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These memes about Russia’s hideous new ‘Tesla killer’ EV are *chef kiss*

Russia has a new electric vehicle concept design from the Moscow Polytechnic University that was revealed on social media earlier this week. It’s called “Amber,” and while we know basically nothing about it from a technical perspective, memes of the… unfortunate looking EV are already proliferating on social media. And they’re pretty, pretty, pretty good.

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BMW’s new EV crossover is small, slippery, and not coming to America

BMW unveiled the all-new iX2 xDrive30 today, an EV that shares its platform with the second-generation X2. It’s promising 259-279 miles of WLTP range on a 64.8kWh battery, a 5.6-second 0-100km/h (62 mph) time, and 313 hp / 364 lb-ft of total system output from the AWD motors. Both the car and the battery will be manufactured in Regensburg, Germany. A global launch is set to begin in March 2024, though the compact EV crossover will not be coming to the US. BMW announced that the iX2 was coming earlier this year.

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Here’s what’s projected for electric vehicle manufacturing through 2030

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Automakers worldwide will spend more than a half trillion dollars to develop new electric cars and passenger trucks, and also on battery manufacturing, through 2030, according to the latest report by London-based sustainability consultancy firm ERM for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

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March Madness! Great deals on Bolt EV, e-tron, Kona, and Niro EV

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The past few months have certainly been an exciting season of electric vehicle announcements, reveals, introductions, and the like. With so much enthusiasm and salivating over new models and updates, do any of the currently available EVs have a chance at winning your hard-earned dollars before fresh choices start to appear in a matter of months? Before you answer, read on for some of the best deals discovered during this month’s search for electric vehicle lease deals and discounts, designed to distract buyers from what lies ahead and focus their attention to what is here and now.

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Cause of LG’s battery fires rumored to be found (updated)

A South Korean news agency is citing anonymous industry sources in the the cause of the atypical battery fires in the Bolt and Kona LG EV batteries.

Update: An official from LG Energy Solution told us…

“The exact cause of the Kona fire has not determined yet. The investigation is still underway with related authorities. However, we can say for sure that the cause of the fire is not a separator problem.”

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The new Tesla Roadster is the halo car for the entire EV industry (+360 Test drive)

I’m just waking up after last night’s Tesla Semi and next gen Roadster Event and it feels like a dream in a lot of ways.  If you would have told me yesterday that there would be an EV that met any of the following specs, I would have said “Vaporware!” Keep in mind these are base specs (!!) and the Founder’s Series car, which will take advantage of technologies gained in the 3 years before production, will somehow be better than:

  • Acceleration 0-60 mph: 1.9 sec
  • Acceleration 0-100 mph: 4.2 sec
  • Acceleration 1/4 mile: 8.8 sec
  • Top Speed: Over 250 mph
  • Wheel Torque: 10,000 Nm
  • Mile Range: 620 miles
  • Seating: 4+ trunk

It’s over. It’s. Just. Over.  I’ve said it before but there is no way to dispute it anymore. Electric vehicle engines are superior to internal combustion. Full stop.


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World Solar Challenge goes live: Solar cars racing from north to south across Australia

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The World Solar Challenge started about 8:30 AM local time, Darwin, Australia. 42 cars, in three categories, from 21 countries race for 3-7 days using mainly solar power. The race takes place every other year. Starting in Darwin and moving south, across the continent, ending in Adelaide, Australia.

The challenge’s primary goal is a ‘design competition to discover the world’s most efficient electric car.’


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Waymo asks court to stop Uber from using alleged stolen self-driving car tech

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Alphabet-owned Waymo is now asking a judge to stop Uber from using the self-driving car tech it claims the ride hailing company stole, in what is the latest development in a legal feud between the two companies. This news follows Waymo’s suit against Uber that was filed late last month over theft of key self-driving technology…


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Google’s self-driving car project is one step closer to market w/ hire of ex-Airbnb exec

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It feels like Google/Alphabet’s self-driving car project has been at a bit of a yellow light lately, with the recent departure of its technical lead & director Chris Urmson and other key members being the biggest sign of trouble. Now, Reuters reports that the Mountain View company has hired ex-Airbnb executive Shaun Stewart as “a director of the self-driving car project” (albeit not a replacement for Urmson), and that his role will be “to help commercialize Google’s self-driving technology.”


