s high demand for testing.

After two and a half months of testing with a group of hand-picked Tesla influencers and some media, the company has officially launched Robotaxi rides in both Austin, Texas, and the California Bay Area to the public.

Tesla Robotaxi makes major expansion with official public app launch

Downloading the app is available to iOS users, so if you have an iPhone, you can get it and join the waitlist. Tesla has not yet launched the Robotaxi app for the Android platform, but did hint that it would be coming soon.

The testing phase with the group Tesla selected has gone well. In Austin, the City has only listed one “Safety Concern” with Robotaxi during the testing phase. For the most part, things have gone extremely well, and riders have had good things to say.

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Tesla is still operating with some safeguards in place, such as Safety Monitors and Safety Drivers, but these are precautionary and temporary; CEO Elon Musk has said they should be removed by the end of the year.

Elon Musk says Tesla will take Safety Drivers out of Robotaxi: here’s when

Even still, Tesla Robotaxi is something that many people want to experience, and the app downloads prove it.

The Tesla Robotaxi app was downloaded at a rate that exceeded all rolling 30-day periods of both Uber and Waymo, according to Brett Winton of ARK Invest. Tesla’s Robotaxi’s first day on the App Store exceeded Uber’s by 40 percent and Waymo’s best download day ever by six times:

The surge in downloads is a good indication of how in demand the Robotaxi suite was, as many people within the community had vocalized their requests to try the platform, but Tesla was not ready to expand it beyond its handpicked group.

The expansion of the program will result in more rides, provided Tesla continues to expand its fleet of vehicles. It has already admitted many of those who were initially placed on the waitlist.

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Elon Musk’s xAI expands to Seattle with salaries up to $440,000

The move was announced by the artificial intelligence startup and Elon Musk on social media platform X.

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(Credit: xAI)

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI is opening a new office in Seattle as it accelerates its global expansion. 

The move was announced by the artificial intelligence startup and Elon Musk on social media platform X. xAI is also hiring for its first positions in the new site.

New Seattle office

As could be seen on xAI’s Careers webpage, the Seattle office is currently hiring for three engineering roles. Each of the three technical roles tied to the new site carry salaries ranging from $180,000 to $440,000. 

The new office adds to xAI’s growing presence, which now spans San Francisco, Austin, London, Dublin, New York, and Memphis. The Seattle-based roles focus on video and image generation systems, signaling Musk’s intent to challenge rivals like OpenAI and Meta in generative AI.

Pressures and challenges

Seattle also places xAI within reach of Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond. Microsoft has emerged as a central player in the AI race through its multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, making xAI’s move into the region notable. The competition for AI specialists has pushed salaries higher across the industry, with filings showing OpenAI staff earning up to $530,000 and Anthropic engineers as much as $690,000 annually, as noted by Insider.

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The startup has also seen some high-profile departures in recent months, including cofounder Igor Babuschkin and general counsel Robert Keele. Still, xAI continues to grow aggressively, and its Grok large language model has been gaining momentum among mainstream users. Work also continues to be underway to further build out the company’s Colossus supercomputer cluster. Reports have also suggested that xAI has moved into San Francisco offices in the Mission District, a site Musk initially leased during OpenAI’s early years.

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