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Tesla Online Sales — Bigger News Than $35,000 Model 3

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Cars Published on March 1st, 2019 | by Steve Hanley
Tesla Online Sales — Bigger News Than $35,000 Model 3TwitterLinkedInFacebookMarch 1st, 2019 by Steve Hanley

The $35,000 Tesla Model 3 is here. During a conference call with journalists on February 28, Elon Musk was clearly pleased that his promise to build an affordable electric car is now a reality. Long-term reservation holders will still get first priority but anyone in North America can now order a Model 3 for $35,000 and expect to take delivery before the end of June. That’s important because July 1 is when the federal tax credit for Tesla buyers ratchets down to $1,875, from the current max credit of $3,750.
Overseas buyers can expect to receive their entry level Model 3s a few months later. In response to a question from CleanTechnica Director Zach Shahan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated that he expected the base Model 3 to be available for ordering in EU and China in probably 3–6 months. Then there’s the matter of shipping the cars.

Some will carp that $35,000 is not exactly “affordable,” since a person can still buy a Hyundai Accent for $14,393, but c’mon people, get real. The average price of a new car in America today is over $36,000 — although, admittedly that number is juiced considerably by the number of people who choose to spend big bucks to make a $70,000 light-duty pickup truck their daily driver. So, yes, the $35,000 Model 3 really is an affordable car, one that becomes more so over time since the true cost of ownership (Paul Fosse will explain this in detail shortly) will be significantly less for a Model 3 than any gasmobile out there.

