By
Svetlana Soroka
April 18th, 2024
Despite a record delay in its launch, Tesla is making impressive advances with its Full Self Driving (FSD) technology.
Elon Musk, the iconic Chief Executive Officer of American electric vehicle and clean energy company, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) reportedly had an “all hands meeting” yesterday where he discussed some crucial company plans and milestones. According to tweets shared by Sawyer Merritt, who cited anonymous sources involved in the meeting, there are indications from the CEO that the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin Germany may secure approval for opening as early as next month.
Tesla has had another profitable run thus far this year with many innovative projects unveiled. The company has also moved to divest its excess cash through a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin (BTC) which it made back in February. In all, Tesla has recorded impressive growths atop the digital currency investment thus far, helping to wade off criticisms from more conservative analysts.
There are a number of initiatives on the ground to boost the firm’s image. At the meeting, Musk said there is an ongoing plan to paint the company’s name on the roof of its gigafactory in Austin Texas, publicity that will give enhanced visibility to airplanes landing at the airport nearby.
Despite the excerpts from the meeting which showed impressive milestones for the firm, Tesla shares are not responding in tandem. The shares closed down 0.23% to $732.39 on Wednesday and have slipped further by 0.087% during the pre-market today. While Tesla shares have stalled in its growth surges compared to previous year performances, it is still up by 79.95% in the past year.
With a market capitalization of $725.08 billion, the Palo Alto-based firm still sits atop the ladder as the world’s most valuable automaker.
Here Are More Things to Watch Out for from Tesla Besides Berling Gigafactory
Despite a record delay in its launch, Tesla is making impressive advances with its Full Self Driving (FSD) technology. Per the report, Musk commended the team for the hardwork put into the project, noting that “FSD 10 is quite profound, a revelation, is the future; V10 next week and “button request” 2 weeks after that.”
While the company notably delayed the Cybertruck with “Production starting late 2022 and volume production in 2023.” Musk is planning the idea of a Robo Van to cater to the needs of people with disabilities. As highlighted by Sawyer, the company is considering launching a budget car people have codenamed Model 2. This model will reportedly sell for $25,000 and it may come with no steering wheel, and pedals, as Musk just wants to “roll the dice on FSD,” that is, make the car completely driverless.
This plan may be a slight overreach in the near term though as the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a probe into the company in relation to its autopilot system. The investigation is still ongoing, and Tesla may need to perfect its records, before aiming for a completely FSD vehicle.
The meeting ended with Musk being positive about the potential of growing by a factor of 10 and making his trip to the moon in 10 years.