Author: CNBC Online news

Walmart to test self-driving delivery from warehouse to warehouse

A Wal-Mart employee pushes grocery carts at a store in Miami.Getty ImagesWhen most people think about how self-driving cars will help retailers, the image that comes to mind often is a robot car whisking a delivery to a customer's door, but according to an article in Bloomberg the reality — at least in the near term — will be different.
Analysts cited by the news service estimate the market for transporting goods on a fixed route from warehouse to warehouse using driverless vehicles could reach $1 trillion. These miles in the middle help get goods closer to their final destination.
Walmart, which has experienced a boom in online sales, will begin using robot cars to transport goods in between warehouses, in the hopes that the company will be able to cut costs and increase efficiency.
Walmart spokeswoman Molly Blakeman told CNBC the retailer is working with its partner Gatik, a self-driving vehicle startup, to test out a self-driving vehicle. It will travel along a two-mile route in Bentonville, Arkansas between two stores.
“We are working with city and state officials to obtain the approval we need to operate and plan to start the pilot program this summer with the aim being to learn about the logistics of adding AVs into our ecosystem, operation and process changes, and more opportunities to incorporate this emerging technology,” Blakeman said.
Consumers have grown wary of robot-taxis due to accidents like the killing of a pedestrian last year by Uber's new test car, Bloomberg reported.
The robo-trucks also take out the human element, eliminating the hassle of human passengers and the cost to create a passenger compartment in the first place.
With the rise of online shopping, the robots also fill a huge demand for truck drivers. A shortage of drivers has led to 60,000 unfilled long-haul positions, according to data Bloomberg cited from the American Trucking Association.
Read the full Bloomberg story here.
VIDEO3:5003:50Walmart announces an in-home grocery delivery serviceSquawk Box

BMW debuts 4-door, 8-Series Gran Coupe with an entry price around $86,000

The 2020 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe. European model shown.Source: BMWBMW has a habit of stretching definitions, as it did when it introduced a stretched version of the old 6-Series coupe, adding a pair of extra doors and dubbing it a “Gran Coupe.”
Since then, it has expanded the array of four-door coupes that have fleshed out its line-up. The new 2020 BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe is BMW's latest offering.
For those who want more power, however, the new Gran Coupe comes with a brutish, 523-horsepower twin-turbo V-8.
Based on the two-door model introduced just a year ago, the new model offers more space and easier entry, as well as the first inline-six engine option available for the 8-Series line. The sporty M850i version will also become one of the automaker's most expensive models ever when it reaches showrooms in September, pushing into six-figure territory when all the option boxes are checked.
When it reaches U.S. showrooms, expect a starting price of $85,895 for the 840i and $88,705 for the 840i xDrive. The M850i will start at $109,895.
The debut of the new Gran Coupe comes almost exactly a year after BMW revealed the two-door version of the 8-Series, reviving a nameplate it abandoned nearly two decades ago and providing a more sporty alternative to the familiar 7-Series sedan flagship.
But, in today's SUV-centric market, coupes have lost even more ground than sedans, and the Gran Coupe is expected to solidly outsell the two-door 8-Series going forward.
The 2020 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe. European model shown.Source: BMWThat said, BMW designers worked hard to maintain the coupe-like lines of the earlier model, retaining the long nose and sweeping roofline, even though the Gran Coupe features a more upright windshield to allow for a taller roof.
It is bigger in most key dimensions, adding 7.9 inches to the two-door's wheelbase, for one thing, and 9.0 inches to overall length. The Gran Coupe also gains 1.2 inches in width and stands 2.2 inches taller, those number translating into a cabin roomy enough to allow adults to sit in the rear without bumping elbows or banging heads whenever the car hits a pothole.
Both versions will come with a panoramic moonroof as standard fare, though the M850i will also offer an optional carbon-fiber roof to reduce overall weight and lower the Gran Coupe's center of gravity. The body itself uses a mix of materials to hold down mass, including aluminum doors and hood and a dent-plastic resistant trunk lid.
As one might expect of the BMW flagship, even a base model is lavishly equipped, with standard leather seating and trim, though buyers can opt up to a two-tone leather package, as well. Unlike the two-door model, the Gran Coupe features a wide center console running the length of the cabin to divide it into four seating sections. The rear seats can be folded in a 40/20/40 configuration to open up more cargo space.
There are some significant technical features, too, including LED headlamps with Laserlight that help extend a driver's view significantly at night. The rear console features new USB-C ports and the driver has handy access to the latest version of the BMW iDrive infotainment system.
The 2020 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe. European model shown.Source: BMWWhile BMW offers the 8-Series coupe with a variety of different powertrain options around the world, it limited the U.S. two-door model to the 523-hp twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 found in the M850i trim. That version was able to launch from 0 to 60 in under 3.5 seconds. The heavier Gran Coupe, BMW estimates, will need about 3.7 seconds to get there.
Going forward, the Bavarian automaker will add the rear-wheel-drive 840i and 840i xDrive Gran Coupe which will bring to the U.S. a 3.3-liter inline-six making 335 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque. It estimates a 0 to 60 launch time of 4.6 seconds for the xDrive model, and a top speed of 155 mph when driving on performance tires.
Both engines will be paired with a quick-shifting eight-speed automatic with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
The Gran Coupe gets a double-wishbone front suspension and a five-link rear. An active steering system is meant to increase the car's agility, especially during high-speed cornering.
The 2020 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe. European model shown.Source: BMW