The Big News Is Not What You ThinkAs exciting as the $35,000 Model 3 announcement is, the big news yesterday was how Tesla plans to market its cars going forward. It is closing many of its stores in the US and transitioning to a 100% online sales model. Online sales will soon be the norm worldwide. There are two reason for doing this.
First, closing stores will save the company money, which translates into lower prices for Tesla automobiles. It’s part of what makes the $35,000 Model 3 possible, but it is also a primary factor in price reductions on the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, both of which now cost about 6% less than they did a few days ago.
Second, this is Tesla’s way of bypassing the whole franchise dealer law debate. Rather than knuckle under to powerful dealer groups in those states where direct sales to customers are banned, it is serving notice to one and all that it is done playing their silly games. From now on, anyone in any US state can order a Tesla and have it delivered to them directly.
No dealer network is needed to buy clothes or groceries from Amazon. Why should buying a car be any different? “It’s 2019. People just want to buy things online,” Elon said on the conference call with journalists, and there was steel in his voice when he said it. Clearly, he is done dealing with local politicians who take money from dealer groups and the auto industry to write laws designed to keep Tesla from selling cars directly to customers in their states.
There are two ways to win a war. The full frontal assault is one. The other is to jump over the front lines, land in the enemy’s backyard, and destroy its comfort zone. Tesla tried the first and found it took too long and cost too much money. Now it is pursuing the second option with a move that will lay waste to the entire franchise dealer model. This is a direct challenge to the way every other automobile manufacturer does business in America. It is a deliberate, calculated poke in the eye and it will have far reaching consequences.
Direct online sales may turn out to be the defining moment in the Tesla story. Elon was forthright in his comments. Online sales are permitted by the US Constitution, specifically the interstate commerce clause, he indicated. Those of us listening in on the call could hear the icy resolve in his voice. He was clearly throwing down the gauntlet and serving notice that Tesla will no longer play nice.
The Puppy Dog CloseOn the surface, the online sales model is simple. No need for a test drive. Simply order your car and pay for it. Tesla will bring it to you. After a week with the car or 1000 miles, whichever comes first, you can return it for a full refund if you don’t want it, no questions asked. You may as well treat it like a free rental, Musk laughed. Musk says ordering the car can be done in under a minute using a smartphone. Returning one would be just as simple and hassle free. Sweet.
In sales, this is known as the puppy dog close. Let the customer take the product home and live with it for a while. Not 1 in 1000 will give it back. Why? “The feel of the wheel seals the deal,” goes one old saying in the car business. How many people will get behind the wheel of a brand new car and say, “I like my 3 year old beater with 70,000 miles on the clock better.” If you said, “Not many,” go to the head of the class. In the case of a Tesla, that gets taken to another level.
If nothing else, the instant torque and acceleration of a new Tesla is going to blow most people away from the instant they start driving it. People love to be pushed back in their seat when the light turns green and they tromp on the go pedal. It’s addictive and once you experience it, you don’t want to go back to the old way. That’s precisely what Tesla is counting on. The worst-case scenario is that there will be a few Teslas with under 1,000 miles on them for sale at somewhat less than full retail prices.
The states that ban direct sales and the franchise dealer groups didn’t see this coming. Expect all sorts of restrictive new laws to be filed in state legislatures around the country. With the help of the nefarious American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), those efforts will be carefully coordinated. The most expensive lobbyists available will be pressed into service to slay the Tesla dragon.
But what can the states do? Will they voluntarily refuse to collect the sales taxes and registration fees that become due and payable when a resident buys a new Tesla? Will they send SWAT teams to their borders to detain anyone who tries to deliver a Tesla to an in-state buyer? Will they arrest the new owners and charge them with conspiracy to purchase a product online? Will they build walls along their borders to keep Teslas out?
Making A Federal Case Out Of ItThe dealer groups, supported by the manufacturers, will file a flotilla of lawsuits designed to prevent online sales. One thing Tesla has done with its new policy is make how it sells its cars a federal issue, one based on the Constitution, not state law. That means all the suits will be heard by judges in federal courts. In fact, Tesla already began that process in 2017 when it sued the state of Michigan in federal court, arguing that its ban on direct sales violates the Constitution.
That suit has yet to be decided and that may be part of why Tesla has decided to simple play leapfrog and move directly to fully online sales. Elon has many attributes, but patience is not one of them. He may simply be tired of playing the game, romancing local boffins in state legislatures and winning legal skirmishes here and there. Time to take the fight directly to those who stand in his way.
Some courts will rule in favor of Tesla and some will rule in favor of the states and dealer groups. Expect some of the most tortured judicial decisions in the history of American jurisprudence as reactionary judges everywhere try to impose their personal views on what should be a simple legal determination. But Elon has his own interpretation. Blocking internet sales would be “a fundamental restraint on interstate commerce and fundamentally violate the Constitution,” he said on Thursday.
Politics will surely play a role. Tweets from deep within Mar-A-Largo are a certainty. Direct sales may be defined as a threat to America’s national security, one that requires building a 30′ high concrete wall around every state to mitigate the danger.
Headed For The Supreme CourtThis issue can’t help but end up in front to the US Supreme Court, where the majority is composed of men suckled at the breast of the Federalist Society, an organization that preaches government is always the problem, never the solution. Will Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh turn themselves into pretzels trying to repeal the commerce clause? They often declare their utter disdain for judicial activism, yet they have no trouble being judicial activists when it suits their ideological purposes.
The legal battles may take years to play out but the ground shifted under the feet of every person and corporation that owns an authorized dealership in America when Elon spoke yesterday. All those dealerships could become valueless if Tesla is successful at selling cars directly to the public over the internet. Imagine — no-haggle pricing, a 7 day risk-free test drive, over-the-air updates, service personnel who come to you rather than having to take a day off of work to visit a dealer’s service department. If this isn’t nirvana for new car buyers, it’s damn close to it.
The financial world is not too impressed with Tesla’s new business model. The stock is down about 8% from where it ended the day on Thursday. Has Tesla shot itself in the foot? Has Elon finally gone too far? People who have followed the company for the past several years are used to dramatic ups and downs in its share price. There will be more wild swings in the future. In the end, you either trust Elon Musk to deliver on his promises or you don’t. The fact remains that he promised a $35,000 Model 3 and he delivered on that promise. The question every investor has to ask is, where would you rather put your money — Tesla or Giganta Auto Group?
Tesla has put blood in the water by firing the fir..

