ELECTREK PODCAST: TESLA HOLIDAY UPDATE, SELF-DRIVING SNEAK PREVIEW, RIVIAN NEWS, AND MORE

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The Electrek Podcast dives into Tesla's 'Holiday Update,' highlighting significant enhancements to the Full Self-Driving (FSD) visualization, now including traffic lights and stop signs, and improved environmental rendering. However, access to these features is restricted to vehicles with the newer HW 3.0 computer, raising concerns for owners with older hardware who paid for FSD. The update also brings more natural voice commands, SMS reading/replying, a voice keyboard, and the ability to activate the dashcam by honking. Autopilot's auto lane change has seen substantial improvements, becoming more aggressive and smoother. The podcast also touches on Tesla's Gigafactory 3 expansion in China, securing a $1.6 billion loan for operations and potential battery cell production. Rivian's substantial fundraising efforts, nearing $3 billion without delivering a vehicle, are discussed, alongside their impressive 'tank turn' demonstration. Finally, the discussion critiques the Honda Clarity's limited range and the CEO's view of EVs being solely regulation-driven, contrasting it with Volkswagen's accelerated EV production plans.