On the new electric vehicle front, BMW had nothing to offer since launching the i3 and i8 almost 5 years ago and they are not expected to have a new EV from built from the ground up to be electric until the end of the decade.

But they could be releasing updated versions of their current EVs in order to compete with new longer range electric cars coming to markets. expand full story

We are just a week away from the Tesla Model 3 delivery event and the sightings of Model 3 units have been increasing with the hype.

Now it allows us to get a rare look at the Model 3’s backseat. expand full story

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has long been warning of the impact of Tesla’s fast pace of innovation in the auto industry. He even warned that Tesla’s Autopilot machine learning could potentially render all other cars obsolete.

Now Jonas suggests that the auto industry’s inability to match Tesla’s over-the-air software update capability could make them “highly vulnerable to obsolescence”. expand full story

Tesla launched in South Korea earlier this year despite being at a disadvantage against other electric vehicles. Tesla buyers don’t have access to the very generous electric vehicle incentive of up to 26 million won (~$23,000) offered by the government.

Now they have announced that they are removing the restriction that made Tesla’s vehicles ineligible. expand full story

Regenerative braking is one of the most interesting and differentiating features of electric vehicles. While virtually all electric cars on the market have it, the feature is tuned differently for each vehicle.

Now Nissan promises one of the most advanced regenerative braking systems for the next-generation Leaf. expand full story

Since unveiling an actual prototype of its upcoming all-electric vehicle last month, Fisker has been gradually revealing more details about the vehicle through social media.

We now learn that they are using li-ion battery cells from LG Chem, dual cameras in the mirrors, and more. expand full story

Automakers are hedging their bets when it comes to self-driving. They all have development programs in-house, but most of them have also invested in startups.

Now GM, BMW and Toyota are all investing in the same “self-driving startup”, Nauto. expand full story

Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

New homes will now require solar panels in South Miami, a first in Florida – [UPDATE – Prior EGEB referenced an almost one month old vote]. Under the rules, new residential construction would require 175 square feet of solar panel to be installed per 1,000 square feet of sunlit roof area, or 2.75 kw per 1,000 square feet of living space, whichever is less. If the house is built under existing trees, the shade may exempt it. For a region that is predicted to be flooded by the year 2050, this is a good step. Local politics were able to overcome robo-calls paid for the local electric utility that were communicating lies about solar. South Miami joins cities in California and other places globally requiring solar power at time of construction. This should lower the cost as well. Good job folks.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, China, U.S., Lead 2Q Surge in Renewables Investments – Solar was the star sector in 2Q, notching up investment of $35.6 billion, up 19% year-on-year and 20% quarter-on-quarter. Wind had a weaker three months, seeing investment slip 29% year-on-year to $26.2 billion, although it was 43% higher than in the first quarter of this year. Volume is going to grow in 2017 over the major growth year of 2016 – and its starting to show.

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After Tesla’s former Autopilot Program Director, Sterling Anderson, launched his own self-driving startup earlier this year, we now learn of a second startup in the field of autonomous driving launched by former Tesla Autopilot engineers.

Andrew Kouri and Erik Reed, two former engineers on Tesla’s Autopilot Team, as well as George Tall, a computer vision engineer from iRobot, have taken their startup, lvl5, out of stealth mode today. expand full story