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Electric cars: Tesla plans no plant in Germany

US automakers Tesla obviously does not want to build a factory in Germany. Last year, there were statements from Elon Musk Speculation about appropriate plans of the company. March 16, 2019, 10:07 am, Andreas Donath Tesla Model 3 (Photo: Tesla) A Tesla spokesman has that News magazine Focus said he could “neither confirm that a… Continue reading Electric cars: Tesla plans no plant in Germany

The robot’s hands

The MIT has developed exceptional robot hands that are hard to carry. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has constructed a new form of robotic hands that refrains from the concept of the human hand. These are so-called balloon hands. Balloon hands for robots. Source: techcrunch Although the hands have been copied from nature, they… Continue reading The robot’s hands

Tesla Model Y Reveal: And The Biggest Surprise Was…

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Published on March 15th, 2019 |

by Frugal Moogal

Tesla Model Y Reveal: And The Biggest Surprise Was…

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March 15th, 2019 by Frugal Moogal

Tonight, Tesla revealed the Model Y, and thanks to the reveal of the Tesla Roadster as part of the Tesla Semi announcement, we were expecting some surprises.

The night started with Elon Musk walking us through the history of the vehicles that Tesla has delivered (first generation Roadster, Model S, Model X, and Model 3), the vehicles that Tesla intends to bring to market soon (the new Roadster and Tesla Semi), and how Tesla built the Gigafactories for those cars.

The next thing that Musk covered was the Solar Roof and Power Wall, and he mentioned that this would be the year of these products. Those who follow Tesla may have been mildly surprised by this, as the solar roof in particular got a lot of attention a few years ago, but has been almost completely overlooked lately.

A Supercharger update followed this, noting the great expansion that has already occurred, the expansion they expect to continue in the future, and a bit about the faster V3 Superchargers.

Musk then covered Tesla’s mission and how critical it is to what the company does. For anyone who questioned why the Model Y was unveiled now, this is your answer. Musk made a point to show how in the past ten years, the industry has changed from one opposed to the idea of electric cars, to many manufacturers doubling down on the transition year after year, and the role Tesla has played in that is massive. The point of the reveal tonight is to get those companies to challenge Tesla to create better electric SUVs faster than Tesla can, while signaling to people who may be thinking of purchasing an SUV in the near future that they may want to wait and get a Model Y instead of something else.

We finally got to the unveiling of the Model Y, and its look was not a surprise. In fact, it looked exactly like I expected it to — it’s a larger version of the Model 3 with an EPA range estimated to be 300 miles for the RWD variant. And just like Musk alluded to before the reveal, it is about 10% more expensive and 10% less efficient.

Production begins “late next year.”

The unveiling of Model Y went pretty quickly, and was light on details. And that brings us to…

The Biggest Surprise
To me, the biggest surprise of the night was that there was no giant surprise. The Model Y wasn’t hiding a truck, the Model S and X aren’t refreshed, and at the end of the event, it was just the Model Y.

This surprise, or lack thereof, may have been disappointing to a lot of people who expected something big and flashy. As I’ve reflected on it writing this article, however, I’m not disappointed at all about it.

Tonight we saw a confident Elon Musk announce production of a vehicle that Tesla knows it can deliver to market. The Model Y is expected to be the most popular vehicle that Tesla has produced yet, and one of the most popular in the world. Why overshadow that achievement with something else?

Unlike past announcements, there was no mention of “production hell” or what a challenge bringing the Model Y to production would be. The history of Tesla and its various problems led us to this point, where Musk expects that Tesla can confidently deliver on its production goals exactly as expected.

And that’s the surprise. Tesla acted like — and for perhaps the first time is — a major automaker announcing a new vehicle.

Stay tuned for much more exclusive content from the Model Y event. CleanTechnica had three reporters on hand.

About the Author

Frugal Moogal A businessman first, the Frugal Moogal looks at EVs from the perspective of a business. Having worked in multiple industries and in roles that managed significant money, he believes that the way to convince people that the EV revolution is here is by looking at the vehicles like a business would.

