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Tesla Inside Out — Tesla History From 7-Year Insider

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Published on November 9th, 2019 |

by Zachary Shahan

Tesla Inside Out — Tesla History From 7-Year Insider

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November 9th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

I recently met a gentleman named David Havasi while charging our Tesla Model 3 at a ChargePoint station at a Whole Foods I frequently visit. He recognized me from CleanTechnica and I quickly learned he worked at Tesla for 7 years, until just recently. We got talking, talking, talking, and talking. I wasn’t sure if he’d be camera shy to repeat some of what he told me (or more) on camera, but it turned out he very much wasn’t shy — he had actually worked on Broadway before working at Tesla!

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To kick off our first on-camera interview, I got some background on David, which included being raised by a professional Detroit gearhead. His dad had actually been instrumental in designing the now dominant crossover vehicle style, which David humorously relayed was an odd-sounding idea when his dad excitedly explained it to him many years ago.

From that gearhead background and a deep passion to help protect our climate and environmental resources, when David found out about the AC Propulsion tzero (read our exclusive, fascinating piece on the tzero if you haven’t done so yet) in 2013, and then soon after that the Tesla Roadster, he got super excited about electric vehicles. (David’s Broadway background was kicking in well at this point, helping to animate the history — I recommend watching.)

Interestingly, David noted that it was the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that really pushed him to get into the industry, that pushed him to try to get a job at Tesla. This was in 2010. With such a wild few years (for Tesla and politically), it seems like lifetimes have passed since then, but that was less than a decade ago. We discussed in a bit of wonder how far Tesla has come since then. Back in 2010, Tesla was almost unknown. A story about Tesla would be a short sidebar of Motor Trend. “Tesla clickbait” was definitely not a thing!

After a short side tangent about lingo from the ’90s and ’00s, David talked a bit about the early Tesla recruitment process and how he joined the Tesla team, starting with a meeting in Palo Alto in 2010 and then his eventual hire in May 2012.

He also discussed early roles at Tesla, and how much the unique corporate culture of “builders” and everyone being “ultra hardcore” led to its success. We talked about the culture changing a bit and how trying to retain the deep essence of Tesla is an ongoing process. “The ultra hardcore mentality can’t be an archaic notion from a bygone era,” David said. “We can’t become complacent,” was his critical parting message to colleagues when leaving the company earlier this year.

Getting back to 2012, he noted how empty and “post-apocalyptic” the Fremont factory seemed. Tesla was only using about 10% of the space, and David had some hilarious stories of riding bikes across the empty space from one side to another, including one funny story of seeing Elon along the way and circling back to spy on him again. We also talked about how much different the factory is today, how impressive it is, and my first big impression from our tour of the factory earlier this year: “The World Inside Tesla Is Completely Different From The Media’s Portrayal Of Tesla.”

One interesting tidbit David shared is that Elon and Jerome, in the past at least, required at least two incremental improvements a week in the factory.

We got into a short discussion about Tesla Easter eggs, humor, and Tesla’s many literary and film allusions, including a fun story about Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest experiencing a “turn it up to 11” inside joke while test driving a Tesla Model S. David also noted a fun Monty Python tweet he sent out a while back that Elon Musk responded to and then Eric Idle of Monty Python also responded to. David talked a little bit about how the younger staffers at Tesla miss some of these references so well known to our generations, like “All our patents are belong to you,” which made me think of one of my recent joke articles, an article many people loved but others were confused by. In case you missed it, the article was “All The Problems With Our New Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus.” Luckily, David was a fan of the article and even called it poetic! He actually had some thoughtful philosophical reflections on the blank article. Admittedly, as off topic as that part of the discussion was, I think it’s what got us most animated and enthusiastic. That said, David is highly enthusiastic throughout the interview and definitely relayed more interesting and important stories throughout the talk. It’s worth a watch, so I hope you’ll now go click play and watch or listen to the conversation.

We wrapped up the conversation talking about elementary school enthusiasm around Tesla, Elon Musk’s role as a legendary historical figure, how the media narrative around Elon has warped the story of his life and business career, David’s first days at Tesla, and Tesla achieving “the impossible.” There’s much in there that can’t be summarized in text, but I think you now have a good overview of what’s in the conversation.

