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.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TelUR5Bg9zE]
We followed one of our Norwegian owners, Arne Jakobsen, through his daily commute with Model S. Watch how it performs in sub-zero temperatures, through the mountains and fjords of Norway, and hear why Arne believes he can rely on Model S to get him to places other vehicles simply could not reach.
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TESLA FIRE!..is practically the headline of the Reuters ‘exclusive‘. MAYBE!
A fire department in Southern California said a garage fire may have been caused by an overheated charging system in a Tesla Model S sedan, in the latest link between the top selling electric car and the potential for fire.
While Tesla Motors Inc maintains that the fire was not related to the car or its charging system, the Orange County Fire Authority said the Tesla-supplied charging system or the connection at the electricity panel on the wall of the garage of a single-family home could have caused the fire.
Except the fire wasn’t caused by the Model S according to Tesla. Spokeswoman Liz Jarvis-Shean went on the record:
“We looked into the incident. We can say it absolutely was not the car, the battery or the charging electronics.”
“The cable was fine on the vehicle side. All the damage was on the wall side.
“A review of the car’s logs showed that the battery had been charging normally, and there were no fluctuations in temperature or malfunctions within the battery or the charge electronics.”
Steve Concialdi, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority, told Bloomberg that investigators have concluded the fire had nothing to do with the car battery, but can’t determine whether it was caused by the charger or began in the wall socket.
At best, it sounds like the fire could have been caused by the electrical system where the Model S was plugged in. Perhaps a substandard wire that wasn’t rated for the amperage the Tesla requires was installed from the electricity panel to the charging outlet. That would be my guess with the facts laid out here.
Tesla’s stock price was down yesterday on the news even though it had announced major expansion and $35M tax break on the equipment for that expansion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdSWciG5rbU
California will give Tesla Motors a $34.7 million tax break to expand the company’s production of electric cars and powertrains in the state, officials announced Tuesday.
Tesla, based in Palo Alto, won’t have to pay sales and use taxes on new manufacturing equipment worth up to $415 million.The equipment will help Tesla more than double the number of Model S sedans it builds at its Fremont factory, as well as assemble more electric powertrains for customers such as Daimler and Toyota.
Tesla expects to build 21,500 sedans this year. The new equipment would help expand annual production by 35,000 cars.
Interestingly, the stock is down against the broader up market today and I’m not sure why based on this seemingly positive news. (Update: Someone with a Tesla had a Fire in their garage)
California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer (riding shotgun to Gov. Jerry Brown in the video above) said “I’m pleased we could take this action to encourage Tesla to expand its electric vehicle production in California, which will create green jobs and improve our air quality.”
Specifically, California estimates that the additional production capacity will create 112 permanent jobs in the state as well as $60M in total revenue.
If you are in China and you want a Model S, you now have a website to use. Have at it. Wondering why Tesla is called Tuosule in China? Some local guy squatted on the name rights to Tesla and wants $30M for it. Tesla offered $3M but no dice. Good for them.
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They sound a little expensive and there certainly needs to be more infrastructure but a good first step.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOTnH9LV_-s&start=3000]
Interesting stuff about aluminum cars, entrepreneurial behavior and the guy in Norway who buys Teslas and leaves them around town for people to drive.
According to Polk/IHS, Tesla has passed Nissan to become the best selling Electric car in Canada for the 2013 year. It moved from selling 20% of Canada’s Electric Cars in 2012 to 43% of the cars in 2013.
Consumer research shows that within its release year, the Model S captured a staggering 20% of the electric vehicle market share. Over the course of the next year (2013), it more than doubled to 43%, outselling all other OEMs. It is important to note that with such tremendous gains, Tesla did not necessarily conquest customers from other electric vehicle OEMs, but instead, brought new customers from outside the electric vehicle market to grow the current EV customer base. After all, the current EV competition includes the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi Imiev, Smart Fortwo, Ford focus EV, Toyota Rav4 EV and the Chevrolet Spark.
