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Musk ditches two car paint options to simplify Tesla production

NEW DELHI: Elon Musk’s efforts to streamline production at Tesla Inc. have gotten down to the paintwork. The electric-car maker will ditch two of seven colors offered to buyers on Wednesday to simplify manufacturing, Musk, Tesla’s chief executive officer, said in a tweet. The only forecast Tesla had given previously for the third quarter was… Continue reading Musk ditches two car paint options to simplify Tesla production

Pay-with-your-face systems and self-driving cars: Inside Baidu’s headquarters in Beijing

Pay-with-your-face systems and self-driving cars: Inside Baidu's headquarters in Beijing

A trip to Baidu's headquarters may offer a glimpse into the future of payments, building security and driving.

Baidu is often referred to as the “Google of China” because the tech titan commands roughly 70 percent of China's internet searches. Like Alphabet in the U.S., the Chinese company is also working on a host of other technologies.

CNBC recently visited its headquarters in Beijing, which is home to around 20,000 of its 40,000-person workforce. Similar to companies in Silicon Valley, Baidu has multiple buildings spread across a sprawling campus boasting amenities from yoga classes to rock climbing walls.

Employees now have the option of registering their faces, which they can use to get through security checkpoints and even pay for things like lunch or items at vending machines.

Uptin Saiidi | CNBC
An employee pays with his face at Baidu's cafeterira in Beijing, China

Meanwhile, a small park on its campus is used to try out autonomous vehicles. During CNBC's visit, staff tested a combination of vehicles, including passenger cars, 14-passenger buses and logistics vehicles that could eventually deliver packages.

This week, Baidu announced it will work with BYD — China's leading electric car maker, which is backed by Warren Buffett — to reach mass production of autonomous cars within three years.

Baidu has already produced more than 100 autonomous buses and has plans to sell to foreign markets, including Japan, which is set to receive 10 in early 2019.

Baidu has partnered with companies including Microsoft, BMW, Ford and Intel as part of its autonomous driving project.

Baidu, BYD partner to bring mass production of self-driving cars
4:16 AM ET Thu, 6 Sept 2018 | 02:31

Elon Musk says Tesla is ditching some paint options to ‘simplify manufacturing’

Yuriko Nakao | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla

Tesla will scrap some paint options for the firm's luxury electric cars on Wednesday to ease the manufacturing process, CEO Elon Musk said.

The carmaker is ditching two colors — “obsidian black” and “metallic silver” — but both will remain available so long as customers are willing to pay more.

“Moving 2 of 7 Tesla colors off menu on Wednesday to simplify manufacturing,” the firm's chief said in a tweet Tuesday. “Obsidian Black & Metallic Silver will still be available as special request, but at higher price.”

Tesla's decision to pull two color options for its vehicles follows a flurry of headlines about the automaker and its boss Musk.

The company was hit with the loss of two C-suite executives last week as an interview between the firm's chief and comedian Joe Rogan went viral.

On Rogan's “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Musk smoked marijuana, sipped a glass of whiskey and showed off his tunnelling firm's flamethrower, while discussing a number of issues including humanity, artificial intelligence and Tesla.

The next day, Chief Account Officer Dave Morton and Chief People Officer Gaby Toledano both resigned from Tesla. Sarah O'Brien, the firm's vice president of communications, also left but her departure had been announced by the company last month. Overall, 41 executives have left Tesla this year.

Musk's leadership has come into question over the past few months, especially after he surprised investors by announcing he wanted to take the electric car manufacturer private — only to then make a U-turn, deciding it was better to remain public.

It also comes amid pressure on Tesla to continue increasing production and improve its financial performance.

The company managed to meet a self-imposed deadline of producing 5,000 of its Model 3 cars at the start of July. But concerns have been raised over its decision to skip a standard brake test in the final days of production to reach targets.

In a company update detailing recent management changes following the exit of top executives, Musk said the carmaker would build and deliver more than twice as many cars as it did in the previous quarter.

The firm produced 53,339 vehicles in the second quarter and delivered 40,768, according to its most recent quarterly results.