Tesla Will Reveal Sub-$40,000 Model Y On March 14th In California

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on March 3rd, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Tesla Will Reveal Sub-$40,000 Model Y On March 14th In CaliforniaTwitterLinkedInFacebookMarch 3rd, 2019 by Kyle Field

Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped the news today on Twitter that the Tesla Model Y will be unveiled at an event at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, on March 14.
The highly anticipated compact utility vehicle is expected to enjoy higher demand than Tesla’s Model 3, will be 10% larger, and will cost 10% more, according to Musk. The projection is in line with the pricing gap between the Tesla Model S and the Tesla Model X, with the larger, heavier X commanding a premium price from customers looking to wow their friends and impress their neighbors with its pair of falcon-wing doors.
Speaking of falcon-wing doors, Musk took the opportunity to clarify that the Model Y will not have the hotly debated, over-engineered falcon-wing doors, much to the relief of many potential customers and shareholders alike. Introducing the Model Y into one of the hottest segments of passenger vehicles with normal doors opens it up to the largest possible number of customers and all but ensures that it will have a shot at enjoying the same early success of the Model 3.

The announcement of the Model Y reveal event comes just days after Tesla slashed prices of vehicles across its lineup, the last part of Tesla’s journey to deliver the $35,000 Standard Range Tesla Model 3. Taking the 10% price increase into account, the base configuration of the Model Y would tip the scales at just under $40,000. That is a very healthy price point and puts the car in direct competition with its competition in the internal combustion world, just without any of the the nasty emissions.
Looking at the competition, the BMW X3 starts at $41,000, the Mercedes-Benz GLC starts at $40,700, and the Porsche Macan will set buyers back $47,800. That puts Tesla’s sub-$40,000 Model Y at a significant advantage compared to the competition, on price alone. Looking beyond that, the competition comes with a very real risk that cities will ban combustion vehicles from city centers in the near future as a lever for combatting urban air pollution. As the icing on the cake, the Model Y will also be available in a performance version that will surely put the competition to shame.
Musk previously announced that the Model Y will share 76% of its DNA with the Model 3, allowing Tesla to streamline its parts supply chains and leverage greater economies of scale to get better deals from its suppliers. Building up from the low chassis, the Model Y CUV will have a larger profile, resulting in a slightly higher coefficient of drag than the Model 3, translating to lower efficiency, according to Musk.
While it will not be as efficient as the Model 3, we still expect the Model Y to lead its class in efficiency. Tesla’s ability to design and engineer its vehicles from the chemical composition of its batteries all the way up to the curvature of the nose has translated to a fleet of vehicles that the competition simply can’t touch. Thankfully, early customers have not been as worried about the efficiency of vehicles, focusing instead on the range they are able to achieve per charge.
Make no mistake, though, as electric vehicles continue to move into the mainstream, miles per kilowatt-hour will become the new miles per gallon. The more miles that can be squeezed out of the battery and each kilowatt-hour of power that it contains translates to a lower and lower cost of operation. Looking out 5 or 10 years, that efficiency will form the foundation for the total cost of ownership discussion for operators of large, fully autonomous fleets of electric vehicles.
The March 14th event in Hawthorne, California, at Tesla’s Design Studio will give participants some time with the Model Y, including test drives or at least test rides in the new vehicle. We will be at the event, so stay tuned to CleanTechnica for all the juicy details as they unfold in just two short weeks.

About the AuthorKyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.

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78% Of Tesla’s 2018 Model 3 Sales Were Online — Musk Email Sheds Light On New Sales Strategy

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Cars Published on March 3rd, 2019 | by Dr. Maximilian Holland
78% Of Tesla’s 2018 Model 3 Sales Were Online — Musk Email Sheds Light On New Sales StrategyTwitterLinkedInFacebookMarch 3rd, 2019 by Dr. Maximilian Holland

An email sent to Tesla employees by Elon Musk on Thursday explains some of the reasons for Tesla’s shift in sales strategy from brick-and-mortar stores to an online focus. Notably, 78% of all Model 3 sales in 2018 were already conducted online. Further, 82% of buyers didn’t even take a test drive before buying. Added to this, awareness of the Tesla brand is as strong as it has ever been, and prospective customers are forward-looking and tech-savvy, comfortable with online purchases. Transitioning from store-based sales to online sales, along with other efficiencies, reduces vehicle costs by an average 6%. That made this a priority area for overall savings and cost reductions.
The net effect of the shift is that Tesla’s vehicles are now being sold at more affordable price points, increasing demand and accelerating Tesla’s core mission.

Understanding the Change in Tesla’s Sales StrategyAny loss of jobs is never good news for those affected. It remains to be seen what proportion of store sales staff can be transitioned to roles in the galleries, showcases, and information centres that will be maintained in high traffic locations. There will be increasing positions in service and in manufacturing as well, but how many can transition to such jobs is unclear.
Tesla went from 899 employees in 2010 to an estimated 45,000 in Q4 last year, but with several periodic cutbacks to the workforce along the way. The cutbacks are unfortunate, but not unexpected in a fast evolving company seeking to ramp up the number of vehicles sold, learn on its feet, and seek cost efficiencies in every area of its operations.
In a phone-in session for journalists on Thursday, Musk called the move to online sales a “hard decision” which “unfortunately will entail a reduction” in the sales staff, but also called it an “extremely important strategic decision.”
Whilst the phone call did not go deep into the reasoning for the shift in sales strategy (instead focusing on the announcement of the $35,000 Model 3 and details about the car), the employee email on the same day did shed more light. I have attached the full text of the email at the end of this article. Obviously, reducing internal costs enough to enable the sale of the $35,000 Model 3 was a key proximate motivation for the strategy shift. But there’s also more context to understand the overall change in strategy. Amongst other points, the email noted that, in 2018:
“78% of all Model 3 orders were placed online, rather than in a store, and 82% of customers bought their Model 3 without ever having taken a test drive.”
Given that 140,000 Tesla Model 3s were sold in 2018, 78% online sales corresponds to almost 110,000 vehicles, of the 240,000 total 2018 vehicle sales (when we include Models S and X). That’s some 46% of the total. In 2019, the Model 3 will likely sell close to 300,000 units or more, and the S and X 80,000–100,000 (combined). This means that — assuming the same 78% online sales proportion of 2018 Model 3 sales — at least some 62% of overall sales would likely have come from online anyway, even without the recent changes.
The key question is: does Tesla actually need brick-and-mortar sales outlets to maintain brand awareness, drive demand, and create sales?

The EV Transition & Tesla’s Brand AwarenessConsider that, in the comments section of Zach’s recent article, one of our UK readers pointed out that the release of the $35,000 Model 3 was the #2 news story on the BBC. Given that the Tesla Model 3 won’t even begin delivery in the UK until sometime in the second half of 2019, that’s pretty healthy brand awareness right there.
There has been dramatic growth in awareness of EVs in general over the past couple of years. The vast majority of people who are considering transitioning to an EV are without doubt aware of Tesla. With the availability of the $35,000 variant of the Model 3, and low running costs, a Tesla EV is now within reach of a greater proportion of aspirational new car buyers in the key markets in which the company operates. Of the folks in these markets that are considering buying a new premium car anyway, many if not most of them are already aware of the Tesla brand. All in, it’s not hard to conceive that — even without brick-and-mortar sales stores — there’s enough demand to keep Tesla running at full production potential for at least the medium term. The upcoming Model Y reveal (and likely many more reservations) will only boost brand awareness and demand.
Tesla Model Y teaser.
Tesla has obviously crunched the numbers and decided that encouraging an online sales process — whilst keeping vehicles visible and curated by a few personnel in high-traffic areas in galleries (and similar locations) — will result in more than sufficient demand going forwards. Whilst being a calculated guesstimate, there’s surely a positive feedback between removing the significant cost of sales locations, thus allowing Tesla “to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average” (Musk email), thus bootstrapping relatively more demand and resulting in more customers overall.
As quoted above, that “82% of customers bought their Model 3 without ever having taken a test drive” shows that test drives are not needed for most prospective buyers to pull the trigger on a purchase — at least, they haven’t been. Tesla’s tweaked sales contract now allows customers who have not previously test driven the vehicle to return it within 7 days (or 1,000 miles) for a fast, full refund if they are not happy with the purchase. (This was also was part of the reasoning given in the employee email). Since driving a Tesla for the 1st time is invariably a revelation, the percentage of returns will likely be negligible. And there will likely still be some opportunities for test drives in key locations, even if that’s arranged via a service centre location (or even a mobile service/test drive) rather than a sales location per se. Our own Kyle Field got a home test drive from Tesla before purchasing his Model 3.

Finally, there are additional demand levers that Tesla can still pull if necessary. The company could readily re-introduce a referral program (albeit a more cost efficient and capped one). And leasing is not even offered yet on the Model 3. That’s a huge demand lever right there.
In short, with three Model 3 choices at price points between $35,000 and $40,000 — themselves to a large extent enabled by the move to an online sales focus — Tesla calculates that this reconfigured approach to sales and costs will generate more than enough demand going forwards, and further the company’s mission.
Whilst we can all agree that the loss of store sales jobs is sad, do you agree or disagree with Tesla’s reconfigured sales approach from the point of view of the business case? Please provide your own thoughts in the comments.
Here’s Elon Musk’s email to employees (Thursday, February 28):
Last month, I noted in my email that the fundamental issue Tesla must overcome is that our products remain too expensive for most people. We know there are many people who want to buy Model 3, but simply can’t afford to do so.
That is why we’re excited to announce today that we are now offering the standard Model 3 at $35,000. This is a significant milestone for Tesla, the culmination of years of hard work by employees across the company, and something of which you should all be very proud. You can read the details of the announcement on our blog: https://www.tesla.com/blog/35000-tesla-model-3-available-now
In addition, we are also making the decision to shift all sales worldwide to online only.
Last year, 78% of all Model 3 orders were placed online, rather than in a store, and 82% of customers bought their Model 3 without ever having taken a test drive. Customers can now buy a Tesla in North America via their phone in about 1 minute, and that capability will soon be extended worldwide. We are also making it much easier to try out and return a Tesla without a test drive. You can now return a car within 7 days or 1,000 miles for a full refund. Customers are becoming increasingly comfortable making purchases online, and that is especially true for Tesla — which is a testament to the products we make.
As a result, over the next few months, we will be winding down many of our stores and significantly reducing our spend on sales and marketing, which will help make the price changes we’ve announced today possible. Shifting all sales online combined with other ongoing cost efficiency will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point.
A small number of stores in high-traffic locations will remain as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers. At the same time, we will be increasing our investment in the Tesla service system and manufacturing, and I expect that headcount to grow next year.
Unfortunately, this means that some jobs will be impacted or transitioned to other areas of the business. This is a hard decision, but it necessary to make our cars more affordable. Our sales team has fought on the front lines of advancing our mission and has been our connection to hundreds of thousands of customers along the way. I want to express my sincere gratitude for all that you’ve done.
In the coming weeks, we will be evaluating all of our sales and marketing organization to understand where there are operational efficiencies, and how best to support the transition to online sales while also continuing to deliver a truly awesome and educational Tesla buying experience.
We’ll be sharing more information on this transition soon.
Thank you,
Elon

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Tesla Offers Owners 50% Off Autopilot & Full Self-Driving 

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on March 2nd, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Tesla Offers Owners 50% Off Autopilot & Full Self-Driving TwitterLinkedInFacebookMarch 2nd, 2019 by Kyle Field

Tesla stirred up quite a controversy amongst buyers of its vehicles over the last few months when it slashed prices across its fleet from a few thousand dollars up to more than $50,000 on some configurations. That’s great news for new buyers, but puts existing owners in a quandary since their resale values drop instantaneously.

