6 H BY MARK KANE Residential EV charging in cities awaits a viable solution The new British start-up Connected Kerb installed its first curbside AC charging station in Borough Road, Southwark. The company targets residential market in cities, where potential EV owners have no place to charge. The stations are mounted to the ground (the… Continue reading Connected Kerb Introduces Curbside EV Charging Station
Category: Automotive
Tesla CFO leaves as automaker promises profits and cheaper cars
(Reuters) – Tesla Inc warned on Wednesday it will need to begin building cars in China and lower the price of its Model 3 sedan to make money in every 2019 quarter, as it failed to meet Wall Street profit expectations at the end of 2018. FILE PHOTO: A 2018 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle… Continue reading Tesla CFO leaves as automaker promises profits and cheaper cars
Elon Musk says the Tesla Model X is the ‘Faberge egg of cars’
Stephen Lam | Reuters
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk introduces the “falcon wing” door on the Model X electric sports-utility vehicle during a presentation in Fremont, California, on September 29, 2015.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called the company's Model X luxury utility vehicle a “work of art” that he likened to the “Faberge egg of cars.”
“It's an incredible vehicle and probably nothing like it will ever be made again and maybe it shouldn't,” Musk told analysts after the company released its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday. “But it is a work of art. It's a special work of art.”
The Tesla CEO said the planned Model Y crossover has been designed to share the same platform and most of the parts of the Model X.
The famed Faberge egg is a jeweled egg created by the House of Faberge in St. Petersburg, Russia from 1885 to 1917, first designed for Tsar Alexander III as a gift for his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Auto website Jalopnik also seems to be smitten with the Model X, listing it naming among its favorite future classic cars in 2017.
“Look at the X. It's a giant space egg that dances and has flappy wings. No way this is not a collectible, whether or not Musk goes to Mars,” Jalopnik said.
Tesla shares drop sharply after Musk says CFO Ahuja is leaving the company — for the second time
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Deepak Ahuja, Tesla CFO (left) and Elon Musk, Tesla founder and CEO (right), at the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony for the Tesla initial public offering on Tuesday, June 29, 2010.
Tesla's long-time chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, is retiring from the company after almost 11 years, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday.
It's the second time Ahuja has resigned from the company. He was one of Tesla's longest serving executives when he first left in 2015. Ahuja rejoined Tesla in 2017, replacing then-CFO Jason Wheeler, who abruptly resigned.
Shares of Tesla fell about 5 percent after the markets closed Wednesday night.
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Moving into the CFO role at the electric vehicle maker is Zach Kirkhorn, previously the company's vice president of finance. Ahuja said, “I feel really good about Zach taking over. He's proven his self over the years with many tough challenges he's worked on.”
Musk announced the change at the end of a conference call with analysts discussing the company's fourth-quarter earnings results.
Kirkhorn said, “I've been deep in the operations of every major program of the company from Roadster to…scaling our energy business and more things to come. I feel we're starting 2019 with a very strong financial foundation. We have enough cash to start new programs and develop new technologies.” Prior to his joining Tesla in 2010, Kirkhorn was formerly a business analyst at McKinsey & Co.
Musk said Ahuja will “continue to be at Tesla for a few more months, and will continue to serve as a senior adviser to Tesla for years to come.”
Ahuja first joined Tesla as CFO at the worst possible time: July 2008. He was with the company when it went public in 2010.
Tesla's finance team has seen high turnover in the past year with one chief accounting officer, Dave Morton, spending less than a month at the company.
Other long-time veterans have been resigning from Tesla in the past six months, for example, Charles Mwangi, a senior director of engineering who had been with Tesla since 2012, and one of Tesla's first-ever sales hires, Jeremy Snyder, who left his role as head of global business development there in August, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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Argo AI can now test self-driving cars in California – CNET
Argo AI is set to expand its fleet of autonomous development vehicles to a fifth location. Argo AI has received a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test autonomous cars within state borders, Automotive News reports, citing the DMV’s records. The vehicles will hit the roads around Argo AI’s headquarters in Palo… Continue reading Argo AI can now test self-driving cars in California – CNET
Hyundai’s chief designer: We’re chasing legends now, not just sales – Motor Authority
Luc Donckerwolke Luc Donckerwolke is one of us. The 53-year-old designer—born in South America, trained in Brussels, and chief designer for a South Korean global automaker—speaks with a soft French timbre that rises and falls mid-sentence. It makes every clause of every sentence sound like a playful question. He smiles in a captivating way that… Continue reading Hyundai’s chief designer: We’re chasing legends now, not just sales – Motor Authority
Argo.ai obtains California permit to test driverless cars – VentureBeat
Pittsburg-based Argo.ai, a driverless vehicle startup founded by former executives from self-driving teams at Google and Uber, has obtained a permit to test its autonomous cars on California roads. The approval, which was issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, was first spotted by TechCrunch and was confirmed by a spokesperson to VentureBeat. Argo has… Continue reading Argo.ai obtains California permit to test driverless cars – VentureBeat
Musk said ‘manufacturing design improvements’ are coming to the Model 3. Former Tesla engineers told us what that could mean. (TSLA)
A mass layoff, the building of a new factory in China, and plans to begin manufacturing the Model Y indicate a new phase at Tesla. And based on a recent letter to employees from CEO Elon Musk, the new Model 3 vehicle will not be left untouched, as the company hopes to sell to sell… Continue reading Musk said ‘manufacturing design improvements’ are coming to the Model 3. Former Tesla engineers told us what that could mean. (TSLA)
Didi Chuxing has formed a joint venture with automaker BJEV
This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence Transportation & Logistics Briefing subscribers hours before it appeared on Business Insider. To be the first to know, please click here. Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has formed a joint venture with BJEV, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned automaker BAIC, to co-develop electric vehicle (EV) technologies, according… Continue reading Didi Chuxing has formed a joint venture with automaker BJEV
Elon Musk said he expects Tesla to deliver around 50% more cars than last year, even if there’s a global recession (TSLA)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects the automaker to deliver around 50% more vehicles in 2019 than it did in 2018, even if there’s a global recession, he said on Wednesday. “Even if there’s a global recession, we’re expecting deliveries this year to be about 50% higher than last year,” Musk said Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call.… Continue reading Elon Musk said he expects Tesla to deliver around 50% more cars than last year, even if there’s a global recession (TSLA)