December 31, 2018
Unhappy Arizona residents slashing Waymo tires, derailing self-driving cars, more
The advent of any new technology is accompanied with complaints, as seen with Wing’s delivery drones, but in the case of self-driving cars there have been more radical expressions of discontent. As Waymo tests and operates vehicles in Phoenix, some Arizona residents have taken to threatening or even damaging the cars.
In 2018, Tesla was mainly focused on ramping up production of Model 3. It was a great year of growth for the company.
The automaker will undoubtedly grow in 2019 also, but we expect the year ahead to also bring a few other interesting things for Tesla.
Here’s what to expect from Tesla in 2019: expand full story
Green Deals: Snow Joe 11-inch 10A Electric Snow Shovel $59, more
Today only, Home Depot offers up to 30% off electric outdoor power equipment and tools. Free shipping is available for all. Our top pick is the Snow Joe 11-inch 10A Electric Snow Blower Shovel for $59. That’s down from its $80+ price tag at retailers like Walmart and the best we can find. This electric snow shovel is powered by a 10A motor and can throw snow up to 20-feet away. Rated 4/5 stars. Be sure to grab an extension cord to complete your new setup. Check out the rest of today’s sale for even more deals.
As of this weekend with only just over a day left in the quarter, Tesla still had over 3,000 Model 3 vehicles left in inventory in the US, according to a source familiar with the matter. expand full story
Despite catching a break over the increasing tariffs in China for the first few months of 2019, Tesla is moving forward with its accelerated plan to build Gigafactory 3 in the country and Elon Musk now hints at groundbreaking “soon”. expand full story
December 30, 2018
With every year, buyers have more all-electric vehicle options and 2019 is not going to be an exception.
Here are the new all-electric vehicles coming in 2019. expand full story
December 29, 2018
Tesla tries to kill two birds with one stone as it launches new incentives to both deliver more vehicles by the end of the year and get more employees on its new Autopilot Hardware 3 test program. expand full story
Tesla has released some rare new footage from inside the Fremont factory showing a Model 3 being assembled from start to finish. expand full story
December 28, 2018
We have only seen two Tesla Semi electric truck prototypes since the launch over a year ago, but it now looks like there might be a third one or at least a modified one as a red Tesla Semi has been spotted in the wild. expand full story
This week on the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including Tesla appointing new board members, Tesla releasing a new software update, a new cheap Chinese EV, and more.
We are still about a year away from Porsche starting the production of the Taycan, its first all-electric vehicle, but the company is already seeing some strong demand.
The German automaker claims that they have a year worth of pre-orders and Tesla owners are the top Taycan reservation holders. expand full story
2018 was a big year for electric motorcycle and scooter announcements. That means 2019 is the year that many of these models will first roll out to the public.
Large companies and new startups alike have been getting into the electric two-wheeler game, offering up a wide range of new electric rides. From crazy high powered electric motorcycles to sensible commuter electric scooters, here are the models to watch for next year.
Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s CEO, commented on the British automaker’s electrification plans and how it plays into expanding their sales.
The CEO sees rich liberals buying Tesla vehicles and they want some of those sales too. expand full story
Tesla announced today that it is appointing two new independent directors to its board: Larry Ellison, Founder of Oracle, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, a long-time human resources executive. expand full story
Tesla has released some rare footage of the Model 3’s snow driving tests during its winter testing program. expand full story
December 27, 2018
Tesla is working to bring to market its new Autopilot Hardware 3, which consists of a new neural net computer that they claimed will be the ‘world’s most advanced computer for autonomous driving’.
The company is now testing the new hardware in employee vehicles as part of its ‘Full Self-Driving Test Program’. expand full story
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has updated the Tesla Model 3’s safety rating after the automaker made some changes to the headlights to earn the top mark. expand full story
Today, Volkswagen unveiled the first glimpse at its new mobile charging station project: a charging station using a 360 kWh battery pack to power a flexible solution. expand full story
Tesla has registered a new business leasing company in China today as it attempts to maintain its business in the important market until it can establish local manufacturing capacity. expand full story
Great Wall Motor is launching its new flagship vehicle under its new ‘ORA’ electric car brand: the ORA R1.
The small urban car will cost only $8,680 after incentives and it will have almost 200 miles of range, according to the automaker. expand full story
Many new Tesla owners are currently experiencing their first winter with their new vehicles and it is coming with some issues.
Tesla has been trying to address them with a few software updates – the latest one is being released this week and it is attempting to help unfreeze the charge port. expand full story
December 26, 2018
As a late Christmas gift, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced some expansions to the Supercharger network, including ‘dramatically increasing’ Superchargers within cities, a European expansion, and more. expand full story
Last year, California utilities started offering rebates to EV-owning customers based on a simple application process with few strings attached. Next year, California is releasing more funds to utilities for these programs, and in response utilities have increased the available incentives – SCE’s rebate has gone from $450 to $1,000, and PG&E has upped theirs from $500 to $800.
PG&E’s new rebate applies to any application received after January 1 – so if you just got an EV for Christmas (perhaps during Tesla’s year-end delivery rush), hold off on your application for a couple of days to save yourself $300. SCE’s increased rebate only applies to cars purchased or leased after January 1. If you just got your car, you’ll have to settle for the old $450 rebate, but this might help reduce the sting of missing out on the full federal tax credit if you take delivery of a Model 3 early next year, or a Bolt after GM’s tax credit is reduced in the second half of next year.
Tesla had a booming year with the production ramp-up of Model 3 and since things are slow between Christmas and the New Year, I thought I’d do a quick post about Tesla’s 2018 year in pictures. expand full story
China is the place to be when it comes to electric vehicles and Panasonic now plans to almost double its electric vehicle battery production in the country to take advantage of the surging market. expand full story
Dutch electric scooter company Etergo (formerly Bolt Mobility) just landed a €10M investment. The company is in the final stages of production preparation and will use the funding for production of their high tech, innovative and long range electric scooters.