AutoBild (German) has a great interview with Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen on a variety of subjects. The Connecticut-born (obv. from the name) designer who previously designed the Pontiac solstice and the Mazda Kabura concept car waxed on some new subject matter including the scheduled unveiling of the ‘Model E’ mass market electric car planned for the 2015 Detroit Auto Show and his views on BMW’s FUGLY i3 external design. Roughly (read: Google) Translated:
On Tesla being as popular as the Prius:
Well, we have not yet reached the Prius level where a model already gets on my nerves, because you see it so often. Since we are in Tesla do not advertise, it’s good if more Model S to hit the road. Only in this way potential customers come in contact with the car.
Does he still feel good about the design of the Model S?
As a designer’s work is never really finished. Our objective is always to the nearest mm to the nuance. But at some point we have to work so declared terminated and present the car. I see today are still small areas, for example at the snout of the car, which I would like to lend a hand. But these are trifles. On the whole, it is complete. The Model S should be aerodynamic, without looking for it. And we succeeded.
What is he currently working on?
The Model X is almost ready, now it comes to the last aerodynamic subtleties. Therefore, millimeter by millimeter to change without anyone noticing that we have ever changed anything. And we are working hard on the “3rd Gen”, the third generation platform.
The model leads Tesla to a new level. The car will show what we are about: to build electric cars for the masses. It is not a small model S, we do not want a unit face like Audi . But we have to our customers only times give an optical security before we make crazy style. As it has with the BMW i3 been easier.
Interesting. So the Model E, as many people outside of Tesla are calling it could be the same size as the Model S. Does he like the BMW i3? Of course he does not:
From the brand perspective, I consider whether the i3 is the myth of the “Ultimate Driving Machine”, as they say here in America, or “driving pleasure” with you, just. The i3 is more an IKEA piece of furniture as a design piece of furniture. I’m not sure if the i3 meets the basic standards of the brand.From pure design perspective, the car is of course unique. The interior is very modern. Very clean, thin seats. I like the material used. If the i3 is on the road, he looks a bit strange and unconventional. I personally feel that car must not look so funky. The electric drive train and the proportions are unique enough. You have not that make a great statement with it.
Pick up truck? Smart like City Car? Later and not base don the Gen 3 platform.
There is a niche product that will only show what Tesla is capable of. The focus is clearly on the mass model. And what about the pick-up truck? The truck is not built on the 3rd-gen platform, which gets its own platform. Comes from Tesla sometime sometimes an electric city car á la E-Smart? Such a car would certainly make sense, but only later.
What has changed since Tesla blew up?
Today we are around 100 people in the design team. But we still have this startup atmosphere in the store. The pace is insanely high, we are bringing in a position to very fast cars on the market. Some car designers work at night, others with loud music.
When will we first see the Mass market auto?
Probably at the show in Detroit beginning in 2015. The fires do not affect my work. Our aim is to create a safe car. Nothing is changed.
Another Tech site reviews the Model S. Conclusion?
Should you buy a Model S? Go ahead. It’s not your only car…
If you have the money, go ahead and get a Tesla. If you can spend $75,000 on car, odds are you already have another $75,000 car in your garage already, something like an Audi Q7 diesel. That takes care of range anxiety on really long trips, that or renting a combustion engine car for the weekend. With all respect to Tesla, I think the hassles of finding fast-charging stations are still a lot to deal with. The score currently reads: US gas stations 120,000 and slowly declining, Tesla Supercharging stations 44 and growing. On the New York to Boston and back trip, it was fun, especially chatting up other Tesla owners. Do it regularly and it could be a grind. But as more Supercharging stations become available, the hassle factor falls off, and for daily driving or weekend recreation trips, the 200-plus miles of range is more than enough.
This is a car unlike no other. The same goes for the dealer network. Name one other vehicle that carries four plus cargo, that your neighbor doesn’t own except in Atherton, gets to 60 mph in as little as 4.5 seconds, has an LCD display big enough to be seen from low earth orbit, uses less than $10 worth of energy per fill-up when it’s not free, and — try this in your Porsche Cayenne — lets you slip into the HOV lane as a solo driver. You will be hooked.
I agree and I don’t think the “only car” angle is played up enough. Sure Tesla would like you to think that this can be your only car, and it probably could be if you live on the West Coast. But the reality is that most drivers have another car laying around for those trips into the Flyovers.