Tesla loses another exec: HR vice president and head of diversity Felicia Mayo

Felicia Mayo in 2016, when she worked for Juniper Networks.Marla Aufmuth/Getty ImagesTesla vice president of human resources and head of diversity Felicia Mayo has left the company.
A company spokesperson told CNBC, “We'll miss Felicia and would like to thank her for her hard work over the last two years and wish her all the best in the future. We have a talented HR team in place that will continue to report into our VP of People & Places and will remain focused on advancing our mission and making Tesla a great place to work.”
Tesla is known as a mission-driven and hard-driving workplace with significant pressure to hit ambitious goals and deadlines meted out by CEO Elon Musk. Among other things, these conditions have led to a high level of churn among Tesla executives, in recent years.
Mayo is one of a few black women leaders to break the glass ceiling and rise to executive ranks in a large, Silicon Valley tech firm. Less than 0.5% of Silicon Valley tech leadership positions are held by black women, according to 2018 statistics from the Kapor Center.
She previously served as vice president of global talent acquisition and diversity at Juniper Networks, then held the role of VP of Human Resources at Tesla for less than two years. She reported to Tesla's vice president of people and places, Kevin Kassekert, and CEO Elon Musk.
During her tenure, Tesla expanded its operations internationally, began manufacturing its Model 3 electric sedan in high volumes, and implemented controversial strategies ranging from store closures and other restructuring efforts, to giving employees a discount on Tesla vehicles, if they agreed to use and give feedback on beta versions of the company's Full Self Driving software.
Mayo's departure follows the resignation of other Tesla executives in the last year, including:
Tesla's former chief people officer, Gaby ToledanoGeneral Counsel, Todd MaronVP of Legal, Phil RothenbergCFO Deepak Ahuja (who announced his retirement at the end of a Tesla earnings call in January this year)VP of Engineering, Michael SchwekutschWATCH: Highlights from Elon Musk's speech at the Tesla shareholder meeting
VIDEO2:1602:16Watch the highlights from Elon Musk speaking at Tesla shareholder meetingAutos

Tesla investors regain confidence in a quieter Elon Musk as all eyes turn to production

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk gestures during a conversation at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, June 13, 2019.Mike Blake | ReutersTesla investors are regaining confidence in a quieter Elon Musk — even as they question the company's ability to hit its production goals for the second quarter.
The automaker's stock rose by as much as 4.3% Tuesday and is up by more than 7% over the last four trading days, giving investors a short respite from a tough year for Tesla. Its shares have fallen by about a third so far this year, shaving almost $19 billion off its market value since Dec. 31.
Musk has been largely laying low on Twitter after reaching an agreement in April with federal securities regulators governing his social media use. On Monday, he claimed he was deleting his Twitter account before changing his profile picture to black and his Twitter handle to “Daddy DotCom,” presumably in honor of Father's Day on Sunday.
While it stirred some controversy among his followers, it didn't worry shareholders, said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Musk has steered clear of tweeting about the company's financial performance and production numbers, which is what got him into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I think it takes risk out of the equation, I mean not just from the SEC situation but there's just so much more bad that could happen than good. From an investor perspective, the less that he talks on Twitter the better,” Ives said in an interview.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Musk with contempt over a February tweet that contained production forecasts — after Musk agreed not to share potentially market-moving information without the company's approval.
Musk has frequently set ambitious production goals, only to repeatedly fall short. He told employees in a May 22 email Tesla was on track to break its production record of 90,700 vehicles set in the fourth quarter.
“In order to achieve this, we need sustained output of 1,000 Model 3′s per day. Almost all parts of the Model 3 production system have exceeded 1,000 units on multiple days (congratulations!) and we've averaged about 900/day this week, so we're only about 10% away from 7,000/week,” Musk said.
The company has produced 1,000 Model 3s on just one day since Musk sent that email, Business Insider reported Tuesday, citing documents describing Tesla's daily output rate for one segment of the Model 3 production.
Ives said he too doubts Tesla will hit that goal.
Tesla's goal of producing 360,000 to 370,000 vehicles for the year is a “herculean task,” he said. However, Ives said he estimates Tesla will be able to produce 345,000 to 350,000 vehicles, which would be the closest Musk has ever come to reaching one of his production targets and gives investors hope.
Tesla is set to release its second-quarter production numbers as soon as July 1 and earnings on July 30.

