Tesla has announced a hardware upgrade for its Model Y lineup in China, equipping the vehicles with the cutting-edge Hardware 4.0 (HW 4.0) self-driving computer. Despite the notable enhancements, the electric automaker has decided to maintain the same pricing for the Model Y, emphasizing its commitment to offering advanced technology without increasing costs for consumers.

The HW 4.0 upgrade brings substantial improvements to the Model Y’s autonomous capabilities. With a maximum detection range of 424 meters, the vehicle gains the ability to see farther distances. The upgraded self-driving computer boasts a remarkable five-fold increase in chip computing power, resulting in enhanced responsiveness and faster processing speeds.

China’s Model Y lineup includes three versions: the base rear-wheel-drive model, the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Model Y Long Range, and the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Model Y Performance. Despite the hardware upgrade, Tesla has decided not to alter the pricing for these variants.

Tesla China officially introduced the HW 4.0 upgrade on its Weibo account, emphasizing the improved visibility, clarity in perception, and faster processing speed offered by the advanced autonomous driving hardware.

In addition to the hardware upgrade, Tesla has unveiled a new color option for the upgraded Model Y in China – “Quicksilver.” This color, previously exclusive to Giga Berlin vehicles, is now available due to advanced paint shop technology.

Notably, Tesla had silently implemented Hardware 4.0 in Model S and Model X vehicles in the United States last year, with customers reporting enhanced processing power and improved Tesla Vision technology.

Looking forward, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted at ongoing developments with Hardware 5 during the Q4 and Full Year 2023 earnings call. Describing it as the third version of the Tesla-designed AI inference chip, Musk mentioned that Hardware 5 is currently in the design completion phase.

In terms of pricing, Tesla has recently reduced the starting prices of the Model Y entry edition and Model Y Long Range in China. The automaker is also offering cash discounts on select Model Y stock vehicles, providing customers with additional savings. Additionally, Tesla customers in China can avail themselves of a significant discount on paid paint for both Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

Tesla’s Autopilot Evolution:

In October 2014, Tesla introduced pre-purchasable Autopilot, initially relying on hardware version 1 (HW1) developed in collaboration with Mobileye. The Mobileye partnership concluded in July 2016 due to safety concerns, prompting Tesla’s transition to independent hardware development. Cars produced after September 2014 were equipped with HW1, marking the beginning of Tesla’s Autopilot journey.

By October 2016, Tesla shifted to hardware version 2 (HW2) for new vehicles, collectively known as Autopilot 2.0. Despite its label, HW2 initially had fewer features than its predecessor. The term “Enhanced Autopilot (EA)” was introduced, featuring the notable “Navigate on Autopilot” capability unveiled in December 2016, allowing automated highway driving.

In early 2016, Tesla initiated the development of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) Computer, or Hardware 3 (HW3), which replaced the NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2 AI computing platform, significantly enhancing processing power. 

The latest Hardware 4 (HW4) not only upgrades the FSD Computer but introduces a comprehensive sensor suite with enhanced cameras and radar. HW4 boasts a faster FSD Computer based on the Samsung Exynos architecture, additional high-resolution cameras, and a new radar named “Phoenix” for improved accuracy, setting the stage for a transformative advancement in Tesla’s autonomous driving technology.

With these continuous advancements and pricing adjustments, Tesla’s Shanghai factory, producing both the Model 3 and Model Y, remains at the forefront of electric vehicle manufacturing, solidifying its position as the largest Tesla factory globally.

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A woman in Philadelphia, US, has just given birth to the world’s first baby behind the wheels of a Tesla. The mother gave birth to her child while being in the front seat of the electric vehicle that was on autopilot.

According to The Guardian, the surprising incident took place back in September. Yiran Sherry, 33, and her husband were dropping their son to school on the Tesla when her water broke. But unfortunately, the family got stuck in traffic as the mother was going into labor. So, they realized that reaching the hospital might not be a possibility now. Thus, her husband (Keating Sherry, 34) put the vehicle on autopilot and set the destination for the hospital that was 20 minutes away.

Following this, he began attending to his wife. By the time the family reached the hospital, the mother has successfully and safely give birth to her daughter while hospital nurses cut the baby’s umbilical cord over the car’s front seat. The nurses even started calling her child the “Tesla baby.” Notably, the couple had even considered naming their child Tess, in tribute to the EV brand that possibly saved them in a crucial time, but decided on Maeve Lily.

Keating Sherry also expressed gratitude towards the brand saying “Thank you genius Tesla engineers for your brilliant design of autopilot.” While the Elon Musk owned automobile company had been facing a lot of negative PR in recent months, this arrives as a silver lining to the controversial autopilot system. Unfortunately, the EV maker has yet to respond to any queries for a comment as of right now.

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Tesla in recent times has come under pressure when accidents involving its electric vehicles occur. The Autopilot has most times been fingered as the proximate cause of several crashes. However, the recent story from Norway gives a more rounded perspective on the importance of this technological and safety feature in EVs.

A Tesla driver in Norway who decided to drive while under the influence of alcohol has been saved from a possibly fatal crash. The driver fell asleep while behind the wheels of his Model S EV, but the Autopilot which was operational at the time carefully navigated the vehicle to a halt.

The Autopilot provides a safety net while driving as it uses a slew of technologies to provide navigational guidance to the driver. The incident happened in Norway’s eastern district last weekend.

Some part of the incident is believed to have been filmed, as other motorists watched the 24-year old man sleeping on the wheels while the Model S was in motion. The car then successfully parked by the roadside while the man remained unconscious, as onlookers tried to wake him up from his sleep.

The local police later arrived at the scene and established that the driver was drunk. The name of the man has not been mentioned. The police also released a public statement on the incident. The man had denied he was driving the vehicle at the time he was picked.

The Autopilot is often misunderstood and misused by drivers of Tesla’s EVs leading to sometimes deadly crashes. It is a driver-assist system and not a self-driving one. When activated, it regularly sends signals to the driver to hold the steering wheel. When these signals are repeatedly ignored, the car will navigate to a stop in a safe position.

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The World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2021 (WAIC 2021) was recently ended with a focus on the growing autonomous driving technology industry. However, the event didn’t end without a bit of drama. Huawei announced the removal of the head of its autonomous driving unit Su Jing. The tech giant later issued a statement that the former head was removed for inappropriate comments made about Tesla’s autonomous self-driving technology at the event. Su had claimed Tesla vehicles are killing people, apparently referring to the autopilot issue that has been reported severally in recent times.

Su Jing has been with Huawei for many years with outstanding ability in autonomous technology and a good staff rating. He has previously served as the chief architect of Huawei Terminal Company and later as the head of Huawei’s intelligent driving product department. In particular, he took the lead in creating the autonomous driving system solution ADS, which was first showcased on the BAIC Arcfox Alpha S. The car is the first smart electric car equipped with Huawei’s lidar solution and the first model equipped with Huawei Harmony OS car system.

Thus, there are speculations in some quarters that his removal might be due to other reasons other than the Tesla comments. Before now, there were rumors that Weilai (NIO) and other car manufacturers had approached Su Jing and were looking to poach him from Huawei. However, both Mr. Su and NIO denied the rumor. Although Huawei still retains him in its employment, the autonomous driving expert may soon pitch his tent somewhere else.

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