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Tesla Changes Model S & X Trims & Pricing, Drops Names Based On Battery Sizes

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on January 29th, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Tesla Changes Model S & X Trims & Pricing, Drops Names Based On Battery SizesTwitterLinkedInFacebookJanuary 29th, 2019 by Kyle Field
Tesla moments ago rolled out a change to its online vehicle configuration tool for the Model S and Model X. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk implied last year, the company has done away with any mention of the battery size in the vehicle name or description. Instead, they are describing the vehicle options in terms of the thing we care about — range. As a special bonus, the pricing on every build in the lineup has been dropped a bit, giving buyers a bit more bang for their buck across the board.

The change has been rumored ever since the company dropped mention of battery capacity when it first took the wraps off the Model 3, announcing its Standard Range and Long Range configurations and listing the miles but not the battery capacity in kilowatt-hours.
However, Tesla has opted for a slightly different approach now with Model S and X. There are no longer batteries of different sizes put in these vehicles based on the trim you pick. The two range options are simply controlled by software.
Model S UpdatesThe base build of the Model S, which has no special name, is now $85,000 in the US for a dual-motor build that can travel 310 miles on a charge. Remember, though, since that’s a software-limited range, an owner who decides they want more range can, at any time, opt to bump the range up from there. All that’s needed is a bit more cash and some over-the-air magic.

The Model S Extended Range bumps the price up $8,000 for an 8% increase in range, up to 335 miles per charge. Neither the top speed of 155 miles per hour or the 0–60 mph time of 4.1 seconds changes with the Extended Range software update, so all that cash is going straight to extra range in the battery.
For those who need a bit of adrenaline with their morning coffee, the Model S Performance tips the scales at a clean $112,000 for a car that will travel 315 miles per charge. That comes with the same battery pack as its less spritely siblings, but it sports upgraded performance hardware in the car that allows it to go from 0–60 mph in just 3.0 seconds.
For those looking for the proverbial nitrous boost, Ludicrous Mode can still be stacked on top of that for an extra $20,000, which translates to a mind boggling 20% more performance — perhaps that’s where the $20K figure comes from. In terms of hard data, you’ll fly from 0–60 mph in just 2.4 seconds, which gives me flashbacks just thinking about. Not to shy away from the numbers, the Ludicrous Tesla Model S Performance will set buyers back $132,000 for the whole platform, and that’s not including any of the other options downstream, like paint, rims, and the like.

Model X UpdatesThe Tesla Model X nomenclature has also been recalibrated based on a standard battery pack for all configurations. Its new base price is $88,000 in the US. That configuration provides 270 miles of range on a full charge.
For those who like pushing the boundaries, an Extended Range build unlocks an additional 25 miles, boosting the range per charge up to 295 miles for an extra $8,000, or a total price of $96,000. Because it’s just a software update that unlocks the extra capacity, the Extended Range option can again be purchased with the car or after the fact as a simple update.

The Model X is no sports car, but it is the fastest and safest SUV out there. However, that speed comes at a price. Bumping the car up to the Performance build drops the 0–60 mph time from 4.7 seconds in the base configuration to 3.5 seconds. Getting to the grocery store for a gallon of milk that much faster might be fun, but it comes at the expense of efficiency as well, as the range of the Model X Performance drops from 295 miles to 289 miles per charge. (I know — 6 miles makes all the difference in the world … almost never.)
Finally, we have the peel-your-eyeballs-off-the-seat Ludicrous Model X Performance. Just like on the S, the Ludicrous upgrade will set buyers back $20,000 for 20% more performance. The real question at this point is not the money — it’s about going 0–60 mph in 2.8 seconds — because let’s be real, buyers who are dropping $137,000 on a Model X aren’t really worried about efficiency. They just want to go fast and look good doing it.
SummaryThese naming recalibrations come as no surprise and put Tesla’s two premium vehicles back at price points that give buyers more options for balancing range and price. Either way, speed is still going to cost you, but at least you can get into a Model S or X at more approachable prices than last week. These changes are live in the Model S and Model X configurators right now, so head on over and configure your dream car. Whether you click that little blue order button or not at the end of the build is up to you.
If this article has helped you make a decision to purchase a Tesla vehicle, you can use our referral code to get 6 months of free Supercharging.

