NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk has reached a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a dispute over Musk’s use of Twitter, according to a court filing on Friday. FILE PHOTO: Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk (C) exits after attending a S.E.C. hearing at the Manhattan Federal… Continue reading UPDATE 1-Tesla’s Elon Musk reaches deal with SEC over Twitter use
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DOE awards WAVE $8.4 million to develop charging platform for EV drayage truck
The DOE has awarded $8.4 million to EV technology company WAVE (Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification) to develop and deploy high-power, fact-charging technology for EV drayage trucks at the Port of Los Angeles. WAVE will partner with Cummins, Schneider Electric, Utah State University and Total Transportation Services (TTSI) to develop a 500 kW wireless inductive charger… Continue reading DOE awards WAVE $8.4 million to develop charging platform for EV drayage truck
Autonomous Scooter Uses AI to Learn Your Favorite Routes
A Smarter Last Mile UK-based design agency Layer has teamed up with Chinese electric car maker Nio to create a smart scooter that can learn where you want to go. Once “Pal” learns your preferred routes, the smart scooter can autonomously take you to your destination. On its website, Layer calls the scooter a “near-future prototype” that “embraces… Continue reading Autonomous Scooter Uses AI to Learn Your Favorite Routes
Uber unveils IPO terms that temper expectations
(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc, the world’s largest ride-hailing company, plans an initial public offering that values the company lower than the startup’s insiders had hoped, between $80.5 billion and $91.5 billion. The valuation, outlined in a regulatory filing on Friday, is less than the $120 billion that investment bankers told Uber last year it… Continue reading Uber unveils IPO terms that temper expectations
Electric vehicle batteries: smoke without fire
When it comes to carbon emissions, battery capacity matters Go to Source
Mercedes production delays push Daimler’s quarterly profits down by 16%
Automotive industry Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars fell 7%, partly because of manufacturing bottlenecks Mercedes-Benz sales in China fell 3%. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Daimler’s quarterly operating profit has fallen by 16% as a €718m (£620m) one-off gain failed to offset the impact of falling sales in China and production delays at three Mercedes-Benz factories. Sales of… Continue reading Mercedes production delays push Daimler’s quarterly profits down by 16%
Wheely raises $15 million for its luxury ride-hailing app
London-based startup Wheely has raised a $15 million Series B round led by Concentric with Oleg Tscheltzoff, Misha Sokolov and other investors also participating. The company wants to build an Uber competitor focused on the luxury market. It’s a bit ironic when you think about it as Uber started as a luxury company. But everybody… Continue reading Wheely raises $15 million for its luxury ride-hailing app
Lyft’s COO, a former Tesla exec, is the latest expert to throw cold water on Elon Musk’s plan to have a million robo-taxis on the road by 2020 (LYFT)
Plenty of people are skeptical of Elon Musk’s vision of one million self-driving Tesla robo-taxis on the streets by next year, even one of his former executives. John McNeill, Lyft’s chief operating officer and former president of global sales and service, didn’t go so far as to compare Musk to the great showman PT Barnum,… Continue reading Lyft’s COO, a former Tesla exec, is the latest expert to throw cold water on Elon Musk’s plan to have a million robo-taxis on the road by 2020 (LYFT)
Tesla investor provides a look inside new Roadster
2020 Tesla Roadster
At Tesla's self-driving event for investors on Monday afternoon, the company revealed another tidbit: a glimpse of its upcoming second-generation Roadster.
The company parked the new Roadster at the event, and for the first time let outsiders (at least those who have invested significant sums) open the doors and sit in it. The prototype was not available to drive.
Investor Hamid Shojaee took the opportunity to share a 39-second video clip on Twitter. In it, he tries out Tesla's latest approach to door handles, and looks to the squared-off Formula 1-style bat-wing steering wheel, its large center touch screen, as well as its vestigial rear seats.
Starting from the outside, the new door handles are entirely electronic. As he tries to open the door in the video, Shojaee has to try several times to open the door, first swiping up on the sensors, then when that doesn't work, swiping down—as if Tesla needed any more hassles with unusual door handles. Once he swipes down from the top, the door opens on the first try.
Inside, the car's steering wheel looks straight out of a Hollywood Batmobile mockup. Such a vestigial “wheel” only makes sense if the car is steered entirely by wire and has less than about a full-turn lock-to-lock. That's not impossible, and it wouldn't be the only car with a steer-by-wire system.
DON'T MISS: Tesla Roadster is back: 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, 620-mile range
The Roadster's center screen returns to something like the Model S's original vertical orientation, but it's much bigger, and the car has no second instrument screen as the Model S and Model X do. It also reclines at a steep angle on the raked console, rather than perching atop the center dash as the Model 3's does.
In the rear, the new Roadster has a couple of tiny butt-baskets for seats, reminiscent of the original Porsche 911. That's not necessarily a criticism, but pretty typical for the genre.
READ MORE: The new 2020 Tesla Roadster that wasn't in Switzerland
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the company plans to sell the $250,000 sports car in 2020. It is expected to have up to 620 miles of range and hit 60 mph from a stop in 1.9 seconds.
What it does not have in terms of typical roadster features is a convertible top.
Bentley not sold on electric, planning plug-in hybrids for full lineup
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Bentley Continental GT V8
The ultra-luxury carmaker Bentley is at work on a new model strategy, and fully electric vehicles might not play as much of a part in it as the company had previously hinted.
The company, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, will reveal more about its future direction in July, corresponding with its 100th anniversary, according to a report earlier this month in Autocar, citing Werner Tietz, the board member in charge of Bentley’s engineering.
Bentley is looking to expand its buyer base rather than sell more cars to existing buyers. Part of the strategy will also involve offering a plug-in hybrid version of each of its models by 2025. It might also add another SUV to the lineup, although it hasn’t detailed whether that means one larger or smaller than the current Bentayga.
2019 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid
Bentley had previously hinted that it was leaning toward making a smaller SUV all-electric—although that was before an extensive leadership change at the company in 2017.
Bentley backing away from all-electric?
In the Autocar report, Tietz sounds notably less bullish about all-electric vehicles than his predecessor as engineering boss, Rolf Frech. “It is by no means certain that battery-electric is the right way to go,” said Tietz, who argued that the current technology wouldn’t work for towing horse trailers or boats.
2017 Tesla Model X
There are of course many people who do tow—today—with the Tesla Model X. One couple we recently featured towed a 3,800-pound camping trailer around the Southeastern U.S. and saw range drop by at least a third. Rivian is also developing its electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV around impressive towing capability—of up to 11,000 pounds.
One other noteworthy change is that the brand won’t be building “pure sports cars”—a decision that’s a bit surprising as the brand had shown several concept cars that looked aimed at Aston Martin, or even Ferrari.
Bentley EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, 2017 Geneva auto show
The most interesting evolution of those ideas was the EXP12 Speed 6e, a plush, racy-looking, fully electric, two-seater shown in 2017. Bentley then said that a production model based on it would be able to “drive between London and Paris or Milan and Monaco on a single charge.”
In the meantime, it’s considering a small electric city car while also evaluating fuel-cell technology and looking at carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.
Considering the changing priorities of luxury-vehicle buyers, and the importance of being seen in a vehicle that’s efficient and technologically advanced—in a world that includes Tesla—we’re eager to see where this storied British brand is headed.