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Updated: Tesla Removes Model X 70 kWh Option from Website

The Model X 70D has been deleted from the Tesla Motors website. What does that mean? Here are some ideas for your consideration.

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Updated March 28: Tesla has added the “70” and “90” back to the Model X page on their website.

Keen-eyed observers from the Tesla Motors Club forum have noticed that the 70 kWh battery pack option for the Model X has been recently removed from Tesla’s website. Scrolling down towards the Model X Specs section, readers will no longer see any mention of the 70D, nor the 90D. However, historical screenshots from archive.org as noted by TMC members will reveal that the lowest-priced 70 kWh version of the electric crossover once existed on the Model X page.

The omission has led to much discussion and speculation that a rumored 100 kWh P100D may be revealed sooner than we expect, perhaps as early as this week’s Model 3 unveiling.

 

When the Model X was first unveiled back in September of last year, Elon Musk mentioned that the entry level version would have “something like” a 70 kWh battery. Later, that option was added to the Model X configurator and the company started accepting orders for a Model X 70D, though none have been built.

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According to data collected by ModelXTracker.com, 93% of Model X orders are for the 90 kWh 90D and P90D leaving only 7% of orders placed for the 70 kWh battery option – provides further speculation that Tesla may have removed the 70D due to unpopularity. A similar action was taken by Tesla on the Model S 40 kWh option when it began taking initial orders in 2012. In 2013, Tesla discontinued the 40 kWh battery due to lack of demand, leaving both a 60 kWh version and the 85 kWh pack as available options.

Tesla is not known for making announcements around the removal of vehicle options, presumably to deter prospective buyers from deferring purchases for something newer. But with battery prices coming down and data suggesting low demand for smaller pack sizes on the Model X, it makes sense for Tesla to constantly improve upon battery specifications, and the options made available to consumers. Not only that, offering a longer range battery keeps the pressure on Tesla’s rivals to up their game.

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Tesla’s vehicles expected to get Grok voice assistant—but when?

Recently launched Grok voice features hint at what Tesla’s future voice assistant could look like.

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Credit: Tesla

A voice assistant based on xAI’s Grok language model is expected to make it to Tesla’s vehicles soon, and while it isn’t yet clear exactly when, the release of a new version of the AI with a voice mode just a few weeks ago suggests that it could be drawing near.

Last month, xAI debuted Grok 3, its latest version of the language model, along with rolling out a voice feature just a few days later that lets users talk to and get a response from the AI. During a broadcast on X in January, Musk also confirmed that Tesla’s vehicles would soon get Grok as a voice assistant, after he first teased a native version of the language model in the company’s vehicles back in November 2023.

Musk didn’t disclose exactly when Tesla’s vehicles would get the Grok voice assistant, simply saying that the feature was “coming soon.”

“Grok in Teslas is coming soon,” Musk said. “So you will just be able to talk to your Tesla and ask for anything.”

READ MORE ON XAI: xAI’s Atlanta data center with $700M in AI equipment to be operated with X: report

As Musk pointed out in his gaming broadcast, the system is expected to let drivers talk directly to their vehicle, to which Grok will respond and make the necessary changes as a built-in voice assistant. Currently, however, Grok 3 and its voice mode are only available to those with a Premium Plus account on X, running $40 a month.

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xAI officially launched a standalone Grok app for Apple devices in January, following suit for Androids just weeks later in February. Voice functionality with Grok in Tesla vehicles has also been teased in a few under-the-radar updates from the company since last year.

As one example in December, Tesla hinted at an upcoming voice assistant with the ability to get vehicles to respond “Hello” when greeted by drivers with “Hello” or “Hi,” though they would previously reply with “command not understood.”

The update, while seemingly small, also followed the addition of a wake word capability to Tesla’s vehicles last May, as discovered in source code by hacker and code sleuth greentheonly.

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Elon Musk claims X is under ‘massive cyberattack’

Could the X outages be the result of a massive cyberattack? Elon Musk thinks so.

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

Elon Musk claims that an ongoing outage on his social media platform X is due to a “massive cyberattack,” and he says the attack seems to have an unprecedented amount of resources behind it.

Amidst intermittent outages on X on Monday morning, Musk claimed in a post that the issues were the result of a targeted cyberattack on the platform. He also claimed that, while attacks are lodged against the platform everyday, this particular one seemed to have substantial resources behind it, which he says could be “either a large, coordinated group and/or a country.”

