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Tesla receives tax exemption on all its cars in China as it increases prices

In surprising news for Tesla in China today, Tesla received a sale tax exemption for all its electric cars in the country, but it also increased prices at the same time. The price increase was expected as the trade affects the exchange rate and requires adjustments, but the tax exemption certainly comes at a surprise.… Continue reading Tesla receives tax exemption on all its cars in China as it increases prices

EPA forces VW to correct gas mileage on 98,000 vehicles

Associated Press Published 3:31 p.m. ET Aug. 30, 2019 | Updated 4:17 p.m. ET Aug. 30, 2019 Detroit – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is making Volkswagen Group correct fuel economy labels for about 98,000 gasoline-powered vehicles. The revisions of about one mile per gallon (0.4 kilometer per liter) cover VWs as well as affiliated… Continue reading EPA forces VW to correct gas mileage on 98,000 vehicles

Ford recalls 550K vehicles for seat strength problem

Detroit – Ford is recalling more than 550,000 trucks and SUVs in North America because seat backs may not properly restrain people in a crash. The recall covers certain 2018 through 2020 F-150 pickups, 2019 and 2020 Super Duty trucks, 2018 and 2019 Explorer SUVs, and 2019 and 2020 Expedition SUVs. All have manual driver… Continue reading Ford recalls 550K vehicles for seat strength problem

BP Chargemaster installs first of 400 150 kW chargers

BP Chargemaster, BP’s UK-based charging network subsidiary, has powered up its first 150 kW ultra-fast charger at a BP retail site. The charger is the first in a planned network of ultra-fast chargers across the UK. BP plans to roll out 400 ultra-fast chargers at BP sites across the UK by the end of 2021,… Continue reading BP Chargemaster installs first of 400 150 kW chargers

General Motors cuts some 350 jobs in Thailand operations

BANGKOK (Reuters) – General Motors (GM.N) has cut about 350 jobs from its Thai subsidiary’s operations, a labor representative said on Friday, slashing more than 15% of the workforce for the U.S. automaker that has two factories in Thailand. FILE PHOTO: A sign of the General Motors (GM) plant is pictured in the Eastern Seaboard… Continue reading General Motors cuts some 350 jobs in Thailand operations

MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 Gets 30% More Battery Capacity

10.0 kWh battery replaces the previous 7.7 kWh so the range also should go up by around 30%. MINI announced that the plug-in hybrid MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 will get an update in the form of more energy-dense battery cells. The second-model evolution with 30% more battery capacity (10.0 kWh instead of 7.7… Continue reading MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 Gets 30% More Battery Capacity

Volkswagen overstated fuel economy on 98K U.S. vehicles, will reimburse consumers

FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen logo is seen at Serramonte Volkswagen in Colma, California, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) must forfeit greenhouse gas emissions credits and is lowering the fuel economy ratings on 98,000 vehicles after the Environmental Protection Agency said vehicle software overstated real-world performance. Volkswagen said Friday it… Continue reading Volkswagen overstated fuel economy on 98K U.S. vehicles, will reimburse consumers

Tesla gets official nod from China with tax exemption

The California-based electric car maker Tesla has received a boost from the nation with the world’s largest auto market—China.

As part of a declaration posted Friday by the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Tesla is receiving an exemption from a 10-percent purchase tax.

The news, which is part of a broad policy applying to domestic electric vehicles, comes after a visit from Elon Musk to the company’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai and, prior to that, a widely publicized AI debate with Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

According to China Daily, Tesla was also included in Shanghai’s Pilot Free Trade Zone on August 20—a move that will place the company at a further financial advantage.

Tesla has already achieved a level of favored status from the Chinese government. Production facilities from foreign automakers in China have traditionally been required to form 50/50 joint ventures with local automakers, but Tesla is the first to operate one itself—under a special cooperation agreement that will involve the government to some degree. The Gigafactory 3, as Tesla calls it, is ramping up to start production of the Model 3 sedan later this year.

The new sales tax exemption covers the entire current lineup: Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3. Tesla has announced that it plans to build the Model 3 and upcoming Model Y crossover locally in China, for the Chinese market—with higher margins expected for those vehicles than for those Tesla makes in the U.S.

As an analyst noted to Reuters, this move doesn’t mean that punitive tariffs are off the table—and that could be a future financial burden of its own. Last week the Chinese government said that auto tariffs that were paused in April may be resumed in December. That would include a 25-percent tariff on cars from the U.S., like the Model S and Model X, which are still expected to be produced in California, for China.

Walmart Sues Tesla Over Rooftop Solar Fires

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Published on August 22nd, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

Walmart Sues Tesla Over Rooftop Solar Fires

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August 22nd, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Update: This story may not be as straightforward as initially presented:

We’ve reached out to Tesla to ask for further commentary.

Another update (full linked document also available here):

As a 3rd update, read our new piece on this story, which is basically Part 1 of this subject: What’s The Real Reason Walmart Is Suing Tesla?

Back in 2010, Walmart was one of the first major companies to get involved with the solar power revolution. It teamed up with SolarCity, the rooftop solar company started by Elon Musk’s cousins Lyndon Rive and Peter Rive, to install rooftop solar arrays on 224 of its stores.

To date, seven of those rooftop installations have caught fire, causing millions of dollars in structural damage and lost sales. Unable to resolve their differences, Walmart has now sued Tesla, claiming the company, which purchased SolarCity in 2016, has been guilty of a long list of failings ranging from negligence to incompetence to mopery on the high seas.

Image courtesy SEIA/Solar Means Business report

The SolarCity Mess
We are accustomed to thinking of Tesla as a well managed company with a clear road map to the future in place. Yet it has floundered repeatedly with the solar end of things since acquiring SolarCity, a decision many analysts said at the time was little more than a bailout for a pair of cousins whose company was about to sail over the brink of viability into the ignominy of bankruptcy.

According to a reporter at Business Insider who has a long history of negative Tesla stories, the complaint by Walmart says Tesla has no explanation why the rooftop systems caught fire, adding that Tesla had no accurate drawings of the solar panels, no procedures in place to deal with the issue, and no employees trained in how to inspect or fix them. In fact, its own employees had to show Tesla employees where there were cracks and temperature issues involving the solar panels.

Tesla says its inspections found 157 areas that need repair or replacement at all 224 stores. Walmart claims the total number of defects is far higher. “On information and belief, the actual conditions are worse than as documented by Tesla, based on Tesla’s history of deficient and incompetent inspections, including Tesla’s reliance on untrained, unqualified, and unsupervised personnel to install and maintain the systems,” Walmart said in its court filing.

According to CNBC, Walmart alleges in its claim that Tesla bought SolarCity to “bail out the flailing company” and mentions SolarCity 46 times throughout the lawsuit. The complaint further alleges that SolarCity created a culture that tolerated defects because of its desperate need to keep cash coming in the door and that Tesla has failed to address that issue.

Lastly, it also accuses Tesla of filing reports that said it had made repairs to Walmart’s roofs when it had not. As part of the relief sought, Walmart is seeking to terminate its solar roof contract with Tesla and force Tesla to remove all the rooftop systems it has installed on the roof of Walmart stores.

Were Investors Told?
The suit raises a lot of “he said, they said” issues that will get thoroughly hashed out in court. But the most important threat to the company comes from what Tesla may or may not have told its investors — both stockholders and bondholders — about its financial exposure as a result of the Walmart situation. Business Insider asks a number of cogent questions:

Did Tesla ever disclose the loss of Walmart’s business to shareholders?
Did Tesla ever disclose the loss of Walmart’s business to SolarCity bondholders?
Is Tesla concerned about possible class actions related to SolarCity roofs now?
Does Tesla have insurance that would cover a lawsuit like that?
Have other customers (homeowners or businesses) experienced fires like this?

CleanTechnica is often accused of being a Tesla fanboy site. It’s true that we do write a lot of articles that are laudatory of the company and its chief executive. Yet, it’s possible our hero has the proverbial feet of clay. He does have a penchant for over-promising and under-delivering, for moving fast even when yellow caution lights are flashing.

Confusion Abounds
Plenty of outside observers have suggested Elon Musk bullied the board of directors for both Tesla and SolarCity to approve a merger without completing the due diligence such a decision required. Since the merger, Tesla has altered its solar business model multiple times, first dismantling the door-to-door sales model SolarCity followed, then announcing a major link-up with Home Depot that was quickly cancelled, and also rolling out a splashy reveal of the Tesla Solar Roof nearly two years ago.

In the meantime, Gigafactory 2, the Tesla solar factory in Buffalo, New York, seems to be drifting along and doesn’t get the attention, fanfare, or revolutionary output figures many expected. Even deliveries of the company’s Powerwall residential home battery are way behind schedule. But for the company’s success in utility-scale battery storage, the SolarCity piece of the Tesla puzzle seems to be running poorly and is a huge hit to Musk’s aura of invincibility.

It’s not hard to argue that Tesla could have pursued its energy storage ambitions without taking on the debts of SolarCity. The latest debacle with Walmart could be a serious black eye for the company, one that could cause a loss of confidence in Tesla and its leadership at a critical time for the company.

About the Author

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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China to exempt Tesla cars from 10% purchase tax

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will exempt Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) electric vehicles from its purchase tax, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday, a concession made amidst trade tensions with the United States. Tesla sees China as one of its most important, growing markets, and the exemption from a 10% purchase tax… Continue reading China to exempt Tesla cars from 10% purchase tax