The backlash was rather severe, with owners understandably complaining about the loss in value. For Tesla Model 3 owners who had already purchased in 2019, Tesla rather quickly started telling them today that they would get AP for free, a $3,000 upgrade. A line was seemingly drawn at the end of the year in 2018, presumably because 2018 buyers were able to take advantage of the full federal tax credit on their purchases.
Elon Musk responded a few minutes ago on twitter with an offer to all owners who purchased their vehicles prior to the sweeping price reductions. Tesla followed the news up with a post on its blog, detailing how the upgrades will work. Tesla will be offering Autopilot ($4,000 after purchase) or Full Self-Driving ($7,000 after purchase) at half of the normal price. That represents a healthy discount of $2,000 to $3,500 for existing owners.
Owners who had purchased EAP and FSD will get enrolled in the Tesla Early Access Program. This program is supposed to grant members priority access to software updates as they are released to the public, but the reaction to the program in the past makes it clear that the program offers little to no priority in the queue for updates as they come out.
Elon jumped in to clarify that, for owners who had already sprung for Enhanced Autopilot, Full-Self Driving is now available for purchase for $2,000.
The discount clearly does not offset the lost value for many Tesla owners, but seeing as how there was really no reason for Tesla to do anything for prior owners, it is a nice gesture and surely will not go unnoticed. At the same time, Tesla does not have to give owners anything for free and has a chance to make some extra cash in a quarter when they really, really need extra cash for an upgrade that essentially costs them nothing.
At the core, these offers for significant discounts are wins for the customers and wins for Tesla. They offer driving technologies that will make driving significantly safer for not only vehicle occupants, but for all the vehicles driving in proximity to the Tesla while adding convenience to boot. Tesla’s latest safety report showed that its vehicles were 4 times safer than the average vehicle in the US, based on NHTSA data, and 7 times safer than the average vehicle in the US when Autopilot was engaged. That’s impressive, and now comes with a significantly reduced price tag.
As a Long Range, Rear-Wheel Drive Model 3 owner myself (2018.07 delivery), I’m thankful for the opportunity for a discount — though I won’t be able to take advantage of it for quite some time.

About the AuthorKyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.

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175 kW Hypercharger Doesn’t Charge Tesla Model 3 … At All (Video)

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Clean Transport Published on February 23rd, 2019 | by Kyle Field
175 kW Hypercharger Doesn’t Charge Tesla Model 3 … At All (Video)TwitterLinkedInFacebookFebruary 23rd, 2019 by Kyle Field

Bjorn Nyland loves running around in a variety of electric vehicles to explore what is possible and, well, what is not possible. Just a few short days after the first Model 3s were delivered to customers in Norway, he encountered a Model 3 owner attempting to use a 175 kW hypercharger and found that no charge could be delivered.
He documented the process in typical Bjorn style, with a quick video that shows the hypercharge station where he and the owner gave the process several attempts. The blue LED on the Model 3 charging port seems to indicate that the car recognized that a charger was plugged in, but could not successfully initiate a charging session at any speed.
The charging protocol communication typically works like this: The car sees the charging station asking what speed/power the car is capable of charging at, and after the initial “handshake,” it proceeds to dole out the charge at the negotiated speed. From the video, it is not clear which party in the transaction didn’t want to make a deal, but the charge does not start.
The issue is likely just a minor software issue that can be resolved with a firmware update. The Tesla Model 3 and these new 175 kW hyperchargers are both new entrants to the market. The Tesla Model 3 brings the most advanced electric vehicle technology to the party and the 175 kW hypercharger is a rare bird, in any market. EV fast chargers typically offer around 50 kW of charging power, and non-Tesla ones offering 100kW to 150 kW have started popping up in the past year or so, but very few in the 175 kW range are anywhere in the world.
The fact that this chance encounter even happened is worth getting excited about. We are far beyond the days of a 70 mile EV hypermiling to get to the next 25 kW charging station. We can now explore how quickly a 300 mile charge can be delivered. These brand new stations should be able to accomplish the task in a matter of minutes.
The future is exciting, and thanks to the people on the front lines of deploying the solutions — buying the vehicles and putting them to the test in the real world — we can all join in on the fun as it unfolds.

About the AuthorKyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.

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Tesla Gigafactory 3 Targets September Completion Of Stamping, Bodywork, Paint, & Assembly Workshops

According to documents released by the local ecology and environment authority, Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai is targeting completion of stamping, bodywork, painting, and assembly workshops by September 2019, making it ready to produce much of the Tesla Model 3 onsite by sometime in Q4. Motor and powertrain workshops, and seat production, are targeted for completion by March 2020, increasing further the degree of localization

Former Tesla VP Spins Up New Energy Company To Accelerate Solar Plus Storage

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Batteries Published on February 23rd, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Former Tesla VP Spins Up New Energy Company To Accelerate Solar Plus StorageTwitterLinkedInFacebookFebruary 23rd, 2019 by Kyle Field

