What We’re Reading
Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicks off first Semi truck deliveries (CNBC, December 1, 2022)
Tesla has finally started deliveries of its electric Semi truck, five years after first revealing its design. CEO Elon Musk made the announcement last week at Tesla’s Nevada production facility after apologizing “for the delay.” A representative of PepsiCo Frito Lay, the first recipient of the production Semi, also spoke at the event. Tesla did not specify how many units will be delivered to Pepsi, or to any other company (other high-profile customers reportedly waiting to receive delivery include Anheuser-Busch, Walmart, and UPS).
Tesla’s Semi design is unique in that it has a central steering wheel and driver’s seat flanked by touch screens. The truck also is expected to have a faster charging system and greater range than competitors.
As noted in this article as well as Electrek’s coverage of last week’s announcement (more below), no mention was made of “driverless” features on the Semi, despite Musk’s prior commitment to “a driverless trucking future.” Instead, in his remarks, Musk focused on the positive environmental impact of electric long-haul vehicles, as contrasted with traditional semis that “represent a large portion of harmful vehicle emissions because of their size, weight, and the fact they are driven around the clock.”
Tesla didn’t say a word about Tesla Semi being equipped with Autopilot/Self-Driving (Electrek, December 3, 2022)
When the Tesla Semi concept was announced in 2017, Tesla claimed its long-haul EV would be equipped with Autopilot and would be able to operate in an “autonomous convoy mode” to follow other semis on the highway. Yet discussion of the Semi’s autonomous capabilities was conspicuously absent from the fanfare around last week’s delivery announcement, even though pictures of the production vehicle clearly show cameras consistent with Tesla’s Autopilot/FSD hardware suite.
According to this take from Electrek’s Editor-in-Chief (and Tesla expert) Fred Lambert, Tesla may be trying to downplay the Semi’s autonomous capabilities given the scrutiny the automaker’s Autopilot and FSD technology is facing from lawmakers, regulators, and litigants. But Tesla’s approach to the Semi roll-out also may simply reflect a smart business decision. Lambert posits that Tesla may be trying to avoid the fate of global shipping company Maersk, which encountered significant backlash from thousands of angry dockworkers in the Port of Los Angeles after announcing it would introduce driverless cargo carriers—a move that could potentially put those dockworkers out of a job. Concerns around the impact of automation on U.S. workers remains a hot button topic, and the trucking industry may be acutely sensitive to this looming threat as automation promises to reform the industry. For the Tesla Semi to commercially succeed in the short term, Lambert says, Tesla needs truck drivers to embrace the vehicle. “That might be more difficult to achieve if you talk about eventually replacing them with features already existing inside the electric truck.”
Sirius XM flaw could’ve let hackers remotely unlock and start cars (The Verge, December 3, 2022)
While vehicle connectivity provides many potential benefits, it also provides new opportunities for hackers. Most recently, “a vulnerability affecting Sirius XM’s connected vehicle services could’ve let hackers remotely start, unlock, flash the lights, and honk the horn on cars.” While flashing lights may seem relatively innocuous, as this article points out, the vulnerabilities in Sirius XM’s systems (satellite radio, telematics, and other infotainment) “pose potential privacy implications” due to the vast amount of personal data the systems currently collect from over 12 million vehicles.
See the hack for yourself by clicking through to the tweet that exposed these potential issues. (SiriusXM has since resolved the problem.)
AAA announces services tailored to EV owners, reflecting growing demand (Repairer Driven News, December 5, 2022)
AAA will begin providing specific services for EV owners, including (1) no-cost mobile charging in fourteen U.S. markets and (2) travel planning aids (TripTik, Tour Books, and digital Trip Canvas) that identify charging locations. According to the association, more than 300,000 of its members currently own an EV, and its surveys have indicated many more are looking to buy an EV in the near future. “The new services announced by AAA address two of the survey respondents’ reasons for hesitating about an EV purchase: Concern there are not enough places to charge (60%), and concern about running out of charge while driving (58%).”