When Tesla was in the limelight, there were three main draws to it: a good-looking EV, its (at the time) charismatic CEO and the promise of a self-driving car in the future.
We’re long past that point as models like the Tesla Cybertruck have tarnished Tesla’s design reputation. Elon Musk is considered controversial with his commandeering of X; at best and at worst, he’s fallen into irrelevance in the larger social media conversation. Now it seems the one foothold Tesla has been holding on to is starting to crumble as well, and Tesla is scrambling to put a new hold in place.
During an earnings call in January 2025, Musk said the company would need to upgrade people’s Hardware 3 computer for those who purchase Full-Self-Driving (FSD). At the latest earnings call, Musk said Hardware 3 is not capable of achieving FSD.
Tesla will be offering to upgrade and replace computers and cameras on older vehicles. This includes more than 4 million cars, which will fill up service centres. Musk said that micro factories, or factories in major metropolitan areas, will have to be set up in order to meet the demand.
Musk reportedly also said that Tesla’s Fremont factory will start manufacturing “humanoid Optimus Robots” in late July or August during that earnings call. However, it is probably in Musk’s best interest to fix current issues rather than to announce projects that could give rise to entirely new ones.
Source: Engadget
