Tesla AI Day might rely on ‘one more thing’ moment to be impactful

Tesla is holding its “AI Day” today, and the automaker might have to rely on a “one more thing” moment in order for the presentation to be impactful.

Over the last few years, Tesla started holding events, not really to unveil new products, but to present new technologies that it has been working on in certain fields.

For example, it held a Tesla Autonomy Day in 2019 and a Tesla Battery Day last year.

Tesla AI Day is expected to be similar, and CEO Elon Musk said that they would discuss advancements in both AI hardware and software, specifically with the automaker’s new Dojo supercomputer and its neural nets.

For the most part, Tesla’s AI effort revolves around solving computer vision to deliver a full self-driving system – something it has been promising to customers for years.

Therefore, while an update on the progress on developing the technology needed to enable full self-driving is welcomed by customers and investors, ultimately, it’s something that Tesla has been expected to do for years.

The real difference maker at the event might have to be a Steve Jobs “one more thing” moment.

Tesla hinted as much in its invite to AI Day earlier this month.

The automaker wrote that Tesla AI Day attendees are going to “get an inside look at what’s next for AI at Tesla beyond our vehicle fleet.”

For now, it’s anyone’s guess what that could mean, but there’s a true possibility that it could be more impactful than solving full self-driving, which is hard to imagine.

Musk has also noted that the goal of the event is to attract more AI talent to Tesla.

Electrek’s Take

To be clear, I’m not trying to downplay Tesla’s developments in supercomputing and neural network training to achieve full self-driving.

That is extremely important, but it’s also just something that needs to happen in order for Tesla to keep its promise to deliver a full self-driving system, which it has been selling to customers for years.

But if you solve important problems with computer vision in the process, it can apply to a lot of other things that could be impactful.

I won’t pretend to know exactly what it is, but something to do with robots is the leading contender at this time.

Advancements in AI-powered computer vision can make a big difference in the usefulness of robots and the involvement of famed roboticist Dennis Hong, with today’s event fueling the rumors.

Are we going to get to see a robot powered by Tesla’s AI? Who knows, but we will be watching.

Tune in later tonight for our coverage of Tesla AI Day. The event is expected to start at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET).