Founder, Publisher, and Editorial Director of the 925, LLC publications.
Seth Weintraub is an award-winning engineer, journalist, and publisher who won back-to-back Neal Awards from 2007–2010 during his three-plus years covering Apple and Google at IDG’s Computerworld.
From 2010-2011, Weintraub covered all things Google for Fortune Magazine, amassing an impressive rolodex of Google contacts and a love for Silicon Valley tech culture.
It turns out that his hobby – the 9to5Mac news site – was always his favorite, and in 2011, he went full time adding his Fortune Google followers to 9to5Google, in addition to adding the style and commerce component of 9to5Toys gear and deals site. In 2013, Weintraub bought one of Tesla’s first Model S EVs off of the assembly line, which began his love affair with electric vehicles and green energy — this, in turn, became Electrek in 2014. To cover the burgeoning world of drones and UAVs led by China’s DJI, DroneDJ was born in 2018, and then more recently, Connectthewatts and SpaceExplored were launched to cover connected fitness and space.
From 1997-2007, Weintraub was a Global IT director and Web Developer for a number of companies, with stints at multimedia and branding agencies in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Madrid, and London before becoming a publisher/writer.
Seth received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California with a minor in Multimedia and Creative Technology in 1997. In 2004, he received a Master’s from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art’s ITP program.
Weintraub is a licensed single-engine private pilot and a certified open-water scuba diver, and he spent over a year backpacking to 60 cities in 23 countries. Whatever free time exists is now guaranteed to his wonderful girlfriend, Alana, and two amazing sons.
More: About.me. BI 2014 profile.
Tips: seth@925.co, or llsethj on Threads/BlueSky or link at top of page.
A good review without too many new items from the WSJ. It is starting to feel like the Tesla is becoming mainstream. Perhaps the most amusing and creative part of the article is the author’s attempts at negatives.
Here’s another problem: You can forget which of the enormous storage compartments you’ve put your groceries in: the front, where there is no occupying combustion motor; or the rear, where there is no evidence of a battery pack.
Dealbreaker right there.
Numbers keep climbing and with the Model X launching late summer Tesla should come close to doubling its 2014 totals. Oh, then there is the home battery division.
PALO ALTO, CA–(Marketwired – Apr 3, 2015) –Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) delivered 10,030 cars in Q1 of 2015, which is a new company record for the most deliveries in a quarter and represents a 55% increase over Q1 last year.
Going forward, Tesla will publish the number of new car deliveries within three days of quarter end. We have decided to take this approach, because inaccurate sources of information are sometimes used by others to project the number of vehicle deliveries.
There may be small changes to this delivery count (usually well under 1%), as Tesla only counts a delivery if it is transferred to the end customer and all paperwork is correct.
Also, this is only one measure of our financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of our quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles.
The true cost of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars is a secret closely held by manufacturers. And estimates of the cost vary widely, making it tough to determine just how much lower they must go before electric vehicles with long ranges can be affordable for most buyers. But a peer-reviewed study of more than 80 estimates reported between 2007 and 2014 determined that the costs of battery packs are “much lower” than widely assumed by energy-policy analysts.+
The authors of the new study concluded that the battery packs used by market-leading EV manufacturers like Tesla and Nissan cost as little as $300 per kilowatt-hour of energy in 2014. That’s lower than the most optimistic published projections for 2015, and even below the average published projection for 2020. The authors found that batteries appear on track to reach $230 per kilowatt-hour by 2018.
I think with the Gigafactory chugging along and Tesla claiming a 30%+reduction in costs from current, the $200/kilowatt-hour barrier isn’t far off.
No more parking tickets for Model S owners. Today we’re introducing: ticket-avoidance-mode. Here’s how it works:https://t.co/uPFF3J5XyS
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 1, 2015
I generally hate April Fool’s days jokes but Tesla’s “ticket avoidance” joke uses autonomous driving to avoid getting a ticket. Particularly “circling the block” I found like something that might come in handy in a dystopian future.
Tesla’s other joke was more standard fare
Announcing the Model W. http://t.co/7bHqIz7lm3 pic.twitter.com/Ne9vTSHzj6
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 1, 2015
Not a great recording (and will update if I find better) but obviously interesting subject matter
Remember when we’d heard that the Tesla P85D was testing below 3 second 0-60 before it was even announced (with its conservative 3.2S 0-60mph). Today in tweets to @zedd and @deadmau5, Musk teased that that time would be nice.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/582820527049342976
FYI: 2.8secs is the time I’d originally heard before the P85D announcement. I’ve subsequently heard that the tires necessary to move the car that fast are too soft for roadworthiness currently. But that’s “just a science problem.”
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/582823937962201088
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/582828306409492480
A Tesla Model S seen next to a charging station in Hong Kong. Photo: Edward Wong
The South China Morning Post has an interesting conversation with Telsa CEO Elon Musk who is in town for the Boao Forum in Hainan province.
Tesla had been “misled” by Chinese speculators into believing that demand for their vehicles was “extremely high”, leading to an excess of inventory. Many orders were not placed by genuine buyers, but resellers who cancelled when the cars arrived, the official news agency Xinhua reported, quoting Musk. “China is the only place on earth where we have excess inventory. We are essentially selling cars that speculators ordered but we were unable to deliver,” he said…
Despite the initial setbacks, Musk said the company has seen a steady increase in sales in Caina over the past three months and he is “quite optimistic about where things are headed”. “We have a strong long-term commitment to China, and we tend to establish both local production and local engineering in China,” he said. The California-based car maker began taking orders in China in mid-2013 for its Model S sedan and started delivering the first cars to Chinese consumers last April.
“It is clear that we need to think of China in a very long-term way. We need to steadily boost the confidence of the Chinese consumers,” Musk said.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxP0Cu00sZs]
A very technical view of the technology being used in electric cars (and soon solar storage). If you are into lithium batteries like me, a lot of interesting stuff here.
Also you get a look at the back seat in this one. A few more of these videos and I don’t think Tesla will have any problems with China sales.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/197004056″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
One of my favorite podcasts had a special guest this week.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXADb8gE9RU]
Thanks to Transport Evolved for the audio. Lots of great stuff in here. SamO provides a great list of notes:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZTc4wk-y0]
This was captured in Palo Alto with its coverage on. Don’t say [Pontiac Aztek]
Updated with Tesla’s Press kit. Overall the update mirrored my predictions pretty well. I will post audio when available.
Model S is the only car on the road that improves with time, thanks to Tesla’s free, over-the-air software updates. With each new update, Tesla adds functionality, enhanced performance, and improved user experience to every Model S.
Today’s announcement of software update 6.2 introduces new features that expand the car’s intelligence which eliminate range anxiety entirely, enhance Model S’s active safety features, and bring Model S closer to having autonomous capabilities.
Our energy and range functions eliminate “range anxiety” and remove the hassle of planning road trips before you embark. By introducing Range Assurance and Trip Planner into Model S’s navigation, long distance travel is now foolproof.
Navigation automatically routes Model S through Tesla’s charging network. Currently 90% of the US population is within 175 miles of a Tesla Supercharger; finding quick and convenient charging has never been easier. Include Tesla Destination Chargers and 95% of the US Population is now within ample range of Tesla’s charging network.
Trip Planner
Model S owners can now take road trips with confidence. Simply select a destination, and Navigation will now automatically route through the appropriate superchargers if charging is needed for your trip. Trip Planner will select a route to minimize driving and charging time. At each supercharger stop, Trip Planner will notify you via the iPhone app when you’ve charged enough to continue on your trip. Android app users can monitor charging needed for the trip via the Charging screen.
Automatic routing along Tesla’s Charging Network
Drivers can choose a final destination and Model S will route them through charging locations automatically. Navigation will display the fastest route to the destination and break the route into legs between Superchargers, displaying anticipated charge times at each station in a simplified list view.
Push Notifications at Superchargers
Model S will notify drivers via the App when they have enough juice to depart for the next Supercharger or their final destination.
Range Assurance
Model S does the thinking for you. By continually monitoring and advising owners when they are at risk of driving beyond the range of reliable charging locations, “range anxiety” is gone. When the warning is triggered, Model S provides a list of Superchargers, Tesla Destination Chargers, and locations where the vehicle has previously charged that are within current range. Drivers then select a charging destination from the list and Navigation will provide turn-by-turn guidance along with the predicted battery energy when you get there.
The new Driver Assistance features in 6.2 are designed to intelligently anticipate and react to potentially dangerous situations. Since the unveiling of autopilot in fall 2014, Tesla has pushed a number of active safety features to Model S via wireless software updates that enhance the safety of Model S and bring Tesla closer to rolling out full autopilot capabilities to vehicles on the road.
Automatic Emergency Braking
This new Collision Avoidance Assist feature automatically engages the brakes to reduce the impact of an unavoidable frontal collision. Automatic Emergency Braking will stop applying the brakes when the driver presses the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, or sharply turns the steering wheel.
Blind Spot Warning
Blind Spot Warning assists the driver to change lanes safely. When Model S is travelling between 20 mph (30 km/h) and 85 mph (140 km/h) and detects a vehicle in the driver’s blind spot, a white arc will appear on the instrument panel near the bottom of the speedometer. If a collision with the vehicle becomes likely, two red arcs will appear, the steering wheel will vibrate, and the driver will hear a chime.
Valet Mode conveniently and discreetly limits Model S’s driving performance and restricts access to certain settings and personal information. With the touch of a button, owners can place a limit on speed, lock the glove box and frunk, and disable personal information like driver profiles and homelink settings.
The top speed for P85D is now 155 mph (250 km/h).
September 2014 (6.0):
Traffic-based navigation: The model S navigation system now takes real-time traffic conditions into account when determining your route, and estimated travel times are adjusted to reflect traffic. This feature will also continuously monitor traffic while navigating, and re-route if warranted.
Location-based smart air suspension: Useful on roads or driveways that require higher clearance, with this feature, Model S will remember where you select HIGH or VERY HIGH ride heights. The air suspension will then automatically rise at those locations in the future.
Calendar app: Allows drivers to view their phone’s calendar for the current and next day. If a calendar event has a location specified, they will be given the option to navigate to that location. When they have an event on their Calendar that will take place within the next hour, the Model S navigation system will notify them if there is a better route due to traffic, even if they’re not using navigation.
January 2015 (6.1):
Traffic-Aware Cruise Control: When TACC is engaged, Model S will adjust its speed based on the car directly in front of you, decelerating and accelerating as needed.
Forward Collision Warning: Forward Collision Warning will warn you when there is an object in your path and a collision is likely unless the driver takes corrective action.
Auto High Beam: Auto High Beam temporarily switches Model S to low-beam headlights if there is traffic or urban lighting detected in front of the car, such as from an oncoming vehicle or street lights.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZJICXB3qb8]
Where is Virgin going with this? “We have teams of people working on electric cars,” Branson said. “So you never know—you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business. We will see what happens.”
If you want to get technical, and that’s why you are here, Tesla isn’t in the Space Business. Branson of course is talking about Elon Musk who I think he counts as a friend.
As far as Musk is concerned: This is what he publicly wants. Everybody building electric cars – the seas raising all boats. I personally like Branson’s viewpoint.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDm6Snkle70]
Fascinating conversation between two heavyweights in the tech industry.
[tweet https://twitter.com/teslamotors/status/578262460689297408]
Frankly, Christie had no choice and countering the overwhelming public support would have been a bigger disaster that leaving some of the Auto Dealership lobby money on the table.
Let that be a lesson to the other US States artificially blocking free competition.
A bike like this would be a better transition for Apple than going directly to cars. And I want one done right.
[tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/577693835158949888 align=’center’]
Interesting set of tweets. Not because the Battery Swap Station was unexpected but because Musk sees Supercharging as the future and battery exchange as a stop gap. The philosophy makes some sense when you consider the future batteries will be cheaper and bigger and charge faster, while swap stations, while fast, are huge undertakings and require a lot of logistics to keep charged batteries in stock.
