This Week in Tesla - Updates on the Model Y and Wheels, Incoming “Deep Rain” Update, & Tesla’s “Crash Lab”

Updates on the Model Y and Wheels

Since the unveiling of the Model Y in March of 2019, there has been a constant stream of spy shots and rumors surrounding the final production specifics. One thing that is apparent is that all of the Model S, X, & 3 owners who paid for “chrome delete” at their local wrap shop will be able to save on that expense with the Model Y. The new Crossover SUV comes with black window trim, side autopilot cameras, and door handles.

The Model Y has also been spotted several times on the back of transporter trucks near the company’s Fremont, California headquarters. Although only two wheel options are currently listed on the website, both already available on the Model 3, one more has been spotted. The other wheel configuration spotted on a horde of Model Y’s in the wild is one that we have yet to see on any Model 3 or in any previous Model Y sighting. These new wheels could potentially be used in crash testing, range testing, or any other kind of testing they might conduct prior to the mass production planned for the fall of 2020.

Some additional wheels have been seen on the Model Y, this time coming in the form of the new “aero wheels” that are available on the Model 3 in China. These wheels were likely being tested for implementation in the vast Chinese market which Tesla has only just begun to tap into. In addition to the new sighting of Model Y wheels, there was also a sighting of new wheels on a batch of Model 3’s near the headquarters, which just this week became available via the online configurator.

At the beginning of Model 3 production, when they were solely focused on the production ramp-up, they limited the wheel options available plausibly in order to maintain the simplicity of the manufacturing process. Now that production is ramped and streamlined, it looks like they may be expanding the options list on the Model 3 shortly. Due to the fact that they already have the mass production aspect down, it seems on time that they would be now moving onto making more options on the car available.

Tesla’s Subpar Auto Wiper System Will Soon Improve

Many Tesla owners who have also driven cars from other manufacturers with an auto wiper system know all too well that Tesla’s system is lacking severely in comparison. The root cause of this issue is the mere fact that, rather than using a rain sensor to detect when and how hard it is raining, they just use the existing Autopilot camera mounted in the windshield. Using the camera poses many challenges, most coming in the form of knowing when it is raining. For many Tesla owners, the wipers will only turn on when it is raining very hard, and will not activate the wipers at a slow speed when it is just drizzling.

In a recent tweet by CEO Elon Musk, he addressed the common issue by saying that they are developing a new neural network specifically for the auto wipers, which he jokingly calls “deep rain” as the amount of information required to process through the camera how hard it is raining and adjust the wiper speed accordingly. The good news regarding this, is that every Tesla owner will be able to receive the update, although we currently do not have a time frame on it.

Tesla Shows Off Their “Crash Lab” in a New Video

The three safest cars ever produced according to the NHTSA, in order are; Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X. Making the safest car ever is not an overnight task, as explained in Tesla’s new “Crash Lab” video uploaded this week. The engineers tasked with testing the vehicle’s crash safety explained the process of creating such a safe car. They also explained how rewarding it is for them, when they find out that there has been a crash in which the occupants would have been killed, but they were in a Tesla.