My kids play with LEGOs and work together to assemble puzzles, which is pretty normal stuff, but as far back as he can remember, clean energy enthusiast Ben Hill grew up playing with solar cells. His father was one of the founding fathers of today’s photovoltaic industry, Robert Hill, so that shouldn’t be surprising, but those early years set the trajectory for the rest of his life.
CleanTechnica caught up with Ben on the 2019 Electric Vehicle Road Trip Middle East and learned about how Ben has helped grow global solar companies around the world, including a stint at Tesla as its Vice President of Tesla’s operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where he oversaw the launch of Tesla’s Powerwall and Tesla Energy.
A New CompanyTo truly tap into his passion for renewables and to maximize the opportunity he saw in the integration of solar and energy storage intelligence, Ben left Tesla in 2017 to build a new company from the ground up. And so it was that B3 New Energy was born.
Ben said that B3 New Energy was created to provide his decades of experience in the solar, energy storage, and virtual power plant industries to companies ranging from global behemoths to small startups to financial institutions as they work to maximize the benefits of the new energy transition. In the year since he launched his consultancy, he has made significant progress in realizing that goal and is working to scale up in the year ahead.

B3 New Energy is providing consultancy services for investment banks on solar, energy storage, and EV charging and infrastructure, in addition to serving as a specialist consultant for other consultancies. These services are critical to helping the industry move forward, but what Ben is really passionate about, and what he loves doing at B3 New Energy, is helping startups get their ideas into the market. “I consult for or I’m in several different companies that are in energy storage or virtual power plants right now,” Ben said.
Virtual Power Plants Solve Problems At ScaleVirtual Power Plants (VPP) leverage the power of centralized intelligence to control distributed energy generation, energy storage, and demand response resources to meet the needs of grid operators. During the peak solar production each day, the grid operator may need all that excess energy sucked up and might activate some energy storage units to store the power. As the evening demand peak surges, the operator might call on a block of EV chargers to throttle back their usage in order to keep things humming along nicely.

The whole VPP is orchestrated by a central intelligence that responds to the operation of its individual units and leverages them en masse to maximize the benefits they provide to the grid. In the new world of distributed renewable generation and energy storage, VPPs are the conductors that keep everyone playing nicely together.
Solving The Right ProblemHis passion to create and build comes along with the inevitable need to deconstruct teams and organizations. That’s never fun, Ben said, but it is necessary at times, before rebuilding the right team that can take on the challenges of today.
It took several decades for photovoltaic solar to achieve the scale necessary to challenge incumbent electricity generation technologies, and less than a decade for lithium-ion energy storage to become a serious player. In the last few years, the falling costs and technology improvements with batteries have changed the game for stationary energy storage, which has revealed the secret sauce that holds solar and energy storage together — that is the intelligence that powers the energy storage. This is true for both grid-connected and off-grid applications.

Ben explained that it is not a simple matter of wiring a battery into the grid that solves problems and adds value, but rather, it is the ability to intelligently dispatch the battery to store up power at exactly the right time or to dispatch its stored power to fill a gap that makes the difference. Depending on its size, that battery can be in your home, factory or nearby field, including tapping into the battery of your EV with vehicle-to-grid technologies.
Most recently, Ben joined forces with Solo Energy, in September of last year, as its commercial and technical advisor, where he will work to accelerate the company’s move into the “virtual power plant” space. “I’m incredibly excited to be working with Solo Energy,” Ben said. “The team has a strong vision for the future, and its peer-to-peer trading concept using the latest blockchain technology is cutting edge.”

The future of renewables and energy storage is being built right before our eyes thanks to experts, team builders, and passionate leaders like Ben Hill. Stay tuned to CleanTechnica as we continue to dig and explore the emerging world of smart energy storage solutions, among other topics of interest.

About the AuthorKyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.