We have more “Tesla Inside Out” articles underway. We’ll publish the videos and summaries soon. Stay tuned.

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Zachary Shahan is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the CEO of Important Media. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.

Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA] — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in this company and feels like it is a good cleantech company to invest in. But he offers no investment advice and does not recommend investing in Tesla or any other company.

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Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted, NHTSA Looking Into Tesla Battery Fires As Trolls Swarm

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Published on November 2nd, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted, NHTSA Looking Into Tesla Battery Fires As Trolls Swarm

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November 2nd, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Good news and bad news in the Teslaverse today. The price of shares in the company will either rise or fall on Monday as a result. Let’s begin with the good news, shall we?

Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted On California Highway

Whilst motoring serenely along on a California highway last week, YouTuber kenken830 noticed a vehicle he had never seen before coming up on his left. It turns out the car was a Tesla Model Y prototype out on a test drive. Kenken830 followed the car for several miles, capturing video of it with his car’s built-in cameras.

Through a happy coincidence, a friend of his was also driving along the same highway in a Tesla Model 3 at that moment. For a while, the two cars were side by side, making it possible to assess their size relative to each other for the first time in a real-world driving situation. Watch the video for yourself to see the difference, which is quite remarkable. Several people who watched the video have commented that the Model Y is much larger in comparison to the Model 3 than they realized.

If it is true the world is crazy for SUVs, then Tesla is about to unleash an all electric SUV with all the features and benefits of the Model 3 that targets the most popular cars in the new car marketplace today, cars like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Kona, and Volkswagen Tiguan. Even cars like the Jaguar I-PACE, Audi e-tron, and Mercedes EQC will be in its crosshairs. Elon Musk has stated publicly he sees the Model Y outselling the Model S, Model X, and Model 3 combined! Seeing the Model Y up close and personal like this makes it seem Musk’s words are more than an idle boast.

The hope for Tesla fans is that the Model Y will get here sooner rather than later. During the most recent Tesla earnings call, Musk indicated the timetable for Model Y production is being moved forward by several months. There are rumors the first of them could begin rolling off the assembly line in Fremont before the end of the first quarter next year — not a moment too soon for Tesla fans.

NHTSB Opens Investigation Into Tesla Battery Fires
A report in the New York Times carries this headline: “Tesla Batteries Investigated for Possible Defects.” The story itself is a hatchet job that hardly rises to the level of journalism, something the Times does over and over again when the topic is Tesla. Here’s what you need to know: Last April, a camera in a parking garage in Shanghai captured what appeared to be a Tesla Model S bursting into flame. Tesla immediately sent a team to investigate and determined that a battery cell had failed and triggered the incident.

In response to its findings, Tesla created an over-the-air update for the battery management system installed in some of its cars to “further protect the battery and improve longevity,” according to Green Car Reports. That update decreased the range of those cars according to several owners. That’s when attorney Edward Chen got involved. He filed suit on behalf of the affected owners, claiming that all Tesla batteries are defective and that the company tried to get out of its legal liability to provide defect-free products with an OTA that cost little to nothing.

This was all done “under the guise of ‘safety’ and increasing the ‘longevity’ of the batteries of the Class Vehicles,” the complaint stated. “Tesla fraudulently manipulated its software with the intent to avoid its duties and legal obligations to customers to fix, repair, or replace the batteries of the Class Vehicles, all of which Tesla knew were defective, yet failed to inform its customers of the defects.” At the time the lawsuit was filed. Chen said in a statement, “This is no different than what Apple did to their older iPhones in the throttling and performance case.”

After the suit was filed, Tesla issued a statement saying, “A very small percentage of owners of older Model S and Model X vehicles may have noticed a small reduction in range when charging to a maximum state of charge following a software update designed to improve battery longevity. As previously noted, we have been working to mitigate the impact on range for these owners and have been rolling out over-the-air updates to address this issue since last week.”

Not satisfied with the progress of the litigation, Chen fired off a letter in September to NHTSA requesting it open an investigation into Tesla batteries and any BMS updates. In turn, the agency sent a letter to Tesla in October demanding information on — Are you sitting down? — all Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles ever built and all OTA since the beginning of this year. The letter ends with a threat to impose more than $100 million in fines on the company if it does not respond fully by November 28. The Times report clearly relishes the idea that Tesla might have to pay dearly for negligence.

This is clearly an attempt to work the refs, as they say in sports. Chen’s letter to NHTSA has the effect of putting pressure on Tesla to settle the lawsuit. The New York Times in its reporting breathlessly notes that lithium-ion batteries are known to catch fire under some circumstances, such as in early iterations of the Boeing Dreamliner and in various smartphones. It makes sure its readers know lithium-ion batteries are banned on commercial aircraft and that not only did a Tesla catch fire in Shanghai, a car in the US actually caught fire twice! In his letter to NHTSA, Chen refers to the “alarming number of car fires that have occurred worldwide.”

Oh my God! Hide the women and children to protect them from this danger! But never, ever mention that there are more than 150 gasoline fires every day in the United States. The Times even goes so far as to conflate the claim by Walmart that rooftop solar systems provided by Tesla have caught fire at several locations with the danger of vehicle battery fires. The message is clear: stay away from Teslas if you don’t want to get burned or blown up.

I confess I read the New York ‘Times on a daily basis and consider it an authoritative news source in most instances. (Besides, I have a crush on Maureen Dowd, even though her profile photo is probably more than 20 years out of date.) But I have to say its reporting on Tesla falls to the level of the garbage spit out routinely by the likes of the Daily Mail. It is solidly on the side of the Tesla FUD network and undeserving of any credibility whatsoever. When it comes to the NYT and Tesla, caveat lectorem!
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Steve 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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Tesla Bull Talks Tesla’s Big Competitive Moat

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Published on November 8th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

Tesla Bull Talks Tesla’s Big Competitive Moat

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November 8th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

A Tesla bull named David recently addressed Tesla’s competitive moat in a Medium article. He actually wrote the article for friends who seem to think Tesla is just an electric car company that will most likely fail, but then decided to share with the world. David makes several good points in his article and sums up the mentality that people, especially the shorts, have about Tesla:

“It seems like the dominant notion is that Tesla is just another car company in a tough market which is dominated by titans, and so Tesla may not survive.” —David.

Tesla, however, has surrounded itself with a competitive moat that many can’t seem to swim across. Three things that David talks about in his article actually form Tesla’s competitive moat, and other companies — not just automakers — can learn from this. Several key points David covers in his article are:

The type of company Tesla really is
The location of Tesla
Tesla’s Advantage

Tesla, The Company
Tesla doesn’t just build cars, but also build the computers that run in cars. It builds software for the vehicles. Competing combustion cars can be seen as analog devices, while an electric Tesla is a digital (meaning connectable) device.

“What we end up with is an iPhone in an age of Nokia devices.” —David.

Location
The US is the world leader in the computer software industry, and Silicon Valley is the epicenter of that leadership. Which is why the location needed to be in Silicon Valley.

“[A]t some point, choosing a car with the right software will stop being an option. If you can’t call the car from your app, play video games while parked, get firmware updates overnight, see your dog while parked, get notifications on your mobile if someone gets close — you simply won’t consider it at all.” —David.

Advantage
Tesla’s main advantage over new companies such as Rivian is that it has a head start. David mentions that the electrification of automobiles has flattened out the competition in the same way the internet did. Who uses phone books when you can just look it up on Google Maps? Tesla’s current status and advantages is just one wave in Tesla’s competitive moat.

Tesla’s focus on the software gives it that sharp edge that has legacy automakers reaching for bandaids. But it’s only going to get worse for them.

What we are seeing with Tesla are the results of over a decade’s worth of innovation, hard work, and creativity. This force, if you will, will continue to grow. The beautiful thing is that all of this brilliant engineering started out as a mere thought, an idea. Imagine what you could create if you really put your all into it.
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Johnna Crider Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, and Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter

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Tesla Eye Candy: South Florida “Tesla Cars & Coffee” Event

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Published on November 2nd, 2019 |

by Matt Pressman

Tesla Eye Candy: South Florida “Tesla Cars & Coffee” Event

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November 2nd, 2019 by Matt Pressman

Originally posted EVANNEX.

Signature Custom Wraps recently held a “Cars and Coffee” event for Tesla owners — EVANNEX was a proud sponsor and excited attendee! Local owners from all over the state of Florida came out to enjoy coffee, cookies, and some the most tricked-out Teslas in the area. There was a raffle with EVANNEX products, a Tesla Wall Charger, and many other fun goodies.

Tesla owners come out for a “Cars and Coffee” event at Signature Custom Wraps in South Florida. (Photo by Casey Murphy, EVANNEX)

It was a great opportunity for us to see some of our friends and check out our aftermarket Tesla accessories in action. We love that the local Tesla community here in the Sunshine State is so tight! If your local Tesla club is having a similar type of event, please reach out — we’d love to see if we could play a role in making it a special occasion like this one!

Photos by Casey Murphy, EVANNEX. Special thanks to Signature Custom Wraps.
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Matt Pressman is all about Tesla. He’s a TSLA investor, pre-ordered the Model 3, and loves driving the family's Model S and Model X company cars. As co-founder of EVANNEX, a family business specializing in aftermarket Tesla accessories, he’s served as a contributor/editor of Electric Vehicle University (EVU) and the Owning Model S and Getting Ready for Model 3 books. He writes daily about Tesla and you can follow his work on the EVANNEX blog.

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Tesla Model 3 Performance vs. Hellcat, Trackhawk, Mustang, Camaro, & Viper On The Track (Videos)

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Published on November 8th, 2019 |

by Iqtidar Ali

Tesla Model 3 Performance vs. Hellcat, Trackhawk, Mustang, Camaro, & Viper On The Track (Videos)

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November 8th, 2019 by Iqtidar Ali

Originally posted on X Auto and EVANNEX.

Tesla Model 3 Performance is gaining a fearsome reputation on the drag strip. Case in point: one Tesla Model 3 Performance owner has gone up against well-established internal combustion engine (ICE) rivals — like the Jeep Trackhawk, Dodge Viper, Dodge Charger Hellcat, Chevrolet Camaro SS, and others — and the results are clear.

Tesla Model 3 Performance charging at Tesla chargers in Florida. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica

Some of the drag races in the following videos are 1/4 mile and some are 1/2 mile. Regardless, the Tesla Model 3 Performance gives each brave competitor a hell of a tough time. It’s clear that after each of these drag races, owners of competing ICE cars gain a newfound respect for Tesla and the (often underestimated) power of electric cars.

Model 3 Performance vs. Ford Mustang
According to the Model 3 Performance owner, the year (and mods) of the Mustang in this race are unknown, but I really enjoyed how brutally the Tesla Model 3 defeated this gas guzzler. No need for the time slips here!

Model 3 Performance vs. Ford Mustang drag race video (YouTube: Mar10 W6)

Model 3 Performance vs. Dodge Viper
Tesla Model 3 Performance takes on the 510 hp Dodge Viper in 2 half-mile drag races. Critics who say Tesla can’t sustain speed on longer runs need to see this video — the top speed of a Tesla Model 3 is 162 mph (260 km/h). What is Dodge Viper’s top speed? I’m not sure (or even interested) after watching this 2-0 win by the Tesla.

Two half-mile drag races between Tesla Model 3 Performance and Dodge Viper (YouTube: Mar10 W6)

Model 3 Performance vs. 473 hp Camaro SS
Another beast from the ICE world, this machine is built for the drag strip. It didn’t matter, though — one of the most worthy challengers in the arena ate Tesla Model 3 Performance’s dust. In fact, the video description says that the “Camaro is cammed [with] long tube headers, ram-air intake, and exhaust running on drag radials. It has 473hp at the wheels. Model 3 Performance is stock with full interior including floor mats. This is the view from the Camaro.”

Tesla Model 3 Performance vs. 473 hp Chevrolet Camaro SS 1/4 mile drag race video (YouTube: Mar10 W6)

Model 3 Performance vs. Charger Hellcat
The Model 3 Performance owner took on the Charger Hellcat in one 1/4 mile and one 1/2 mile race. The results can be seen in the following videos. … Hellcat, huh!?

Tesla Model 3 Performance vs. Dodge Charger Hellcat 1/4 mile and 1/2 mile drag races (YouTube: Mar10 W6)

Model 3 Performance vs. Jeep Trackhawk
A stock Jeep Trackhawk is a 707 hp ICE monster. A while back it even gave Tesla Model X P100D a tough time and just lost to it by only 0.1 second in a quarter-mile drag. Although the Trackhawk was too much for the Model 3, the Jeep owner notes, “Actually it was side by side for about 3 seconds (about 60 mph). … Great race.” He also praised the Model 3’s Performance on the drag strip in another video’s comments section, “I love this hobby and love Tesla for showing us the future of this hobby is only going to be even better.”

Tesla Model 3 Performance vs. Jeep Trackhawk SUV (YouTube: Mar10 W6)

Haven’t had enough? Of course you haven’t. Be sure to check out the Tesla Model 3 Performance battle against the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat on the drag strip.
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Iqtidar Ali Iqtidar Ali writes for X Auto about Tesla and electric vehicles. A true car enthusiast since his childhood, he covers his stories with an utmost passion, which is now guided by the mission towards sustainability.

With over 1 decade of website development experience, he’s also our IT resource at hand. He also writes about tech stuff at UXTechPlus.com occasionally.

Iqtidar can easily be reached on Twitter @IqtidarAlii (DM open for tips, feedback or a friendly message) or via email: iqtidar@xautoworld.com.

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Tesla Gigafactory 3 Drone Video Spots 15 Made-in-China Tesla Model 3s

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Batteries

Published on November 3rd, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

Tesla Gigafactory 3 Drone Video Spots 15 Made-in-China Tesla Model 3s

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November 3rd, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Update:

Originally published on X Auto.
by Iqtidar Ali | @IqtidarAlii

The latest Gigafactory Shanghai drone video shows 15 Made-in-China Tesla Model 3 cars parked in the facility’s parking lot, this looks like the first batch of trial production that started at the Gigafactory 3 earlier this month.

During the Tesla Q3 2019 earnings call last week, Elon Musk announced that trial production had started at the Gigafactory Shanghai:

“Regarding Gigafactory, Shanghai, this month we started with trial production at Giga Shanghai and built four vehicles from body, to paint, to general assembly. So this is a … this is a real factory with a tremendous amount of equipment in it. While a lot of people see the outside shell of the factory, which is enormous, and it was essentially underwater in January — it was below the water table literally — what is, I think, much more significant is that we’re able to install massive stamping machines, a fully operational paint shop, and a sophisticated general assembly line in the same period of time, in parallel with the building. I’d like to thank our China team for this extraordinary achievement I’m not aware of any factory of this magnitude in history being constructed in such a short period of time, approximately 10 months. As far as I know, this is unprecedented. And Gigafactory Shanghai will become a template for future growth. We’re planning to build Model Ys in Shanghai as well of course, and build a Gigafactory in Europe and we hope to announce the location to that Gigafactory. In fact, we will announce the location to that Gigafactory before the end of this year.”

All of the 15 trial production Tesla Model 3s we see in the following footage are in solid black color. We’re yet to see Made-in-China Model 3s that are a different color.

Building a giant car production facility like this in 9-10 months is a remarkable achievement, probably this only happens in China.

Tesla is one of the few exceptions of a foreign company or product having such a loyal fan base in China. Tesla enthusiasts continuously visit the Gigafactory 3 and cover the Tesla news. For example, Chao Zhou visited a while ago and brought us the following phase-II construction update.

Another extended video of the Gigafactory 3 from last week shows the enormous progress made since the place was only mud and water, when Elon Musk and other Chinese dignitaries attended the groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year.

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Guest 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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Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm Discusses Elon Musk’s Audacious Goals (Video)

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Published on November 7th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm Discusses Elon Musk’s Audacious Goals (Video)

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November 7th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally posted EVANNEX.
by Charles Morris

Elon Musk has often come in for criticism because of missed deadlines, over-ambitious forecasts, and, in a few cases, unfulfilled promises. It’s true that production dates for the company’s vehicles have often slipped, many owners are unhappy about delays in delivering Full Self-Driving capability, and the New York-to-Los Angeles driverless Odyssey, originally planned for late 2017, has yet to take place. Musk himself has admitted that he’s always had problems with timelines.

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm

However, let’s look at the other side of the coin. Tesla has achieved the goals of Musk’s Master Plan, progressing from a limited-quantity boutique automobile (the Roadster) to a mass-market sedan (Model 3) on a timeline that, for the auto industry, counts as lightning speed. As other automakers (both incumbents and startups) struggle with their electrification efforts, Tesla is increasing sales, moving on to new models, opening up potentially huge new markets, earning a respectable margin, and making a profit. The word among analysts these days is that the California carmaker has at least a five-year head start on its so-called rivals.

As the old saying goes, whatever Tesla’s doing, it seems to be working. But what if the company is succeeding not in spite of Musk’s overambitious goals, but because of them? That’s what Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm implied in a recent interview on CNBC.

Denholm, an Australian business executive with an extensive background in the auto and tech industries, replaced Musk as Chair of Tesla’s board in November 2018 as part of a settlement with the SEC over his naughty tweets. Her appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box represents a rare chance to hear inside insights about the company from someone whose name isn’t Musk.

“To achieve what Tesla has achieved over the last 5 years, over the last 10 years, you have to set audacious goals and big goals … and then have everybody in the company work like crazy to get there,” Denholm told CNBC. “I think part of it is setting those very big goals so that the company can rally and get behind them and move forward, and move the whole industry forward.”

Denholm sits down to chat with CNBC alongside Billionaire investor Ron Baron (YouTube: CNBC Television)

As examples of Muskian audacity, Denholm cited the California carmaker’s production of 97,000 vehicles last quarter, and its completion of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai in a mere 10 months, achievements that took many by surprise.

Believe it or not, development of the Shanghai factory is actually ahead of schedule, and it has started production of Model 3 on a trial basis. “There is a huge opportunity for growth in China,” said Denholm with massive understatement.

The advent of electric vehicles has catalyzed a historic shift that will see much of the global auto industry migrate from the US to China (and to a lesser extent, to Europe). Although Tesla is the quintessential American company, it’s no exception to this trend — the firm’s recently announced quarterly results reveal that US sales declined by some 39% over the last year, as Chinese sales grew by 64% (European sales also surged).

Baron Capital founder Ron Baron, whose firm owns around $488 million worth of TSLA shares, joined Denholm on Squawk Box, and reminded us that, while the media makes Musk the focus of its Tesla coverage, the company is no one-man show. Musk may set the “unrealistic” goals, but it takes a massive amount of work by a huge number of people to make them reality.

“They have 42,000 employees. This is not reliant upon one man,” said Baron. “But he has empowered people to be able to make decisions and to be able to do what’s best for the company.”

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Tesla Has A Career Program For Veterans

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Published on November 7th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

Tesla Has A Career Program For Veterans

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November 7th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

Tesla, you may or may not know, has a career program for veterans who have served in the U.S. military. In a country that celebrates its veterans on television yet turns a blind eye to the needs of many vets who are struggling with all types of problems, ranging from PTSD to homelessness, Tesla is one of many American companies that are focusing on employing those who served in our military.

One of the main things Tesla is looking for in employees is that they have a leadership mentality and experience. Tesla wants people who can lead small teams, come up with a plan, and accomplish the mission. Some of the core values that Tesla appreciates in veterans is discipline, attention to detail, and dedication — that sense of loyalty and commitment that veterans often have. Tesla will not only help veterans transition from being members of the military into members of civilian life, but also values the experience that veterans have.

Why Veterans? Why Tesla?
People who have served in the military know how to deal with a crisis as soon as it comes up. That is a good skill for a nimble, fast-growing, constantly improving company.

Tesla is also working toward solving a crisis — one that has been around for a long time and is still unsolved. In fact, this crisis is one that many choose to turn a blind eye to and pretend away.

Solving the crisis of climate change requires more than a direct approach. One can’t just flip a switch and it’s solved. No, this crisis requires people with the passion to change it working many years to do so. It’s a good fit for someone who has come home from war who wants to continue serving our nation, or humanity as a whole.

The Plight of 67,495 U.S. Veterans Today
The idea of homeless veterans is appalling. When people go to serve in the military, the leave behind their families and sometimes end up in situations where there is a really high chance that they may die. When those who are fortunate enough to return home do so, they come home to a country that doesn’t necessarily respect or take care of them.

In an article by The Military Wallet, writer Ryan Guina states, “There are over 630,000 homeless people in America. 67,495 are veterans. It amazes me that in today’s society, over 1 in 10 homeless people in America are veterans.” Ryan shared an infographic that breaks down just how serious the situation is.

Almost a million veterans lived in poverty in the United States in 2018. 20,000 of them with government-sponsored mortgages lost their homes in 2010. 76% of homeless veterans struggle with alcohol, drug, or mental health issues. 30% of veterans ages 18–24 are unemployed.

That person standing in the middle of the road begging you for money as you drive by may have once put on a uniform and served this country. People being judged as junkies or crazies may have given up so much for this nation. Yes, turning to drugs and alcohol is a horrible thing, but instead of judgement, have compassion. Trauma is the number one cause of homelessness. People turn to drugs and alcohol to escape their pain. Sometimes their pain is too much for their minds to take.

With Veterans Day and the holiday season coming forth, we often fleetingly think of those much less fortunate than ourselves before putting them in the backs of our minds as we continue our day-to-day lives. People seem to forget about impoverished Americans, and when the topic comes up, the usual stereotypes come into play. Poor people must have done something wrong to now be poor.

Oh, he is on drugs, so that’s why. Maybe if he didn’t do drugs he wouldn’t be on the streets. Yes, go tell that to the veteran who lost a leg and is living on disability but can’t afford to pay rent because his monthly disability check is just $700.

Go tell the children of homeless parents that they need to just get a job and they will be okay — never mind they are too young to work.

This mentality we have toward the less fortunate needs to drop, because things do change and one day it can happen to you. Homelessness does not discriminate.

America shouldn’t say, “Thank you for your service,” to our veterans. America should demonstrate its gratitude instead. We need more than Veterans Day. We need more companies like Tesla stepping up to work with veterans.
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Johnna Crider Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, and Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter

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Tesla Model S Plaid Prototype Laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:13

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Published on November 5th, 2019 |

by Dr. Maximilian Holland

Tesla Model S Plaid Prototype Laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:13

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November 5th, 2019 by Dr. Maximilian Holland

Respected German publication Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that the Tesla Model S Plaid prototype has been hand-timed lapping the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 13 seconds, according to the outlet’s local source. Adjusting for race-compound tires, this puts the Tesla around 19 seconds ahead of the Taycan Turbo’s 7:42 lap time reported by Porsche in August. It’s also faster than every gas-powered 4-door series production car ’round the ‘ring.

We’ve covered Tesla’s ongoing adventures at the Nürburgring Nordschleife before, reporting initial versions of the Model S Plaid prototype clocking laps of 7:23 in mid September. With further tweaks, it appears Tesla has now shaved a further 10 seconds off this time and has been recorded lapping the ‘ring in 7:13 — on at least two separate occasions (according to Auto Motor und Sport).

Tesla may not be done yet. Winter is now setting in at the Nürburgring, with unfavorable weather and shortening hours of daylight — not ideal for setting lap times. Tesla will very likely be back at the ring at least once more before the Model S Plaid is planned to go on sale sometime in Q3 2020. Tesla will want to record a more formal lap time for the final production-spec Model S Plaid, to help market the car, which will sell for a premium over the regular Model S Performance.

The Plaid prototype was piloted around the ring by Thomas Mutsch, a professional driver experienced in both GT and endurance racing, who has several recent wins in 24 hour races around the Nordschleife. The Plaid prototype continues to be shod in race compound tires, which give an approximate 10 second lap time advantage over production vehicles that are typically tested wearing more standard sport compound road-biased tires. Nevertheless, assuming this would translate into a ~7:23 time on road-biased tires, the Tesla looks set to take the outright 4-door production car record at the circuit. The current standing for series production 4-door vehicles (adjusted for tire choices) is:

*Tesla Model S Plaid time is adjusted by 10 seconds to account for tire choice. Data from FastestLaps.com

Note that the list excludes limited special edition cars that are not in series production.

Porsche Taycan Turbo at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Courtesy: Porsche.

It’s unlikely that the legacy automakers will let their combustion engine expertise get overtaken by EVs without a fight. There’s evidence that Porsche is developing a faster Panamera version (codename “Lion”) with the intention to (temporarily) reclaim the top spot on the leaderboard for combustion power, with informal lap timing of 07:11. When and to what extent that will translate into a series production Panamera version is as yet unknown. Why doesn’t Porsche develop a version of the Taycan EV to take the top spot? Likely because its business model still involves making most of its income from selling combustion cars, like every other legacy automaker. Perhaps in another 10 years when Porsche is offering more EVs it will finally allow the superior technology to rise to their top spot.

With ever tightening emissions limits being unavoidable for combustion cars, and EVs only at the very start of their performance development curve, this is not a fight that combustion engine vehicles can hope to win in the long run. We have Tesla and the rivalry with the Porsche Taycan to thank for showing what’s already possible.

Article images courtesy of respective brands, author’s own graphic.
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Dr. Maximilian Holland Max is an anthropologist, social theorist and international political economist, trying to ask questions and encourage critical thinking about social and environmental justice, sustainability and the human condition. He has lived and worked in Europe and Asia, and is currently based in Barcelona. Follow Max on twitter @Dr_Maximilian and at MaximilianHolland.com, or contact him via LinkedIn.

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What We Think We Know About The Tesla Cybertruck

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Published on November 7th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

What We Think We Know About The Tesla Cybertruck

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November 7th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

In his new blog, Whole Mars, Omar Qazi (aka @Tesla_Truth) gives us some of his thoughts on what we already know — or at least, think we know — about the Tesla Cybertruck. I have some catching up to do, as I have never seen Blade Runner, which seems to be the theme of Tesla’s hottest new product.

I am sure, as is Omar, that there are going to be a lot of new features and surprises when we do see the truck in just a couple of weeks. So, besides some of those interesting Cybertruck renders (thanks, Earl and Eva!), Omar put together some of his thoughts to help us stay patient while Tesla builds up the suspense and momentum.

“Tesla will unveil its ‘Cybertruck’ electric pickup on November 21. Elon Musk has called the supposedly Blade Runner design ‘heart-stopping’, with better utility than a Ford F-150 and superior performance to a basic Porsche 911.” —Sean O’Kane, The Verge

What We Know
The Verge highlights that the Cybertruck will seat six people and the price will start at around $50,000. It will offer 400 to 500 miles of range in the highest-priced version and could be powered by a dual-motor setup. Also, something to look forward to is the ludicrous towing capacity of 300,000 pounds. 300,000 pounds is a lot.

The above is a great question. What are some items that weigh 300,000 pounds? Well, the Space Shuttle weighs 165,000 pounds, so, yes, the Cybertruck can tow a rocket and anything that weighs 300,000 pounds or less. It won’t be able to tow a Falcon 9, though. At just over 3 million pounds, perhaps the Tesla Semi would be a more suitable truck for towing the Falcon 9 rocket.

The truck can also tow, if China ever needed Tesla to do so for some reason, the Bell of Good Luck. Weighing 254,000 pounds, this 17-year-old bell is the heaviest bell in the world and is located in Henan, China. It’s 24 feet in height and more than 15 feet wide. The truck can also tow a railroad locomotive engine weighing 250,000 pounds or a 240,000 pound radio tower. We can definitely agree that these are some insane towing skills.

It will be interesting to see the Cybertruck compared to the Truckla, which used to be a Tesla Model 3. As we’ve written before, its owner, Simone Giertz, transformed her Model 3 into a pickup truck. In a 31 minute video, Simona, her mechanic, Marcos Ramirez, designer Laura Kampf, and car refurbisher Rich Benoit teamed up to completely transform the Model 3 into Tesla’s first-ever pickup truck, named the Truckla.

When Simone asked Elon if she and Truckla were invited, he said, “Of course.”

It would be fun to see both the Cybertruck and the Truckla on stage together, and perhaps Simone could inspire Elon to make a second pickup truck made from the Model 3 as she did with hers? One thing for sure is that, with Tesla, creativity is always abounding.

Aside from humongous towing capacity and tremendous torque, we also expect ports for electric power tools and compressed air tools to plug in, a suspension that dynamically adjusts for load, and perhaps a solar tonneau. See: “Elon Musk Solicits Input For The Tesla Truck As It Gets Serious About Electric Pickup #ElonTweets.”

For more, see our Tesla trucks and Tesla pickup truck archives.
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Johnna Crider Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, and Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter

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