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VW boss: Volkswagen supervisory board reprimands this because of “Ebit macht frei” statement

Herbert dies The VW boss visited the former concentration camp Auschwitz last year. (Photo: AP) DüsseldorfThe supervisory board of the VolkswagenCorporation reprimands its CEO Herbert dies because of whose controversial statement “Ebit makes free”, “The history of the VolkswagenGroup and the resulting responsibility is an important part of corporate identity. The statement of the chairman… Continue reading VW boss: Volkswagen supervisory board reprimands this because of “Ebit macht frei” statement

BMW, Mercedes-Benz lower prices in China after VAT drop

FILE PHOTO: BMW cars are seen at the automobile terminal in the port of Dalian, Liaoning province, China January 9, 2019. Picture taken January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer SHANGHAI (Reuters) – BMW AG (BMWG.DE) and Mercedes-Benz said on Saturday they will lower their prices in China, after the government announced it will reduce the country’s value-added… Continue reading BMW, Mercedes-Benz lower prices in China after VAT drop

BRIEF-Singapore’s GIC Trims Stake In BAIC Motor – HKEx Filing

March 15 (Reuters) – BAIC Motor Corp Ltd: * SINGAPORE’S GIC SELLS 2.1385 MLN SHARES IN BAIC MOTOR AT AN AVERAGE PRICE OF HK$4.6224 EACH ON MARCH 14 – HKEX FILING * SINGAPORE’S GIC STAKE IN BAIC MOTOR AT 6.99 PERCENT AFTER THE TRANSACTION FROM 7.08 PERCENT PREVIOUSLY – HKEX FILING Source text: https://bit.ly/2UDjhIH Further… Continue reading BRIEF-Singapore’s GIC Trims Stake In BAIC Motor – HKEx Filing

Ford confirms UK job losses as part of cost-cutting

Ford has confirmed that it will cut more than 5000 jobs in Germany and a yet-to-be-determined number in the UK as part of the cost-cutting reorganisation of its European business. The American company has begun a voluntary separation programme for employees in the two countries as part of a major restructuring, which it says is designed to… Continue reading Ford confirms UK job losses as part of cost-cutting

Tesla Model Y Versus The Bottom Line: What We Learned

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Published on March 15th, 2019 |

by Frugal Moogal

Tesla Model Y Versus The Bottom Line: What We Learned

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March 15th, 2019 by Frugal Moogal

I sat down to watch the Model Y unveiling tonight with a list of questions that I was hoping to get answers to from a business perspective. Namely, where the Model Y was going to be produced, what quantities the company was looking at, and whether there were any hints about current demand to help explain if the plan to shut down many Tesla stores had to do with there being so much demand that it made no sense to keep them open, or if there was a so-called demand pocket for the vehicles at the moment.

And, we learned … none of that.

As I pointed out in my first article about the surprises, the reveal of the Model Y was the first time that I feel like Tesla acted fully like a major automaker for an announcement. A large segment of Tesla fans and market pundits are obsessed with hearing about every detail of how Tesla is doing what it is doing (and thanks for reading this article and visiting CleanTechnica!), but instead of feeding into that and potentially making statements that are difficult to follow through on, the Model Y announcement was a simple presentation walking people through the history of the company and explaining the next step.

Having said that, I started playing in the configurator for the Model Y and the interior is so similar to the Model 3 that I had to double check that I was still looking at a Model Y.

This is a guess, but I’m curious to hear what you think — we heard before from Elon Musk that the Tesla Model Y would use more than 75% of the same parts as the Model 3 (or ~76%). The interior is so similar, at least in the front, that I don’t see any parts beyond the rear-view mirror being redesigned to come down a bit further.

There had been statements put out by third parties that Tesla hadn’t contacted them to start ordering parts for the Model Y yet, which was held up by some as proof that Tesla was rushing this announcement. I’m now of the belief that the majority of the parts that Tesla doesn’t make itself will be identical to what is used in the Model 3.

To me, this is actually a hugely important bottom line — the amount of shared parts will enable Tesla to tightly control the costs on the Model Y, and I expect that combined with the experience the Silicon Valley company has from the Model 3 will allow Tesla to make a significant margin on every Model Y sold.

The parts that are different may mostly be in-house parts, like the doors, hood, and windshield.

Stay tuned for much more exclusive content from the Model Y event. CleanTechnica had three reporters on hand.

About the Author

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Ford Offers Voluntary Separation Programs in Germany and UK as It Continues to Transform Its Business in Europe

About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility… Continue reading Ford Offers Voluntary Separation Programs in Germany and UK as It Continues to Transform Its Business in Europe

MG expands with addition of new dealership in Coventry

MG Motor UK has opened a new dealership in Coventry. Operated by the Unity Automotive group, the new site becomes the sixth dealership appointment for the MG brand in the UK in 2019, taking the total number of franchised MG Motor UK dealers to 90 nationwide. The company expects its UK network to reach 120… Continue reading MG expands with addition of new dealership in Coventry