There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against 𝕏.

We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.

Tracing …

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When X user Hassan Sajwani responded to the post saying that “They want to silence you and this platform,” Musk simply responded “Yes” in a follow-up post. X has yet to release an official statement on the outages.

The news also comes after mass demonstrations and vandalism against Tesla’s stores and vehicles have broken out around the world in the past few weeks, in protest of Musk’s recent efforts under the Trump administration to gut a broad range of federal agencies. Arrests have been made following attacks and arson against multiple of the Tesla locations, though it’s not yet clear if the ongoing cyberattack against X could be related.

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Musk was also hosted for an interview with Fox Business on Monday following the outages, during which he said he “wasn’t sure” what had happened but that the attacks had been linked to IP addresses originating in Ukraine.

READ MORE ON X: Elon Musk’s X in talks to raise funds at $44 billion valuation: report

Musk purchased X, then called Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022, going on to launch mass layoffs at the company. About six months after the purchase, he said in an interview with BBC that the company had brought headcount down to just 1,500 from roughly 8,000, representing a cut of around 80 percent of staff.

Last month, X reported an adjusted EBIDTA of $682 million for 2024, along with about $5 billion in revenue. Wall Street Journal also reported that banks had completed a sale of $5.5 billion in debt backed by X. CEO Linda Yaccarino said in January that the company has also secured a deal with Visa to launch X Money, slated for release later this year.

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Updated 3:14 p.m. MT: Added Musk’s response in Fox Business interview.

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Tesla’s Full Self-Driving faces a new hurdle in UK rollout plans

New restrictions could slow the rollout of Tesla’s FSD in the UK.

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Tesla has been working to start deploying its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) system outside of North America, though as the first waves of the software go out in China and Mexico, regulatory holdups in the United Kingdom (UK) and elsewhere are proving tough to overcome.

The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has proposed rules paring back allowances for autonomous driving systems such as Tesla’s Supervised FSD, according to documents seen by Telegraph in a report over the weekend. The delays echo previous statements from Tesla officials highlighting that the system may not be able to roll out in full in Europe until 2028, after recent regulation changes have slowed the deployment of certain automated capabilities.

Although the department’s original draft of safety rules related to self-driving systems allowed vehicles to perform maneuvers such as stopping and starting at traffic lights, turning at intersections, and changing lanes, all while drivers were hands-free, a new draft has diluted these functions to only allow “highway” maneuvers, such as lane changes, while also requiring drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel.

“Whilst [a driver assistance system] may help in reducing collisions, it may also introduce new safety risks,” said a group of UK officials who helped propose the added restrictions in September.

The group has also suggested that systems like Tesla’s FSD Supervised should be rolled out “in phases,” echoing that safety concerns should be closely evaluated amidst deployment.

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“The technological advancements in these systems are promising, but there remain concerns about their impact on driver behaviour, situational awareness and overall safety.”

The changes also come after concerns about deploying automated driving systems were raised in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) last year, with the UK’s DfT officials speaking out then about concerns for broader approval of the technology.

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Tesla’s launch of FSD Supervised in Europe, elsewhere: what’s causing delays?

Tesla recently launched early FSD-related features in China and Mexico, and the news comes as the company has continued to face tough regulatory barriers to launching the software in markets across Europe and the UK.

As part of his resignation announcement in October, Tesla’s former Global Vehicle Automation and Safety Policy Lead Marc Van Impe warned of major barriers in Europe due to the UN Regulation 171, dubbed DCAS, which could delay the deployment of FSD until 2028.

“This impacts Europe’s competitiveness and it’s clear that the type-approval framework needs to evolve to better and more quickly tackle innovative technologies,” Van Impe said of the delay. “Perhaps temporary certification or deployment through pre-certification can prove a solution.”

Despite this, Tesla went on to launch an introductory version of Actually Smart Summon in Europe and the Middle East in November, after the highly-anticipated software had previously been lumped in with an FSD Supervised update in North America.

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During Tesla’s Q4 2024 earnings call in January, CEO Elon Musk also highlighted European regulations as a major barrier to getting FSD approved. He also highlighted an upcoming European Union (EU) committee session in May, which he said is expected to approve the software.

Tesla employees are performing autonomous FSD trials, CEO Elon Musk says

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