Tesla investors get some kind of reprieve today as Tesla’s stock (TSLA) is back up over $300 per share over hope about Model 3 demand in Europe.
It’s a welcome change after a few disastrous trading days on the market for Tesla. expand full story
With only days left in 2018, Tesla is trying to deliver all its vehicles in the US and some have been working overtime during the Christmas break to help with the delivery frenzy as it intensifies. expand full story
December 25, 2018
Just a week after extending the program through the end of the year, Tesla has again lengthened the duration of the program until March 11. The details stay mostly the same as ever – owners can provide a referral code to new buyers, and each party gets a perk for using it. Buyers get 6 months of free supercharging and owners get escalating rewards based on how many referrals they’ve made.
But starting today, buyers can also gain an additional 3 months of free supercharging “if they order without ever having taken a test drive” with Tesla.
December 24, 2018
The race to bring all-electric trucks to market and electrify the transport industry has culminated into several firsts in 2018 and we have one more before the end of the year.
DAF has delivered its first all-electric truck to a customer as part of their test program. expand full story
Green Deals: TP-Link Kasa Dimmable Smart LED Light Bulb $14, more
Amazon offers the TP-Link Kasa LB110 Dimmable Smart LED Light Bulb for $14.39 shipped. Originally $25, we this bulb sell for at least $18 and upwards of $22. These smart LED bulbs are perfect for saving energy and also enjoying voice-controlled features. Create automatic schedules and help eliminate energy vampires along the way. Best of all? No additional hub required. Rated 3.9/5 stars by 1,700 Amazon reviewers.
T’was the day before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring – not even a mouse.
So where could Micah be found, was he at his computer? No, he was outside – reviewing the crazy EMove electric scooter!
Alright, that’s enough rhyming. Let’s get down to brass tacks. The EMove Cruiser electric scooter from Voro Motors is a high-power, high-speed and long-range electric scooter that puts all the little electric scooters to shame. Now let’s talk about why.
In what appears to be an act of protest against Tesla, a bunch of pickup truck drivers used their trucks to block access to a Supercharger station and reportedly yelled profanities about Tesla until they were removed from the premises. expand full story
It looks like there’s at least going to be a “cease fire” in the US-China trade for the first quarter of 2019 and it’s now affecting the price of the Tesla Model 3.
Tesla is reducing the price of Model 3 by over 7% in the country. expand full story
December 23, 2018
As part of the ecoGP series, they held the first 24 hours race with only electric cars, the 24 Hours of Oschersleben, and the winning car would surprise you: a Tesla Roadster. expand full story
December 22, 2018
As it pushes to deliver an incredible number of vehicles during the last week of the year, Elon Musk says that Tesla will cover the difference in the value of tax credit if it can’t deliver by the end of the year. expand full story
A Tesla owner says that Autopilot automatically applied the emergency brake to avoid a crash caught on his TeslaCam last week. expand full story
Tesla activated the special ‘Storm Watch’ mode of its Powerwall 2 home battery pack to keep the lights on at its customer’s homes with the upcoming cyclone in Australia. expand full story
December 21, 2018
As promised by Elon Musk just earlier this week, Tesla released a new mobile app update that lets owners remotely activate their heated seat and steering wheel as well as schedule a service appointment. expand full story
This week on the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including Elon Musk’s Boring Company launches its first tunnel, Tesla launches new end-of-the-year delivery initiatives, Donald Trump goes after EVs, and more.
Green Deals: Koogeek HomeKit-enabled Smart Plug $20, more
Homesart (99% positive feedback) via Amazon offers the Koogeek HomeKit-enabled Smart Plug for $19.79 shipped when promo code 9TO5KOK1 is applied during checkout. That’s good for 33% off the regular going rate and the best offer currently available. This low-cost smart plug is compatible with HomeKit, Alexa and Google Assistant. No hub required. Create schedules and easily cut-down on energy vampires, saving money along the way. At Amazon, 60% of reviewers have left a 4+ star rating.
The metrics of comparison are changing in the auto industry with the electric revolution. The range is an obvious one and another that Tesla has been pushing is the 0-60 mph acceleration, which they have basically mastered.
Now Porsche wants to push a different electric vehicle metric with the Taycan: range per 24 hours with charging. expand full story
Tesla is about to launch the Model 3 in Europe and it is gradually opening orders in new markets. Several more countries have been added today. expand full story
Interesting data about speeding tickets in the Netherlands showed that electric vehicle drivers, and Tesla drivers specifically, are being caught speeding at a much higher rate than most other drivers. expand full story
Daimler’s Freightliner aims to be “frontrunners with electric trucks” and offer all-electric options to compete with Tesla Semi.
Now it has delivered its first all-electric Freightliner truck to Penske Truck Leasing Corporation as part of its ‘innovation fleet’. expand full story
December 20, 2018
As part of its end-of-the-quarter sale and delivery push, Tesla is starting to sell and deliver vehicles out of Gigafactory 1, its battery factory in Nevada. expand full story
I work at home, and it so happens that I live in a one vehicle household at the moment. It’s been a good thing for our current situation for a variety reasons, but it does come with some downsides. There are those occasions where it’d be nice to be able to get around town when I don’t have access to a vehicle, and for that reason, I was excited to check out my first e-bike/e-scooter, the Ancheer “folding electric bike”.
Electra Meccanica, a Canada-based electric vehicle startup, confirmed today that it received over 41,000 orders for its all-electric Tofino roadster and over 23,000 reservations for the SOLO EV as they move production to China. expand full story