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. Tesla referral code: http://ts.la/kyle623

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Tesla Partners With Local Community Colleges To Attract Talent At Gigafactory 1

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Autonomous Vehicles Published on January 29th, 2019 | by Kyle Field
Tesla Partners With Local Community Colleges To Attract Talent At Gigafactory 1TwitterLinkedInFacebookJanuary 29th, 2019 by Kyle Field
Tesla is looking to the local community for future employees through its Manufacturing Development Program, which is being offered through Nevada’s Jobs for America’s Graduates program. The program aims to connect high school graduates in Nevada with the skills required to land a job or move forward with postsecondary education. Naturally, it connects nicely to the high-tech manufacturing jobs at Tesla’s booming Gigafactory outside Sparks, Nevada.
Image credit: Tesla
Tesla’s Manufacturing Development Program gives high school grads the chance to plug in at the Gigafactory as a full-time production associate with opportunities to grow from there, if it turns out to be a good fit. Those who make it through the program will be given the opportunity to receive a more specialized education in automation and robotics at the nearby Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.
For Tesla, the program offers the company a pipeline of new talent that the company can run through. It is essentially a curated internship at the Gigafactory. If it turns out to be a good fit, Tesla can then afford to invest a bit in further education to really kickstart the careers of new Teslanauts.
The program does not just look at job placement, but also includes housing near the University of Nevada’s campus, with a daily shuttle that runs back and forth to the Gigafactory. The prospect of landing a starter job at Tesla’s monster Gigafactory with all of the accoutrements that are included with the program seems like a great way for a company to not only build a pipeline of new hires for itself, but to help high school grads find a career path that’s best suited for them.
Image credit: Tesla
Granted, that’s “only” within Tesla, but in a company of its size and especially at a facility already sporting more than 7,000 employees with plans to grow to more than 10,000, jobs can be found in almost any line of work, if you’re willing to put some effort into it. When I was hired at Procter & Gamble almost 20 years ago (okay, it was 20 years ago as of this year), I looked at it as the ultimate Choose Your Own Adventure opportunity, and because I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life at the time, it was perfect.
The partner program with the state of Nevada may be a local program, but it also includes federally funded relocation assistance to allow folks from around the country to get in on the action at a growing facility in a very fast-paced company in a region that’s hot on supporting them through the early stages of the Gigafactory’s production ramp.
The new program ties into Tesla’s existing Gigafactory Training Gateway, which was developed to leverage the factory as a platform for education. Through the program, local schools have created a special 15-credit curriculum focused on advanced manufacturing to build the skills needed for potential employees to thrive at the Gigafactory.
Image credit: Tesla
The Gigafactory Training Gateway was created using funds from Workforce Innovation for the New Nevada (WINN), which was established by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development back in 2015 to help support new industries in the state with educational programs. According to the Northern Nevada Business View, there are more than 120 active Tesla team members in the program, and a large batch is set to move on from the 12–18 month program this spring.
The focus on education in partnership with local community colleges and government programs provides Tesla with a low-risk means of bringing in, vetting, and educating new talent at its Gigafactory.
The upshot of building a factory in the middle of the Nevada desert is that land is cheap (or free) and the local government was tripping all over itself to get Tesla out there, but the challenges of spooling up a force of 10,000 highly trained workers in a remote location are very real. These programs show that Tesla is looking at the problem very pragmatically, leveraging government and internal funds to build relevant skills in the area, and hopefully pulling in some new hires along the way.
Source: Northern Nevada Business View via Reddit

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. Tesla referral code: http://ts.la/kyle623

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Tesla Is Building The Parts Warehouse To End All Parts Warehouses

New drone footage of Tesla's Lathrop facility shows that the facility is all buttoned up on the outside. The Lathrop facility is shaping up to be a massive parts depot for the automotive manufacturer, based on job listings for the location. This seems logical as Tesla works to beef up its parts supply chain coming in and out of its Fremont, California, automotive factory

Elon Musk’s Long Trail of Successful Entrepreneurship

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Cars Published on January 27th, 2019 | by Guest Contributor
Elon Musk’s Long Trail of Successful EntrepreneurshipTwitterLinkedInFacebookJanuary 27th, 2019 by Guest Contributor
Originally published on EVANNEX.
By Charles Morris
Elon Musk’s world-changing accomplishments with Tesla and SpaceX, and his current net worth of around $16 billion, represent the culmination of a long career as an entrepreneur. As a recent article in TIME points out, Musk’s road to fame and fortune was far from an overnight success story.
Elon Musk’s journey (Source: Money Control / Story and Script: Avinash Mudaliar, Siddartha Bannerjee, Xema Pathek; Art: Harsho Mohan Chattoraj)In fact, Musk has been what you might call a serial entrepreneur since childhood, constantly starting companies, developing new products and services — and making money. Here are some of the glamorous (and otherwise) ways Elon found to pay the rent on the way to becoming a billionaire:

At the age of 12, the future Iron Man designed and sold his own video game, a space adventure called Blastar, which combined aspects of the popular games Asteroids and Space Invaders. He had been learning to code in BASIC since the age of 9. Musk called Blastar a “trivial game … but better than Flappy Bird.” He sold it to a computer magazine for around $500, and invested the money in a pharmaceutical stock, which he later sold for a healthy profit. Elon and brother Kimbal made grand plans to open a video arcade, but their parents nixed the two teenagers’ business plan.
After leaving South Africa in 1988, Musk paid his dues working a series of odd jobs in Canada. As Ashlee Vance recounts in his biography of Musk, young Elon tended vegetables and shoveled out grain bins at a cousin’s farm in Waldeck, and sawed logs in Vancouver. Looking for a high hourly wage, he took a job cleaning the boiler room of a lumber mill, which involved wearing a hazmat suit and crawling into a tiny space to shovel toxic residue.
A later gig was much more pleasant. Elon’s younger brother Kimbal followed in his footsteps by moving to Canada and studying at Queen’s University, and the two used to contact prominent people out of the blue, asking for interviews. One of these, an executive at the Bank of Nova Scotia, was so impressed with the pair’s boldness and determination that he gave Elon an internship.

Elon’s brother, Kimbal Musk, talks about how he and his brother developed their entrepreneurial spirit (YouTube: CNBC Make It.)
Another side gig at Queens University was selling computers and components out of his dorm room. The tech-savvy Musk helped his fellow students keep their computers running. “If their computer didn’t boot properly or had a virus, I’d fix it. I could pretty much solve any problem.”
Musk’s college days weren’t all study and geekiness. While attending the University of Pennsylvania, Musk and a friend moved into a 10-bedroom off-campus house, and on weekends, they turned the place into “a full-out, unlicensed speakeasy,” according to roommate Adeo Ressi, covering the windows with black trash bags and the walls with bright paint. As madness raged around him, Musk would stay sober to keep things under control. “I was paying my own way through college and could make an entire month’s rent in one night,” he said. According to TIME, his mother Maye even worked the door at one of the parties.
Silicon Valley beckoned. At age 23, Elon enrolled at Stanford University. However, the Internet scene was starting to heat up. Guys like Elon were inventing ideas in dorm rooms and getting rich. The lure proved irresistible, and Musk quit school to start a company before he attended his first class.
That company was Zip2, which helped newspapers and other publications get online using locally-oriented internet content. The brothers Musk used a Yellow Pages CD-ROM, a mapping software application, and Elon’s coding skills to build online city guides that allowed users to find local businesses and view maps and door-to-door directions. They soon met the great venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, the beginning of a long collaboration. Jurvetson helped the young entrepreneurs negotiate the Silicon Valley startup scene, and Musk soon displayed his remarkable talent for enticing investors. At its height, Zip2 ran over 180 online city guides for national publications. In 1999, Compaq acquired Zip2 for a $341-million package of cash and stock options. Elon’s share was reported to be $22 million.
Elon Musk’s progression (Source: Money Control / Story and Script: Avinash Mudaliar, Siddartha Bannerjee, Xema Pathek; Art: Harsho Mohan Chattoraj)For his next act, Mr. Musk targeted the field of online financial services, founding a company called X.com in 1999. The original idea was to build a “one-stop shop” for financial services, but Elon soon became interested in another startup that had its headquarters down the street and had developed a clever system for making online payments that it called PayPal.
Musk soon made PayPal his own, and what he did next offers a foreshadowing of the strategy that he later employed to great success with Tesla. He didn’t invent PayPal’s technology, and he wasn’t the only one who saw the potential. However, he thought big and made things happen. He used his expertise in the financial markets to engineer an IPO in 2002, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.2 billion at a time when other internet companies were going out of business left and right.
PayPal was a huge enabler for the online auction site eBay, and later in 2002, the company acquired it for $1.5 billion in stock. Musk, PayPal’s largest shareholder, took home around $180 million from the deal.
Musk had changed the world, and gotten fabulously wealthy, but he showed no interest in retiring to a Caribbean beach or an English country manor. Instead, he soared to even greater heights with Tesla and SpaceX, and to date he has shown no sign of running out of entrepreneurial ideas. What will this Renaissance man do in 2019? Stay tuned.
This article incorporates material from Charles Morris’s book Tesla: How Elon Musk and Company Made Electric Cars Cool, and Remade the Automotive and Energy Industries, now in its third edition.

About the AuthorGuest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀

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