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3 people · 19 quotes · 7 Mar 2024 to 8 Jul 2026
1 of 3 lane rests on fewer than 5 quotes and is marked thin. Offsets are days from the middle first-quote date, 7 Mar 2024 — a date, and nothing else. It is not a claim about who reached a view first.
Gurley says Tesla replaced coded self-driving with neural network using driver videos as input and controls as output.
“What we learned this week is that they've completely tossed all of that out and gone with a neural network model where they're uploading videos from their best drivers.”
Gerstner explains Tesla's new FSD model uses driver behavior as the label, not deterministic code for stoplights.
“Now in this new model, it's pixels in. So the model itself has no code. It doesn't know this is a stoplight per se. In fact, they just watched the driver's behavior.”
Gerstner notes Tesla has 7% FSD penetration at $12,000 per customer, with mixed reviews before version 12.
“If you look at it today, they have about 7% penetration of s FSD. That was, let's call it, through FSD 11, and those people paid $12,000 incrementally for that FSD.”
Gerstner models Tesla FSD penetration rising from 7% to 20% at $500 monthly maintaining contribution margin despite lower price.
“I'm happy to pay $500 a month. You know, if you get to, you know, 20% penetration, then your contribution margin at Tesla, right, is about the same, even though you're charging half as much.”
Gerstner estimates robotaxi revenue per car drops from $140K to $100K due to increased supply lowering prices despite more rides.
“When you do that in self driving, we think it goes down to about a 100,000. Why? Well, you have actually more rides in the self driven car.”
Gerstner calls Elon Musk's Tesla compensation package the most shareholder-aligned CEO pay structure he has seen.
“the Elon package is the most shareholder aligned comp CEO compensation package I've ever seen. I would be thrilled if all of my hired CEOs had a very similar package. Right. I'd be thrilled.”
Baker says Tesla FSD 12.5 is at GPT-3 level and can consistently drive him most places without interventions.
“I think 12 dot five is like GPT three, and it can consistently drive me most places with no interventions. I'm a seasonal driver. I really only drive my Tesla in the summer.”
Baker says FSD 12.3 contained all the progress of the previous ten years in one release.
“This year, it's like when we turned on 12 dot three, it's like all of the progress over the last ten years was in that one release from the first time I had that Tesla.”
Baker predicts Tesla FSD will achieve 100x improvement quickly as compute scales to GPT-4.5 levels.
“I think they're going to go really fast to GPT-4.5 compute, which means you're going to get, using these orders of magnitude, you're going get a 100x improvement really fast.”
Baker predicts FSD skeptics will be humiliated and says Tesla's data is 100-10,000x bigger than Waymo's.
“We could argue whether it's a 100 x, a thousand x, 10,000 x, bigger than the second biggest trading dataset, which is Weibo.”
Baker quotes Elon saying only synthetic data and real world video scale infinitely, identifying synthetic video as key risk.
“The only two data sources that will scale infinitely are synthetic data and real world video. And I thought that was interesting.”
Gerstner estimates Tesla FSD 13 will match Waymo at around 25,000 miles per critical disengagement at Q4 launch.
“At launch in q four of this year, it looks like version 13 will be somewhere around 25,000 miles per critical disengagement.”
Gerstner projects Tesla FSD could reach 500,000 miles per critical disengagement by mid-2025, matching human accident rates.
“And at the current rate of improvement, right, in q one of next year, they could be at a 100,000 miles per critical disengagement. By the middle of next year, 500,000 miles per critical disengagement.”
Gerstner notes Tesla's Fremont factory employs 20,000 people and produces over 550,000 cars.
“Tesla, of course, produces cars over in Fremont just across across the bay from here, employs 20,000 people, produced over 550,000 Teslas in the Fremont factory.”
Gerstner says FSD versions 12.3 and 12.9 convinced him autonomy had arrived.
“And starting in the spring of last year when we saw full self driving, you know, 12.3, and then by the end of the year, 12.9, we just knew autonomy was here.”
Gerstner says his December Tesla Model S drives him everywhere without touching the steering wheel.
“I have a a new Tesla Model s I bought in December. It drives me everywhere. I tweeted about it the other day. I don't touch the steering wheel.”
Gurley says he would offer Elon's Tesla compensation package to every company he's worked with.
“that package, that type of package that they did for Elon, I've said this, you know, publicly, I would agree to that type of package for every company I've ever worked with, and most CEOs wouldn't take it. It basically says you don't make money unless the stock goes way up.”
Gurley defends Tesla's Elon Musk compensation as aligned with shareholders despite ISS opposition.
“It basically says you don't make money unless the stock goes way up. And if your stock goes way up, you make an obscene amount of money.”
Baker emphasizes Antonio Gracias had chapter in Isaacson's Elon biography for his impact on Tesla story.
“There's a chapter about him at the Walter Isaacson book. He was on the field having an impact on the outcome, along with the incredibly talented people at Tesla and Elon.”