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Elon Musk: Full Self-Driving Teslas This Year, “Unequivocal” Tesla Autopilot Improves Safety

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on February 20th, 2019 | by Steve Hanley
Elon Musk: Full Self-Driving Teslas This Year, “Unequivocal” Tesla Autopilot Improves SafetyTwitterLinkedInFacebookFebruary 20th, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Credit: ARK Invest via Twitter
Elon Musk sat down with Tasha Keeney and Cathie Wood of ARK Invest February 19 for a podcast session that focused primarily on Tesla’s Autopilot technology and when Musk sees it being capable of driving cars with no human interaction.
ARK Invest is a financial management company whose stated mission is identifying “disruptive innovation in the public markets,” according to its website. “We research a global universe that spans sectors and market capitalizations to offer investment solutions with low correlation to traditional index-based strategies, because we believe innovation is key to growth.” Currently, about 8% of ARK’s portfolio is invested in Tesla. The group’s target price for the stock in the long term is a highly aggressive $4,000 per share.
“I think we will be feature complete — full self-driving — this year,” Musk said in the podcast interview. “Meaning the car will be able to find you in a parking lot, pick you up, and take you all the way to your destination without an intervention, this year. I would say I am certain of that. That is not a question mark. However, people sometimes will extrapolate that to mean now it works with 100 percent certainty, requires no observation, perfectly. This is not the case.”

In other words, he is talking about Level 4 autonomy not Level 5, which presupposes that the car can do everything a human driver can do under all conditions. That goal is still a few years away, Musk suggests, and depends on certain factors over which Tesla has no direct control, such as state and federal regulators. “My guess as to when we would think it is safe for somebody to essentially fall asleep and wake up at their destination? Probably towards the end of next year. That is when I think it would be safe enough for that.”
Autonomous cars are the holy grail for most automakers today, as well as Waymo, the self-driving arm of Google (er, Alphabet). What makes Tesla so sure it is able to keep up with all those heavy hitters? “The reason Tesla is making rapid progress is because we have vastly more data, and this is increasing exponentially.” As each new Tesla hits the road, its onboard computer begins sending streams of data back to Tesla, where engineers can use it to verify the functionality of Autopilot and compare upgrades that are in the works with real-world experience.
Musk has stated repeatedly that Autopilot is already safer than a human driver and will only get better over time. “No matter how you slice the data, it is unequivocal at this point that it’s safer to have autopilot on.” Finally, Musk told Tasha and Cathi, “People think sometimes that I’m like a business person or finance person, or something like that. I’m an engineer. I do engineering, always have.” Seems to be working out reasonably well for him so far.

About the AuthorSteve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. His motto is, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away!” You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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Texas Startup Offering City-To-City Shuttle Service In Teslas

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Cars Published on February 18th, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Texas Startup Offering City-To-City Shuttle Service In TeslasTwitterLinkedInFacebookFebruary 18th, 2019 by Kyle Field

A new startup is building an army of Teslas in Texas to establish a city-to-city shuttle service. ElecTrip is the name of this new luxury city-to-city shuttle service.
The business is unique in that it does not plan to own all of the Teslas it needs, but has purchased two vehicles to anchor its operations. In order to grow its capacity beyond those two vehicles, the company is reaching out to private owners and asking to rent their vehicles from them for the day as needed. In exchange, owners will get $100 to $175 per day, depending on the number of miles put on their vehicle while it was out.
On the customer front, ElecTrip is offering passengers a dedicated Tesla shuttle that will take them from within 50 miles of their starting city to another city within a 4-hour drive without needing a charge. The hope is that passengers will be willing to pay more than they would for a comparable Uber or Lyft for a premium, dedicated experience.
ElecTrip is aiming at what it sees as a sweet spot in pricing between ride-sharing services and airline travel. Hopping on a plane could be faster, but with the additional security and hassle, taking a door to door shuttle could be a more appealing offering, especially if the service can hit a lower price point. Airline travel also comes with a massive emissions footprint that electric transportation is able to improve upon.

The price for the service ranges from $200 for the 1 hour and 20 minute run from Austin to San Antonio all the way up to $430 for the 3½ hour slog from Houston to Dallas. Don’t think that $430 puts them out of the running, as the service can accommodate up to 5 people, which has the potential to make riding in a Tesla the lower cost option in many cases.
ElecTrip was founded by two University of Texas at Austin grads who were attracted to the idea of electric vehicles and started looking for a way to capitalize on the lower maintenance costs of the vehicles. The business is still just getting off its feet, but one year into the adventure, the founders are excited by the rapid month-over-month growth they continue to see.
Related:
New Tesla Shuttle Website For USA
Boston ↔ NYC In A Tesla
Tesla Shuttle Flies Into Florida

About the AuthorKyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.

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