Episode 533: Special Guest: Franz von Holzhausen (Yes, Again!)

Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen sits down with me – yes, again! – to discuss Master Plan Part 4, his role as the company evolves, Tesla's rarest paint colors, and so much more!

TIMECODES:

8:00 Interview start
9:25 Discussing Master Plan Part 4
13:26 Will Tesla be making new vehicles in new segments in the next five years?
14:38 Will there be new Tesla vehicles other than the new Roadster that have manual steering inputs?
16:13 Autonomy is the focus
16:49 The next-gen Roadster will be a great driver's car that "looks at the limit of physics"
17:50 Franz says it's important to vote your shares in the current board proposals and shareholder vote
19:40 What Franz's role in Master Plan Part 4 would be
22:07 Cybercab is the beginning of where futuristic transport is going
22:40 Franz and his team work on the user interface and the Tesla website too
24:14 The Design team's software work is as important to them as its work on physical design
25:15 The user experience/in-car software will change when Tesla reaches full autonomy
26:00 Ryan advocates for a front bumper camera retrofit for new Model 3, S, and X owners; Franz responds
27:20 About the "Cyber SUV" seemingly hiding in plain sight in Tesla's Master Plan Part 4 video
29:26 Franz on why Tesla doesn't pursue lots of vehicle segments
30:49 Franz on the Model Y L
32:06 Why not bring the Model Y L to the US?
33:01 Is the 7-seat Model Y coming soon?
33:16 Talking about designing Model Y Standard
36:09 Franz on the new Model Y Performance
38:31 What Franz is daily driving right now
40:19 Frost Blue paint color's origins
40:52 Why Glacier Blue isn't available in the US yet
42:14 About Europe's new Marine Blue paint color
42:34 The fate of Midnight Cherry Red paint color
42:52 Tesla's rarest paint color
44:30 The six Tesla unicorn paint colors
46:33 Iterations of design to arrive at the new wheel designs for the Standard 3 and Y
48:41 More on the Model Y Standard
50:13 Biggest challenge in designing the Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard
51:37 Most popular paint color when removing price from the equation
52:46 How the Tesla Diner will evolve in the coming weeks and months
56:30 What is still being tweaked on the Cybercab
57:44 Where Cybercab will deploy first
58:05 Franz on his experiences riding in Robotaxi so far
59:09 Franz on the refreshed Model S Plaid
1:00:52 How Franz views S and X these days and in the next few years
1:02:40 When the new Roadster will be re-revealed and when it might finally go into production
1:03:48 New Roadster's paint options
1:04:41 What Franz is like outside of Tesla's walls

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