Last year, Tesla CTO JB Straubel told MIT Technology Review that Tesla was intent on cutting charge times in half and in half again. So a 40 minute full charge might just take 10 minutes in a few years.
If you can add 200 miles in a 10 minute stop, a 2 minute battery swap may not be as valuable.
Musk mentioned the commercial aspect of Battery Swap stations which would make sense for professions like taxi services that compile over 300 miles/day as well as long haul semis which won’t want long stops in the middle of their shifts.
Hiding on Tesla’s configurator are two new colors of Model. So a guy from r/TeslaMotors:”Using a little technical wizardry gleaned from the Tesla Motor Club forums, I was able to recreate the image from the Model S Builder using an image file created from Tesla’s servers.”
[tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/577100755427061760]
I believe this will be a mapping update which calculates distance to charging stations and gives drivers notice when they are getting out of range. It would smartly know when you were getting too far from public and private charging stations and you’d be able to over-ride it if you were heading to your parents house for the night of charging, for instance.
Tesla has been tracking its Model S fleet so it knows what the average W/mile across all of the US roads so it can tell if you are really in trouble or not. As a Model S owner, I’m excited even though I rarely experience any range anxiety as it is.
Musk is also expected to announce a torque sleep and other updates which should improve the P85D’s 0-60 acceleration to around 3 seconds and improve range marginally at the same time.
Uber Inc said on Friday it struck a deal with Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd to test a fleet of electric cars for its drivers.The test program, which kicked off a few weeks ago in Chicago and could eventually expand to other cities, is the Silicon Valley startup’s first attempt to focus on an electric vehicle, said Uber spokeswoman Lauren Altmin.”We’ve seen interest in the program already from current and potential Chicago partners (drivers),” Altmin said.
Uber, which allows users to summon rides on their smartphones, originally started with a luxury town-car service but in many cities has added UberX, a low frills service with nonprofessional drivers using personal cars. The BYD offering is aimed at those drivers.The electric car is part of Uber’s program to help drivers buy or lease new or used cars. The BYD e6 vehicles are available through Green Wheels USA, a Chicago car dealership that focuses on electric and hybrid cars and also builds EV charging stations.
About 25 BYD vehicles are currently being used by Uber drivers in Chicago, and the hope is to bring that number to a couple of hundred by the end of the year, according to Doug Snower, Green Wheels’ president.
These BYD E6’s have 186 mile city range and are currently used in London and Hong Kong as Taxis. It will be interesting to see how the trial goes. Perhaps the biggest hurdle is the 2 hour charging time which will mean that the drivers might be taking a long-ish lunch.
Still, a great way to test out the market in the US.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSsgs7-v2Z0]
Hard not to miss the sound but people in the buildings above Miami might not even know a race is going on. I still don’t think the FIA is a friend of the electric car industry and frankly a Tesla P85D could probably beat these cars off the line. But there it is.
From the Tesla Blog:
A Peace of Mind Guarantee
The Tesla Motors Team March 11, 2015
We recognize that many European drivers prefer to lease their automobiles, personally or through their company, so we now offer the Tesla Resale Value Guarantee in all 11 European markets where we sell Model S.The Tesla Resale Value Guarantee, when combined with a loan or a financial lease from select partners, combines the security and comfort of ownership with all the advantages of a traditional lease. Like Model S, we designed the program to provide maximum benefit to customers. Tesla guarantees that the resale value of Model S between months 36 and 37 will be among the highest of any premium sedan made in volume.
Along with peace of mind, customers benefit from numerous cost savings including compelling monthly payments, market incentives, the ability to use Tesla’s Supercharger network for free, long distance road trips, and zero petrol costs.
This is similar to the US resale guarantee which it announced in May 2013 which reinforces Tesla’s reputation of innovating every aspect of the car ownership experience.
It would be nice if all charging points were this nice.
Did we mention our new Drivers Lounge in Amsterdam? Open 24/7 for Model S owners, in case you need a coffee at 3 am. pic.twitter.com/MgCOGSGw40
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 10, 2015
Reuters: