‘Wild’ may be an exaggeration but at the Tesla plant in Fremont, a spy caught a prototype Model X opening and closing (video below) its Falcon Wing doors . The spies seemed to be concerned about the door closing mechanism, and many of the mules we’ve seen have had partially opened doors, but it is unlikely that this is the final design/spec.
In any case, we’ll be live on the Model X launch on the 29th, come back and join us! Expand Expanding Close
Tesla was spot on when it updated the estimated EPA-rated range of its Model X P90D to 250 miles last week. The EPA released the official ratings of the 90D and P90D versions of Tesla’s upcoming all-electric SUV and confirmed that the P90D will indeed have a rated range of 250 miles. It’s non-performance counterpart will have a 257 miles range according to the agency.
The Model X is built on the same platform as the Model S and the SUV is expected to be about 10% heavier than the sedan. The ~10% bigger figure is consistent across most EPA ratings between the 2 vehicles.
Below the break you will find the EPA ratings of the Model X 90D and P90D compared to the Model S 90D and P90D: Expand Expanding Close
On Friday, Tesla opened pre-orders for the ‘Ludicrous’ battery pack retrofit upgrade to Model S P85D owners. Tesla announced the ‘Ludicrous’ mode over 2 months ago as a $10,000 option on Tesla’s top performance model, which had become the P90D at that point since the company announced a battery pack capacity increase to 90 kWh alongside the Ludicrous option. The new package enables faster acceleration: 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla is still tuning the Model X’s options ahead of its launch scheduled for September 29th at the Fremont factory. Earlier this month, the company added an option for hitch accessories directly at the purchase of the vehicle in order to get around the limitations of the ‘Falcon Wing’ doors. Later, it updated the EPA-rated range to 250 miles for the P90D version of the all-electric SUV. Today we learn Tesla now added an option for a 6-seat configuration to the vehicle. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in the Netherlands today for the opening ceremony of Tesla’s second plant in Tilburg. The company already had a ‘final assembly factory’ in the city (see picture below), where the company completes the assembly of the Model S’s going to the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla (and Space X CEO, Solar City Chairman) CEO Elon Musk made some important remarks yesterday at the “Business for Tomorrow” summit at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy yesterday. While the translations and the moderation/questions at the end are frustrating, Musk’s comments at the beginning are poignant.
On Refugees:
“Today’s refugee problem is perhaps a small indication of what the future will be like if we do not take action with respect to climate change. Today, the challenge is in terms of millions of people, but in the future, based on what the scientific consensus is, the problem will be in the hundreds of millions and much more severe.”
On taking action:
I think it’s very important that we take action today to recognize that we are making a very significant change to the chemical constituency of the atmosphere and oceans. One that is almost impossible to reverse…
And where you could really feel some emotion:
If you go 20, 30, 50 years in the future, what do you say to your kids or your grandkids? It’s almost, like, scientists have all said that these bad things are going to happen, it’s, like 97 percent… So, to say to your kids or grandkids, like, ‘Did nobody tell you?’
No, everyone was telling us. ‘
So why didn’t you do anything?’ What’s the answer?
…I think it’s very important that we do something.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is currently traveling across Europe to meet with Tesla employees and European politicians. During a press conference in Belgium, he briefly commented on the current Volkswagen scandal and cheating on emission-tests:
What Volkswagen is really showing is that we reached the limit of what is possible with diesel and gasoline.
If you need to cheat in order to pass emission tests with diesel and gas, maybe you should use something else? We expect Musk would prefer if manufacturers would use electric powertrains, like Tesla Motors…
Tesla World, an international conference about Tesla Motors organised by the Tesla Club Belgium, launched today in Antwerp and you can watch it live below.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, although not announced, is expected to be the “anonymous speaker” scheduled for 10:40 eastern time – 16:40 local time. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is currently traveling through Europe to meet with Tesla’s teams in European countries and meeting with politicians to promote electric vehicles. He is expected to visit Belgium on Friday and since we have been analyzing electric vehicle sales through car registration data, we decide to take a look at Model S sales in Belgium. Expand Expanding Close
This morning Tesla updated the pre-order webpage for its upcoming all-electric SUV, the Model X, to indicate that new reservations will only ship out during the “second half of 2016”. Only yesterday, the estimate was “early 2016”, but with a growing backlog of reservations ahead of the September 29th launch, it is not surprising for Tesla to warn new buyers about the delivery schedule. Expand Expanding Close
During a press conference today in Germany, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is in talks with “some [auto] manufacturers” to share the Supercharger Network.
In the past, Tesla confirmed being opened to the idea of sharing its extensive network of fast charging stations, which now operates over 2,900 chargers at over 500 locations around the world, but until now, we couldn’t confirm that any automaker showed interest in the offer. Expand Expanding Close
Germany is in the spotlight of the automotive industry as the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is coming to an end. While we are sorting through vehicle registration data, we decided to take a look at the top-selling electric vehicles in Germany. Unsurprisingly, the BMW i3 is the best-selling all-electric vehicle in its home turf, but sales are down 27% year over year while Tesla’s Model S is gaining market shares by growing sales 84% based on registration data. Expand Expanding Close
The Netherlands is an important market for Tesla Motors. The country is Tesla’s second biggest market in Europe behind Norway. The company has an important presence in the country especially through its plant in Tilburg (see picture above) where some light assembly operations are completed for the Model S’s going to Europe.
Model S sales in the Netherlands have been progressing nicely. In 2014 it was the best-selling 100% electric vehicle in the country and it remains at the top spot so far this year with an impressive ~73% growth. Expand Expanding Close
At Electrek we have been gathering registration data on the top-selling electric vehicles for a while now and although we are still sorting through all the information (and you can expect more posts about the data going forward), one thing that caught our attention is Tesla’s recent growth in Sweden.
Tesla has a presence in Sweden since late 2013, but sales in the country have been lagging until the last two quarters. From January to August 2014, Tesla delivered only 141 cars in the country, but during the same period this year, it delivered 635 Model S’s according to registration data – a 350% year over year increase to date. Expand Expanding Close
In a blog post published yesterday, Tesla CTO JB Straubel addresses Model S acceleration and horsepower concerns recently expressed by Tesla owners and car publications. Some have suspected and even accused Tesla of misrepresenting the power output of the Model S for a while, and now Straubel explains the logic behind Tesla’s horsepower and performance calculations… Expand Expanding Close
On Monday morning Tesla sent out invitations to attend the launch of the Model X scheduled for September 29 at 7 p.m. PT in Fremont, California. Only Signature Model X reservation holders and a few select media are invited to the event, but Tesla confirmed that there will be a livestream available on its website.
The California-based automaker has been inconsistent about providing a livestream for its events. In October 2014, Tesla didn’t livestream the launch of the Dual Motor version of the Model S and the announcement of the ‘Autopilot’, but in April 2015, it did present a livestream of the launch of ‘Tesla Energy’ and the stationary energy storage product line.
But today we can confirm that Tesla will livestream the launch of the Model X on its website. Expand Expanding Close
Last week we wrote about Tesla installing Powerwalls for “pilot customers” and revealing the first markets in which the company plans on deploying its new energy storage products. Now we learn that Tesla partnered up with SunEdison to bring the Powerwall in Australia by November. Expand Expanding Close
Last month we wrote a first look at Tesla’s much-anticipated v7.0 software update with new ‘Autopilot’ features expected to be released later this year. Today we learn that Tesla released the second version of its beta v7.0 update to early access testers.
For previous releases, Tesla was able to update the beta fairly quickly for a wide-release just weeks after the original release to testers, but v7.0 being highly sensitive safety-wise, the beta testing process is taking longer than usual. Expand Expanding Close
Ahead of the Model X launch set for September 29th, Tesla is still tuning the options available for the configuration of its all-electric SUV. Yesterday we wrote about how Tesla will offer hitch accessories directly at the purchase of the Model X in order to get around the limitations of the vehicle’s ‘Falcon Wing’ doors. Today we learn, through the same online design studio for early reservation holders, that Tesla increased by 10 miles the estimated EPA-rated range of the Signature Model X to 250 miles. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla Motors confirmed to Electrek that the company is now installing the Powerwall, a new home energy storage system, for “pilot customers”:
“We are currently in production and have started installing Powerwalls with pilot customers. Over the next few weeks we will continue to ramp up volume production,” Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said. Expand Expanding Close
In a new note issued today, Jefferies analyst Dan Dolev increased his price target on Tesla Motors to $365 following a new analysis on the company’s battery business. When Tesla first announced its “Gigafactory“, it forecasted a ~30% reduction in battery cost through economy of scale and improved chemistry, but since then Tesla executives revealed that 30% might have been conservative and Jefferies seems to agree. Expand Expanding Close
Ahead of the Model X launch at the end of the month, Tesla is still tuning the options available for the configuration of its all-electric SUV. A roof-rack, which is popular for skiers and cyclists, isn’t an option for the Model X due to the vehicle’s Falcon Wing’ doors. We now learn through the online design studio, which is accessible to a select few reservation holders, that Tesla will be offering hitch accessories directly at the purchase of the Model X in order to get around the limitations. Expand Expanding Close
Manage push notifications
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
You are subscribed to notifications
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
