According to the patent description, ATIS will allow the driver to adjust the tire pressure of the vehicle in real time. As early as 20 18, it was reported that the patent had been exposed, although Tesla did not associate the patent with Tesla Semi or any other vehicles owned by Tesla at that time. However, according to media reports afterwards, the original patent appeared when Semi was exposed, and its inventor JohnFurtado was also closely related to the launch of Tesla Semi. According to media reports, Furtado was in charge of the brakes, brake control, pneumatic devices, wheels and tires of Tesla Semi before leaving Tesla for Daimler trucks. Interestingly, the inventor of this patent returned to Tesla shortly after leaving Tesla.
In the latest patent, Tesla clearly stated that the early system of the previous patent had some "shortcomings": in order to couple air into the hollow drive shaft, the rotatably connected fittings coupled air from the air storage tank to the inside of the hollow shaft. This kind of fitting is easy to leak pollutants. These pollutants interfered with the operation of ATIS and eventually led to the failure of ATIS. However, Tesla said that the new patent has become smarter after improvement, and the new equipment has significantly reduced the pollution in the ATIS airflow. The reduction of potential pollutants will prolong the service life of the system and reduce the maintenance interval.