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Nissan hopes to turn heads with 268HP EV BladeGlider prototype w/McLaren F1-type seating

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Nissan BladeGlider traz tecnologias de ponta da mobilidade inteligente para a vida real

Nissan today in Rio unveiled its BladeGlider “working prototype” which combines electric powertrain with a futuristic design and moderate 268 horsepower split between two rear 130kW electric motors. Max speed is quoted as nearly 200km/h (125 miles/hour), with 0-100km/h (0-62) taking less than five seconds.  No information was given on the battery pack size but as this is a two model exhibition car, it is likely to differ in a big way from any possible related production car.

The system features torque vectoring, controlling the torque delivered to the driven wheels, improving the handling even further. With torque vectoring, if the car starts to understeer, it automatically sends more torque to the outside wheel to restore the handling balance. Designed to add to the driving experience rather than govern it, the torque vectoring system has three settings: off, agile and drift mode. Power is supplied by a high performance, five module lithium-ion 220kW battery. Bespoke cooling systems have been developed for both the battery and the motors.


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Tesla’s first Supercharger in Czech Republic is in an impressive charging station [Gallery]

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Electric vehicle enthusiasts and some automakers have been calling for more homogeneity in charging standards. Some progress has been made, but ultimately, it looks like we will have to wait to see which standards will prevail and which will become obsolete.

In the meantime, we are starting to see some interesting charging stations using several different standards at the same location. Tesla has even been participating in a few of these stations around the world, but its latest, which happens to be its first Supercharger in the Czech Republic, is particularly impressive.
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Tesla hires CU-ICAR professor and veteran BMW engineer in charge of the ‘Deep Orange’ program

Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research, also known as CU-ICAR, is home to the university’s renowned Automotive Engineering program. Clemson has been producing top automotive engineers for years and more recently, the architect behind the traction control system of Tesla’s Dual Motor powertrain, PhD Justin Sill.

Now Electrek has learned that instead of hiring Clemson students, Tesla is going directly to the source and hired CU-ICAR Professor Paul Venhovens.
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Tesla announces the prizes for its current referral program: Model X P90D and invites to ‘Tesla’s next unveiling event’

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Earlier today, we reported on Tesla quickly renewing the referral program for the fifth round with again a $1,000 discount on both the Model S and X, but at the time, Tesla had yet to reveal the prizes for the referrers.

Now the company released the list and there’s no big surprise. The small prizes are similar, the automaker will still raffle a Model X P90D with Ludicrous mode, but most interestingly, the company refers to an upcoming ‘Tesla unveiling event’ without specifying for what product.
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Tesla quickly renews its referral program with again a $1,000 discount and increases the limit [Updated]

Tesla referral program round 4

As we discussed when Tesla announced its last round of the referral program, the automaker is still tuning the program since the first round over a year ago now. Tesla went through 4 rounds with the latest ending last Friday and each round had different rules, rewards and discounts.

On occasions, Tesla waited a few weeks before launching a new round, but now we learn that the company quickly renewed the referral program for the fifth round with again a $1,000 discount on both the Model S and X.
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‘Teslamotors.com’ moves to ‘Tesla.com’ while awaiting Elon Musk’s ‘Master Plan part 2’

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a little late to publish his ‘Part 2’ of the ‘Tesla Secret Master Plan’, which he hoped to reveal last week, but it looks like it was pushed to today. He was a little busy overseeing the successful Falcon 9 launch and landing in Cape Canaveral last night, and the ongoing Dragon mission.

The plan is expected to outline Tesla’s future product lineup as the company transitions from a transportation company to an energy company. In line with the transition, Tesla finally moved its main domain ‘teslamotors.com’ to its recently acquired ‘tesla.com’ over the weekend.
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Tesla hires former Burberry exec and Apple digital retail expert as ‘Global Creative Director’

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Tesla recently made a key hire in digital retail and user experience. Electrek has learned that the automaker hired Chester Chipperfield, former Burberry Vice President of Digital and Interactive Design, earlier this month. Chipperfield, who more recently worked at Apple, confirmed the move on his LinkedIn profile.

He is taking over the role of ‘Global Creative Director’ at Tesla after leaving ‘Special Projects’, which is where Apple’s Titan car project (and other ventures) lives, at the Cupertino company earlier this month.
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Tesla Model X delivered with dual front-facing camera housing hinting at Autopilot 2.0

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New Tesla Model X owners are reporting receiving their vehicles with a dual front-facing camera housing instead of one for only a single camera. The same housing has been spotted in the Model X before, but what is particularly interesting here is that it could be the first time that it was delivered with the second side exposed.
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