Hughes has since revealed that Tesla is trying to remotely push a downgrade update to his Model S, which he calls a “retaliation” for revealing the “P100D” information. Expand Expanding Close
In a rare addition to its Model S online design studio, Tesla introduced new 19″ stock wheels called “Slipstream wheels”. The new rims are very similar to Tesla’s popular 21″ Turbine wheels, but now made standard in a smaller configuration. Expand Expanding Close
The company already offers the battery packs with the most energy capacity of any other electric cars on the market, but there’s always room to improve and a cryptic message sent to Elon Musk in the middle of the night last night could give us our best clue to what will be the next improvement to the higher-end version of the Model S. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla was opposing a bill in Utah this week that would have allowed the automaker to operate its store in Salt Lake City, but under some restrictions that the company wasn’t willing to accept. Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, officially abandoned her efforts to pass the legislation yesterday and the bill was sent to interim study, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
It’s a small win for Tesla in Utah where the automaker still faces challenges as it is now bringing the situation before the state Supreme Court. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla’s current vehicle roadmap is fairly clear for the next few years. After unveiling the Model 3 later this month and launching it in 2017, Tesla is expected to launch a small crossover on the same platform called “Model Y”, then a next generation Roadster is expected to follow.
We were very impressed last year when Nissan unveiled the IDS concept at a preview of the Tokyo Motor Show. At the time, the company described the concept as the embodiment of its vision for electric vehicles and self-driving cars going forward. This week, the company featured the concept at the Geneva Motor Show to announce what it calls its “Intelligent Mobility” vision.
Vision aside, the IDS concept features several technologies expected to make it into Nissan’s cars in the near future, especially its 60 kWh battery pack, which is expected to be featured in the next generation LEAF, and its Piloted Drive on the autonomous front, which should be available later this year in Japan and in Europe in 2017. Expand Expanding Close
Despite the arrival of the 2016 models and especially with the new 30 kWh battery pack, Nissan LEAF sales are still disappointing in the US. Nissan released this week its February sales report for and revealed that LEAF sales are down 22.4% versus the same period last year. Expand Expanding Close
Oculus VR founder and Rift inventor Palmer Luckey was at a Microsoft Windows 10 Showcase in San Francisco this week and he briefly commented on his Tesla Model S, which he described as “probably the best car that’s ever been made”.
Despite his comment, Luckey, who owns a Model S P85D, thinks he could improve on the vehicle, or at least make it faster, with a few modifications. Expand Expanding Close
The stock market is currently heavily betting against Tesla ahead of the upcoming Model 3 unveiling later this month. The percentage of short interest on Tesla’s stock hit an all-time high of 27% this week despite the recent significant price per share decrease earlier in the year. Expand Expanding Close
By enabling long distance travel for its fleet of electric vehicles, Tesla’s Supercharger network of DC fast-charging stations is one of the company’s greatest assets, which is now reflected very clearly on the company’s balance sheet according to a recent SEC filing.
In its 2015 financial report filed last week, Tesla confirmed attaching a book value of $339 million to its Supercharger network, up from $107 million just a year ago. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla has yet to confirm exactly who will be able to attend the unveiling of the Model 3 on March 31st, but it did already invite the select few who won invitations through the automaker’s Model S referral program.
Through those first invitations, we now learn that the event will be held in Los Angeles. You can see the invite below. Expand Expanding Close
Hyundai officially debuted the IONIQ platform at Geneva Motor Show this week and its 3 versions, which are now aptly named IONIQ Hybrid (HEV), IONIQ Plug-in (PHEV) and IONIQ Electric (BEV).
The automaker seems fairly committed to bring electric vehicles to market in significant volume and confirmed a few important details including the size of the battery pack of each version and charge rate capacity. Expand Expanding Close
In order to attract the almost 5,000 Tesla Model S owners in the Netherlands to its fast-charging station network, Fastned announced today that it will add Tesla CHAdeMO adapters to its 50 stations across the country. Expand Expanding Close
Additionally, we found out that as of late, the search term “Tesla Model 3” has been trending on search engines, which adds to the evident interest for the upcoming vehicle.
Here’s a quick look at the historical interest of Tesla related search terms over time via Google’s trends tools: Expand Expanding Close
The U.S. Department of Energy invests in early stage energy projects through its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, in order to develop breakthrough technologies that could make renewable energy cheaper and better.
ARPA-E Director Dr. Ellen Williams (on the right above), a chemist best known for her research in surface chemistry and for being former chief scientist at BP, gave an interview this week in which she made controversial remarks about Tesla Motors’ work on battery technology. She highlighted Tesla’s battery manufacturing initiative, but added that it is not technology innovation. Expand Expanding Close
After a small win in Indiana, where a state Senate committee decided to table for further review a bill that would have prohibited Tesla to sell its cars directly to consumers and forced them to go through third-party auto dealerships, the automaker is readying to challenge the states of Utah and Connecticut over similar direct sale laws.
Connecticut Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff introduced a bill that would allow electric car manufacturers to sell their vehicles directly to Connecticut consumers. The bill would represent a compromise similar to agreements Tesla has in other states like New Jersey or New York, where the automaker is limited to a certain number of stores, in the case of Connecticut, it would be three stores across the state. Expand Expanding Close
At the Geneva Motor Show this week, McLaren Automotive announced a new six-year business plan called “Track22”. Under the new plan, the automaker expects to invest £1 billion in research and development, which will lead to the launch of 15 all-new cars or derivatives. Expand Expanding Close
Some early reservation holders are surprised by the price and took to the forums to discuss the situation, which varies country by country. Expand Expanding Close
The German ministries of economics, transport and environment reportedly agreed on a new incentive program for electric vehicles that will include a €5,000 discount at the purchase starting July 1st. Expand Expanding Close
Electric vehicle startup Faraday Future (FF) applied for more than 100 patents over the last year and today it confirmed having been granted its first one. The patent covers a new assembly process for FF’s power inverter called “FF Echelon Inverter.”
The inverter is surprisingly small (see comparison pictures below) and FF claims it achieves 20-30% greater power density than their competitors’ applications. The company didn’t name any competitor in particular, but Tesla’s Model S inverter has a peak power capability of 320 kW. Expand Expanding Close
When we saw Morgan’s EV3 prototype last year, we were surprised by its impressive electric powertrain specs with an estimated 150 miles range on a 20 kWh battery pack, but the design lack the automaker’s flagship quiet confidence in its appearance – granted it was only a prototype.
Today Morgan unveiled the production version at the 2016 Geneva Motor show and it hits the mark (see gallery below). Expand Expanding Close
After a few sightings in the Netherlands and Germany, the Tesla Model X is finally set to make its official European debut at the Geneva Motor Show later this week.
The automaker shared of few pictures of its booth being prepared for the event. Expand Expanding Close
Update: Video of the damage has surfaced on YouTube, see below.
In what is likely to become its first accident to be officially documented as at the fault of Google, one of the Mountain View company’s self-driving cars struck a public transit bus earlier this month while trying to get around a sandbag in the road. According to the accident report filed with the California DMV, the car was “traveling at less than 2 mph” and struck the bus as it passed on its left side…
GULF OF MEXICO – APRIL 21: U.S. Coast Guard fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of offshore oil rig
The Bloomberg New Energy Finance report that came out last week (press release at bottom) says that in 25 years, electric vehicles will make up just 35% of new car sales. That means that in a generation from now, 65% of people will still be buying petroleum-based cars. It is hard to imagine a world where this few EVs makes any sense, even given BNEF’s own data.
The report and the numbers it presents are much too conservative for any reasonable circumstance. Take its own lede for instance:
“Continuing reductions in battery prices will bring the total cost of ownership of EVs below that for conventional-fuel vehicles by 2025, even with low oil prices.”.
Why would anyone buy a gasoline car when an electric or even a plug-in hybrid costs less than a gas car? Electric cars are cleaner, quieter, faster and safer than equivalent oil cars. Keep in mind that 2040 is 15 years after the cost of an electric car passes parity with oil in their scenario. Furthermore, by Bloomberg’s own estimates, batteries will reach less than one-third of today’s break-even prices.
At the core of this forecast is the work we have done on EV battery prices. Lithium-ion battery costs have already dropped by 65% since 2010, reaching $350 per kWh last year. We expect EV battery costs to be well below $120 per kWh by 2030, and to fall further after that as new chemistries come in.”
The US department of energy has a handy calculator (above, current prices) which shows that in every state in the union, even with insanely cheap gas prices, it is still on average 50% cheaper to run on electricity than on gasoline. That means once battery/electric engine powertrains reach parity with combustion, it is really game over for oil.
So somehow 65% of people in the year 2040 will want to pay a huge premium for a fossil fuel engine car? Even if the world weren’t heating up this makes no sense at all… Expand Expanding Close
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