Shown off at the Paris Motor Show, the French-built Voxan Wattman Electric Motorcycle is a sight to behold. It looks like someone tried to mount a dorm refrigerator on a motorbike. But the numbers don’t lie: It is the most powerful electric bike on the road with a 200HP with 200 Nm instant torque up to 10,500 rpm that sends it to 100mph in in under 6 seconds. The 12.8-kWh lithium battery is good for journeys of up to 180 kilometers (111.8 miles) assuming you aren’t accelerating the whole time. All in a not-even-close-to-svelte 350Kilos package. More below:
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Sure he’s with Via now that is doing that exact thing – electrifying huge 11mpg trucks. But it does make a lot of sense from an environmental impact point of view. If you are going to take X number of gas cars off the road, it is a lot better to take 11mpg pickup trucks than 50mpg Priuses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq3Af_My3ZM
The EPA’s 2014 car numbers are out.
My car of the year is the Chevy Spark EV and here’s why: It costs $2400/year to buy it and $500/year to fuel it making it cost less than $250/month to own. Oh and it has 400ft/lbs of torque and does a 7 second 0-60 with room for 5 people and luggage.
Last year the 2 door Scion 2013 iQ EV with (138 MPGe city and 105 MPGe) was slightly higher but also significantly smaller.
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Well, I shouldn’t say new, we got the above quote from Solar City months ago so it is pretty clear that the company that Elon Musk is the Chairman of is doing business with the company he is CEO (and co-founder and chairman) of. Solar City also gives you a call after you purchase a Tesla to see if you want any help in getting a high power outlet out to your garage/driveway – and while we’re out, let’s talk insulation and solar. It’s all so convenient.
Now, SolarCity, the fast-growing solar installer, says it has found a solution, in the form of a battery system created with Tesla Motors.
The system, to be announced on Thursday, includes batteries about the size of a small refrigerator and software that controls when a building’s operations run on power from the solar array, the battery or the grid.
Considering that getting enough batteries is the #1 thing holding back Tesla Model S production, I wonder how happy Tesla is in doing this. On the flip side, is could be another motivation for building the battery ‘Giga-factory’.
Update: Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarifies batteries for Solar City won’t be the same hard to find dense models used in the Model S
Should mention that the battery cells used for this are 200 Wh/kg vs 250 for Model S. No short term supply constraint.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2013
Toyota Licenses Wireless Battery Charging Tech from WiTricity:
WiTricity’s tech is pretty cool: the system runs standard AC power through a special coil, which converts it to a higher frequency and voltage and creates a special type of magnetic field.
A second coil, which resonates at the same frequency, can then safely convert the energy in the magnetic field back into electricity. In terms of cars, this has been employed by having a vehicle park over a charging mat.
While that’s great tech (although, what is the efficiency of the process? I’d be surprised if it were 50%), Toyota has publicly come out against EVs with its Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada saying he doesn’t believe there is a market for the vehicles.
“The reason why Toyota doesn’t introduce any major [all-electric product] is because we do not believe there is a market to accept it,” Mr. Uchiyamada said in an interview following a speech on Monday at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
Mr. Uchiyamada said he thinks electric vehicles require “two breakthroughs” on battery technology before they are viable as replacements for gasoline or hybrid-electric vehicles.
Interesting news from the near future:
Bitcoin, a fully encrypted and fully digital currency, has been used by a recent client of ours to pay for a Tesla Model S Performance we had in our inventory. That’s right, an electronic currency was used to purchased a fully electric vehicle.
Imagine that title even a year ago?
Interesting story here and one that will likely set some precedents/laws or at least force some type of decorum when it comes to charging cars.
One Saturday in November, Kaveh Kamooneh drove his Nissan Leaf to Chamblee Middle School, where his 11-year-old son was playing tennis.
Kamooneh had taken the liberty of charging the electric car with an exterior outlet at the school. Within minutes of plugging in the car, he says a Chamblee police officer appeared.
“He said that he was going to charge me with theft by taking because I was taking power, electricity from the school,” Kamooneh said.
Kamooneh says he had charged his car for 20 minutes, drawing about a nickel’s worth of juice. Don Francis of Clean Cities Atlanta, an electric vehicle advocacy group, says the estimate of 5 cents is accurate.
They compare charging a cell phone or people drinking water from a spigot but it isn’t so obviously clear. Sure, $.05 is nothing, but what if someone was drawing $10/day from an unsuspecting neighbor? What if you drove a truck full of batteries to a rest stop on the highway and took a few hundred $ worth of electricity (hypothetical, I know).
Clearly this guy should not have been jailed or fined – a warning probably should have sufficed.
But perhaps the most important part of this story is that Electric is so cheap – illustrated but the sub-$.05 of usage. Sure that’s only a few miles but hopefully that puts THIS GRAPH RIGHT HERE in people’s minds.
More below:
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Tesla rejiggered its Supercharger map today moving Fall and Winter 2013 into a “Coming Soon” category. Fall is a few weeks from being over and it was clear Tesla wouldn’t be able to make the deadline on many of its stations, especially in the east coast where things have all but stalled in the Supercharger front.
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Numbers don’t lie:
Model S (416 hp and 0 to 62 in 4.4 seconds) vs. F-Type S (380 hp and 0 to 62 in 4.9 seconds)
Last night after the market closed Tesla disclosed that the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KRAFTFAHRT-BUNDESAMT) cleared Tesla of manufacturer-related defects in the three fires in recent months. “Therefore, no further measures under the German Product Safety Act [Produktsicherheitsgesetz (ProdSG)] are deemed necessary.”
The assumption on Wall Street is that if the German Motor Transport Authority cleared Tesla, so would the NHTSA. German automotive standards are generally considered more stringent (and efficient) than that of the US.
Analysts jumped on the news and dialed the stock up. The market responded with a 20 point gain after opening up 6 points and steady growth throughout the day.
Analyst’s words follow:
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Love this. Way better than the original.
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&docid=7cz2D7HUlpM9hM&tbnid=gK5ehaRfpDbfQM:&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teslamotorsclub.com%2Fshowthread.php%2F11735-Northern-Illinois-quot-Meetup-quot-Tesla-Owners-Group-first-meeting-photos&ei=vL-QUtPZAfG2sASAqIHwBg&bvm=bv.56988011,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNGvAhNj55kEDDxaphnx1UVnl9r--g&ust=1385304380252062">via</a>
“The electric car challenge is what insiders call “getting butts in seats” — and a lot of butts today still belong to humans who are not yet buying electric cars. The big question is: Why? Surveys show drivers are interested in electric cars–and that they love them once they drive them. EVs also cost less to maintain (though more to buy in the first place) and many experts say they’re simply nicer to drive. So what’s the problem? Disinterested dealers, uneven distribution, limited supplies, and media bias are some potential challenges. Or maybe it’s just lousy marketing–casting electric cars as a moral imperative or a duty, like medicine you have to take.“
Sometimes we don’t realize when we are right in the middle of a revolution. Even 3 years ago, who could have imagined we’d be where we are now. Almost every automaker has an EV option and more are on the way. Tesla’s Model S is the top luxury car in a lot of progressive markets. It has won just about every mainstream award out there.
While Tesla is building out its own N. American and European Supercharger infrastructure, many private organizations and governments are joining in for the broader EV market as prices come down. Then add the folks who put solar on their roofs and have access to their own cheap/free electricity – their cost per mile of travel goes from $4 gas to $1 Electric toward free.
This is practically the definition of the ‘network effect’. Every available charger increases the value of the ecosystem.
Even now, take the Chevy Spark. The car, after US Federal Tax refund, is under $20K and can be leased for $199/month. If you save $200/month in fuel charges (@$3 savings/gallon your break even point is 67 gallons/month – meaning “free car”) , it changes the whole game.
I see a lot of parallels with the digital camera market as they eventually replaced all but a few film cameras. The advantages are just too great for electric cars and nothing except a Oil Lobby takeover of the government can stop the tide. They are cheaper/easier to maintain, faster/more powerful, cleaner, more spacious because of the smaller drivetrain, can drive indoors, don’t require as much maintenance, etc etc.
So don’t worry about “butts in seats”. Worry about Oil money.
Check out footage of the new Formula E car – the Spark-Renault SRT_01E – completing its successful test debut at the La Ferté Gaucher circuit near Choisy-le-Roi, France. Official test driver Lucas di Grassi is at the wheel running with a battery with just 25% of the full power.
Chris Porritt, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, describes the unique features of Model S that make it such a remarkable car in colder climates. From its innovative chassis design, to the instant responsiveness of its electric powertrain, to its state-of-the-art software features, there has never been an all-weather sedan quite like Model S.