We discuss the Semi event, what it was like being there, what we found most impactful about the Semi, and what the Roadster means as a halo vehicle for Tesla. 

If you are planning to buy a Model S or X please considering using this referral code to help support the show and get free Supercharging for life: http://ts.la/anuarbek5816

We discuss Caleb’s experience driving the Model 3. We dig deep into everything about the experience from the exterior, interior, driving dynamics, Autopilot, and more. 

If you are planning to buy a Model S or X please considering using this referral code to help support the show and get free Supercharging for life: http://ts.la/anuarbek5816

Special guest Rob Maurer joins Caleb to unpack Tesla’s Q3 2017earnings. We cover the high level numbers, the S & X business, energy, service & superchargers, Autopilot, and the big news around the Model 3 ramp. 

In a special episode guest host Trevor Page of the Model 3 Owners Club joins Caleb to discuss his recent hour long video of his time two days with the Model 3. We cover the exterior, interior, UI, the ergonomics of the touch screen, driving experience, the app and the keycard and more. 

Watch the video Trevor and Ken made here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DT0vDMWsq4

We discuss the major automakers goals for full autonomy timelines, Tesla’s Level 4 & 5 timelines, what the SAE levels really mean, and how we expect Tesla and others will actually roll out Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 self driving systems. 

We cover one of Tesla’s key suppliers for Autopilot – Nvidia. We discus their history, differences between  GPUs and CPUs, why Nvidia is entering the self-driving car arena, and what their strategy is to help companies like Tesla achieve the goal of a fully self-driving car.

We cover Elon and SpaceX’s plans to colonize Mars with their BFR. We unpack why Mars at all, how SpaceX has been laying the foundation for the key technologies needed for BFR with Falcon 9 and Dragon, how a Moon base fits in, and their vision for point to point earth transportation powered by BFR.

We discuss our recent trip with a Nissan Leaf to the Tesla factory. We experienced range anxiety for real. We also unpack the recent details about the Model 3 that have come out through different FCC filings, first responder manuals, and first hand accounts of new owners.

We do a deep dive into HD maps and speak with former Tesla Autopilot software engineer Andrew Kouri. Andrew is now co-founder and CEO of lvl5 a startup building HD maps using computer vision and crowdsourcing by paying people to record their drives with their smartphones. We discuss the different approaches to HD maps, why companies like Tesla and others working towards self driving will utilize HD maps, and how you can build HD maps from crowdsourced driving video using deep neural networks.

Download Payver to help build HD maps for the future of self driving cars and get paid to do it: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/payver-dashcam-with-rewards/id1187617316?mt=8

We discuss how simulation has continued to increase in importance in the development and validation of self driving vehicles and how Tesla and others are using simulation. We unpack the evolution of simulation from playback of driving events, to simulating a new drive, to actually training neural networks inside the simulation. Simulation is a key enabler for massive scaling and improvement of the software.

Article and video we discussed: 
Inside Waymo’s Carcraft Simulator - https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/537648/
Zoox’s usage of Simulation - https://youtu.be/otmxoK4lCNw?t=23m5s

If you are planning to buy a Model S or X please considering using this referral code to help support the show and save $1,000 and get free Supercharging for life: http://ts.la/anuarbek5816