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Tesla has unveiled a 3D reconstruction park assist system that serves as the long-awaited bird-eye view.

Bird’s eye view, a vision monitoring system that renders a view of a vehicle from the top to help park and navigate tight spaces, has become a popular feature in premium vehicles and it has even moved down market over the last few years.

It’s almost ubiquitous in most modern luxury cars and offered in tech packages in many less expensive vehicles.

Yet, Tesla, a premium brand, has never offered the feature.

CEO Elon Musk said that the feature is coming, but that was all the way back in 2020.

It took more than 3 years, but it is finally here – sort of.

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of Autopilot software, announced a new “high-fidelity park assist” feature in a post on X:

While not a traditional “bird-eye view”, it basically performs the same function and more.

Elluswamy describes the feature:

This replaces the 2D obstacle band that customers had with a high-resolution 3D reconstruction of the Tesla’s surroundings. This is an extension of our Occupancy Network, with much higher resolution to help with tight parking maneuvers. The obstacles are modeled as a continuous distance field. This allows us to represent arbitrary shapes in a smooth and computationally efficient way. The vehicles you see are not some fixed meshes, but the network’s real-time prediction of the shape.

The engineer says that the feature is now coming as part of the Tesla Holiday Update, which is a welcomed addition as we previously reported that the update was otherwise quite weak.

However, the feature is only coming to Tesla Vision vehicles without ultrasonic sensors (Model 3/Y since 2022 and Model S/X since 2023).

Elluswamy says that the feature will eventually also come to older Tesla vehicles equipped with ultrasonic sensors, but he didn’t confirm a timeline.

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.

Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.

Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Read more: All my favorite EVs, racecars, and robots from Electrify Expo Austin.

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Chevy EV owners in Texas now get free overnight home charging with Reliant

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Chevy EV owners in Texas now get free overnight home charging with Reliant

Chevy EV owners in Texas who have Reliant as their electric utility can now charge for free at night with renewable energy.

Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships across Texas are now offering the Reliant Free Charge Nights plan to new EV buyers. With Free Charge Nights, customers can offset their charging costs by receiving credits for electricity used between 11 pm and 6 am. The plan is powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, says the plan is about making power personal: “We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan.”

This collaboration aims to make EV adoption more appealing by making charging cheaper and greener. GM Energy’s chief revenue officer, Aseem Kapur, emphasized that partnerships like this help build the ecosystem needed to support an all-electric future: “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to make EV adoption an easy decision.”

Existing Reliant customers can also sign up for the Free Charge Nights plan. To get started, Chevrolet EV owners need to designate their vehicle on the GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before enrolling in the plan.

Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, serves over 1.5 million customers in Texas, making it one of the largest electricity providers in the state.

Read more: Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes


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Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes

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Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes

Texas is about to get a major power boost – a new AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) delivering capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.

NRG Energy is teaming up with Renew Home to bring nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity to the Texas grid by 2035, aiming to make it more resilient while helping residents save on energy costs.

The new VPP will rely on hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and other connected home devices, making use of AI technology provided by Google Cloud. These devices, like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, will be offered to eligible customers at no cost. By automating HVAC adjustments, they help shift energy use to when electricity is cheaper, cleaner, and less strained.

NRG and Renew Home have big plans for the VPP. Starting in spring 2025, the companies plan to roll out the program across Texas, installing these smart thermostats in homes served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Eventually, they plan to add home battery storage and EVs to expand the power plant’s capabilities.

Texas has faced record-breaking energy demands, with peak usage hitting 85 GW in 2023. As the state’s population grows and extreme weather becomes more frequent, VPPs like this one could play a key role in stabilizing the grid. VPPs aggregate a lot of small-scale energy resources, from smart thermostats to home batteries, and use them to help balance supply and demand during times of high stress on the grid.

This nearly 1 GW VPP will be one of the largest of its kind in Texas. NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, calls it a “pivotal step” for improving customer experience while making Texas’ energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient.

In addition to Renew Home, NRG is working with Google Cloud to maximize the power plant’s effectiveness. Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools will help predict weather conditions, forecast renewable generation, and optimize energy usage, all of which will help make energy management smoother for both customers and the grid.

Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, said:

NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program.

This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.

Read: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens


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