Tesla is having its best week since October, but investor says bear case is still strong

VIDEO1:5401:54The bear case for Tesla remains strong, market watcher saysTrading NationTesla is back in gear.
The stock has rallied 12% this week in its best weekly stretch since October. Since a low Monday morning, it has revved 17% higher.
“For the bulls on Tesla you're really happy that the month of May is over and June has come. What a rally in the stock,” John Petrides, managing director and portfolio manager at Point View Wealth Management, said Thursday on CNBC's “Trading Nation. ”
Now Tesla faces two potential paths, he said.
“I really do think the stock is at a crossroads here. Tesla is a very polarizing name. You either have a strong conviction on the upside or you have a strong conviction on the downside – there's no in between,” Petrides said.
While bulls have rushed in this week, Tesla still generates a lot of skepticism on Wall Street. The stock is one of the most heavily shorted at 31.4% of its float. High short interest levels indicate a large number of investors are making a bet the shares will move lower.
Petrides said both the bulls and the bears have their talking points, but he leans toward one of those arguments.
“If you're buying here today, you're buying it for the long term. You think that Tesla will continue to dominate the electronic market five years from now. Or you think they're going to drown in their own debt and burn through cash and the stock is going to go consistently lower,” he said. “We're on the case of the bear side.”
Tesla's high debt load has caused concern among Wall Street firms and investors. Morgan Stanley recently cited Tesla's debt load and access to capital alongside weaker demand as reasons for concern over its stock price. The firm said its worst-case scenario would take the stock down to $10.
“We think that valuation is just not attractive for this capital-intensive business where more competition has come into the market,” added Petrides.
Tesla's price-earnings ratio, a measure of valuation, still trades as high as 121 times forward earnings even after the stock's steep decline this year. The Invesco QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, trades at just 20 times forward earnings.
Even with this week's rally, Tesla shares remain on track for their worst annual performance ever. The stock has fallen 37% since the beginning of the year.

Ford issues safety recall on Explorer SUVs, citing potential steering problem

2014 Ford ExplorerSource: Ford Motor Co.Ford is issuing a safety recall on 1.2 million Explorer SUVs, primarily in the United States, citing a potentially dangerous suspension defect, the company said Wednesday.
The defect could cause a component in the suspension on select vehicles sold in the 2011 to 2017 model years to break, compromising drivers' control of steering. Ford said in its statement that a customer reported an accident with a curb when the component broke but that the company was not aware of any injuries attributable to the problem.
Ford estimates repairing the suspension issue in the vehicles will cost $180 million, and it will be incurred in the second quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's annual revenue in 2018 was $160.3 billion.
The company also issued recalls on F-150 trucks and Econoline vans, as well as Taurus and Flex sedans and Lincoln MKS and MKT sedans in Canada, citing suspension issues, transmission calibration problems and faulty welding, which could lead to a sudden loss of engine power in some vehicles. These recalls affect about 139,000 vehicles total.
Ford did not specify how much these repairs will cost the company. Affected vehicles came from Ford plants throughout the U.S., including Ford's Chicago, Dearborn, Kansas City and Oakville plants.
Ford shares were trading down less than 1% on the news.

Tesla loses key Autopilot engineer to self-driving truck start-up Embark

Embark self-driving truckEmbarkZeljko Popovic, a leader within Tesla's Autopilot team, is leaving for Embark, the autonomous trucking start-up in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the move. Embark confirmed the hire.
The departure comes at a critical time, as Tesla is promising its electric vehicles will be capable of operating as “robotaxis” by the end of next year — which is to say, they'd be fully self-driving in normal conditions, without human intervention. Tesla also says it plans to start production of its long-awaited electric semi trucks by the end of 2020.
Popovic, whose background is in robotics, built and ran the perception team for Tesla's Autopilot division.
According to people familiar with his accomplishments there, Popovic managed the development of highly accurate maps of U.S. highways for Tesla, and created a “sensor fusion system” which combines data from the many cameras, radars and ultrasonic sensors that Tesla vehicles employ. The sensor fusion system enables Autopilot to “see” other cars on the road.
At Tesla's annual shareholder meeting this week, CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that some Tesla self-driving features still need improvements. “Summon,” which allows a driver to automatically call their car over from wherever it is parked, was supposed to be widely available by now. But at the meeting, Musk said it is still being tweaked.
Founded in 2015, Embark integrates its self-driving systems into Peterbilt semis rather than building its own trucks completely from scratch, and the trucks are generally operated with human supervisors behind the wheel. It now has more than a dozen trucks and 60 employees. Amazon is using self-driving trucks developed by Embark to haul some cargo on the I-10 interstate highway in California, both companies previously acknowledged.
Attrition has been a big issue for Tesla in the last two years as the company has missed some of its production goals and its stock price has swung wildly. Among others, self-driving VP Jim Keller left for Intel, and head engineer Doug Field rejoined Apple to work on that company's secretive self-driving technology.
Popovic and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WATCH: Self-driving trucks are here — here's how they'll transform the trucking industry
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