Chipmaker Renesas goes deeper into autonomous vehicles with $6.7B acquisition

Japan-based semiconductor firm Renesas — one of the world’s largest supplier of chips for the automotive industry — is scooping up U.S. chip company IDT in a $6.7 billion deal that increases its focus on self-driving technology. Renesas produces microprocessor and circuits that power devices, and automotive is its core focus. It is second only to NXP… Continue reading Chipmaker Renesas goes deeper into autonomous vehicles with $6.7B acquisition

Ford seeks $238.6M in incentives for train station project in Corktown

Original Article

Electric scooters need a crucial rule change before the craze can spread to London

Bogdanhoda | iStock | Getty Images

As I ride my bike into work there are numerous obstacles to watch for. I treat buses, trucks and cars as if they are on fire while pedestrians and other cyclists offer plenty to worry about too.

In recent weeks, I have noticed a new player competing for space in the weekday “rat race” — the electric kick scooter.

My first sightings of grown adults using scooters raised a smile but also my curiosity as I marvelled at how fast they were zooming along.

Speed aside, their attraction to any commuter is clear. They are certainly less bulky than a bike and, assuming no rain, you can arrive at work unflustered with no need to change clothes. Despite being powered, you also need no license.

The cost is relatively attractive too with a quick internet search revealing decent looking models priced at around £450 ($581). That amount of money buys you less than three months on the London Underground.

So far, so good. But there is a catch, and it is quite a big one. In the U.K., the electric kick scooter is classified as a PLEV, or Personal Light Electric Vehicle, and that makes them illegal on British roads or pavements.

That means commuters who embrace this new method of urban travel remain at risk of possible arrest and a fine of up to £75. And while battery-powered scooters are spotted more and more on British streets, the U.K. Department for Transport has offered no hint that the law will change.

The e-scooter first enjoyed popularity in the United States, as employees based within a few miles of work looked to avoid heavy traffic and unreliable public transport. Several different firms have flooded U.S. streets and more, including a fleet run by Uber, are on the way.

Their introduction has caused anger over dangerous riding, as well as people dumping them inappropriately. After a wealth of start-ups filled the streets of San Francisco, local lawmakers issued a sudden ban before then issuing permits to just two companies.

Despite those anxieties, the boom in popularity has been exported to Europe and three scooter hire services were granted licences for Paris this summer. In Austria and Switzerland, electric scooters are encouraged to the point that laws allow them to go up to 25 kilometers per hour in a road or cycle lane.

Their popularity in crowded European cities has even led to a suggestion from automaker Volkswagen that it will introduce its own hire service in Berlin before long.

As Britain grapples with heavy traffic, struggling public transport, and illegal pollution, can the electric scooter really remain out of bounds to the law-abiding commuter?

Renesas in $6.7 billion deal for IDT to boost chips for self-driving cars

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corp (6723.T) said it had agreed to buy Integrated Device Technology Inc (IDT) (IDTI.O) for $6.7 billion, its second major acquisition as it deepens its push into semiconductors for self-driving cars. Renesas Electronics Corp’s logo is seen on its product at the company’s conference in Tokyo, Japan, April 11,… Continue reading Renesas in $6.7 billion deal for IDT to boost chips for self-driving cars

Ford releases photo of electric not-Mach 1 SUV

2020 Ford electric SUV teaser
Ford released a teaser image of its hotly-anticipated 300-mile electric SUV, which it says will no longer be called the Mach 1.

The company previewed the car at a closed event in March, but wouldn't allow photographs or sketches.

The sketch released Thursday of the rear of the car hasn't evolved much from the design the company showed in March.

DON'T MISS: Ford's future 300-mile all-electric performance SUV: what we know

As promised, it is based on the looks of the Mustang, with a similar vertical three-bar taillight treatment below what appears to be sweeping, steeply-sloped hatch glass.

At the March event, Ford laid out the car's marketing brief as being an electric SUV with off-road performance and acceleration like the Ford F-150 Raptor.

In person, it comes off as something like a BMW X6, with Mustang styling front-and rear.

CHECK OUT: Ford teases Mustang-inspired electric SUV due in 2020

Although Ford considered naming the SUV Mach 1, after a high-performance version of the Mustang from the early 1970s, last month it backed away from that plan, citing resistance from Mustang aficionados.

Ford's styling approach to its 300-mile electric SUV mirrors, to some degree, Chevrolet's approach to its new Blazer, which borrows some front-end styling and trim from the sporty Camaro—only the Blazer won't be electric.

The Ford has been spotted testing around Michigan. Ford has confirmed that it will use a new modular electric architecture that the company has developed for a range of 16 electric and plug-in cars it plans to introduce by 2022. Some will be for the Chinese market. Ford has not said where it will sell its not-Mach-1 electric SUV outside the United States.

It is expected to go on sale as a 2020 model. By then, it should have plenty of competition among electric SUVs.

Everybody move up: Tesla shuffles executive ranks

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017
Late Friday evening, Tesla announced an executive reshuffling after a month or more of chaos within the company.

The blog posted to the company's website from CEO Elon Musk on Friday announced that the automaker appointed Jerome Guillen president of automotive operations. Guillen, whom Musk says was a key player in the construction of an additional Model 3 assembly line in a tent adjacent to the factory, will report directly to Musk and oversee all automotive and supply chain operations. His responsibilities could include the types of things analysts have said Musk needs a COO to do in running the day-to-day operations of the company.

Kevin Kassekert, who led the construction of the Gigafactory, has been promoted to “VP of People and Places”, which includes HR and facilities. Chris Lister will take his place as VP of Gigafactory Operations.

Felicia Mayo, an HR director, has been promoted to VP, along with Laurie Shelby, in charge of environmental health and safety and Cindy Nicola, in charge of recruiting.

Dave Arnold, who has worked in Tesla communications for several months, has been promoted to senior director of the department.

The move came a day after Musk appeared in a live webcast with entertainment host Joe Rogan in an interview that some deemed self-destructive and out of control. It was also a month after the CEO announced on Twitter that he had “funding secured” for a plan to take Tesla private, then rescinded the plan two weeks later.

Analysts have since called for Musk to take a leave of absence or step down.

DON'T MISS: Tesla's CEO Elon Musk announces company will stay public, abandons private push

It's not clear whether the reshuffling of executives goes quite that far, but it does address a vacuum that had been developing at the top of the company as several top executives have recently left.

On Tuesday, Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton quit less than a month after taking the job; he started the day before Musk's privatization tweet.

“Since I joined Tesla on August 6th, the level of public attention placed on the company, as well as the pace within the company, have exceeded my expectations,” Morton said in his resignation letter. “This caused me to reconsider my future. I want to be clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission, and its future prospects, and I have no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting.”

The SEC reportedly launched an investigation into Musk's tweet, and investors have launched at least two lawsuits, including one on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

READ THIS: Report: SEC investigating Musk tweet about taking Tesla private

On Friday, the head of Tesla's Human Resources department, Gabrielle Toledano, announced she would not return from a leave scheduled in June. The company has been embroiled in at least two whistleblower cases at its Gigafactory that former employees allege it mishandled materials, didn't investigate theft, and allowed a drug dealer to operate. Employees at both its Fremont, California, car factory and Reno, Nevada, battery Gigafactory, have been in “production hell,” according to Musk, working to ramp up production of the company's critical Model 3 sedan.

Tesla Model 3 all-wheel drive Performance rolls off a new assembly line in a temporary structure

Two weeks ago VP of Communications Sarah O'Brien also announced her resignation.

All three positions play critical roles in advising the CEO on interactions with employees, the public, and regulators, three areas where Musk's behavior has been publicly called into question in the past two months.

Latest GenICam version released

The GenICam standard group has released GenICam Package Version 2018.06, which includes the GenICam reference implementation v3.1.0, GenICam Standard Feature Naming Convention (SFNC) Release v2.4, and the updated GenICam License document v1.6. “In terms of usability, the current release version creates a new level of transparency, since from now on there will be one package… Continue reading Latest GenICam version released