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@Ford: Bill Dirksen Retiring as Ford Labor Affairs VP, To Be Succeeded by Company’s Kevin Legel

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Inside Lyft’s deal with Gett, which will see 99 engineers in Belarus move to Lyft and roughly 100 US employees laid off (LYFT)

Lyft on Monday announced a deal with Europe’s Gett. At the same time, Gett announced the shuttering of its ride-hailing business Juno, a small but fiercely loved competitor in New York. Ninety-nine members of the engineering and tech team in Belarus will join Lyft as part of the agreement, but another roughly 100 support and… Continue reading Inside Lyft’s deal with Gett, which will see 99 engineers in Belarus move to Lyft and roughly 100 US employees laid off (LYFT)

@Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi Motors North America Confirms Location of New U.S. Headquarters In Franklin, Tennessee

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Karma’s new electric hinge-winged hypercar concept goes 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds

Karma Automotive took the wraps off Tuesday of a new electric concept car called the SC2 that produces a heart-thumping 1,100 horsepower and can travel from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds. The concept is a showpiece and an integral part of the Chinese-backed California-based startup’s new strategy to become a technology… Continue reading Karma’s new electric hinge-winged hypercar concept goes 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds

Karma Automotive unveils its faster next act, the Revero GTS

Karma Automotive’s second act is a gasoline-electric luxury vehicle that aims to deliver more performance and tech inside a sleek and sporty $149,950 package. The 2020 Revero GTS unveiled Tuesday during AutoMobility LA, the press and trade days of LA Auto Show, shares some of the same bits as its sibling Revero GT. Both vehicles… Continue reading Karma Automotive unveils its faster next act, the Revero GTS

Tesla will find Germany is ‘better environment’ for making cars than California, says VW CEO

Tesla is building its first full-scale factory in Europe, and it has chosen Germany for the project. Some have raised questions about how Tesla will be able to navigate the European red tapes for such a major project, but VW’s CEO says that it should be a better “environment” for making cars than California. Last… Continue reading Tesla will find Germany is ‘better environment’ for making cars than California, says VW CEO

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Sytner sells four Volkswagen dealerships to Johnsons

Sytner has sold four of its Volkswagen dealerships to Johnsons Volkswagen. The sites are located in Liverpool, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent and Warrington. The ex-Sytner dealerships will join Johnsons’ existing showrooms in Birmingham, Birmingham Bullring, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth and Willenhall. Sytner Group achieved a profit before tax of £113,266,000 in 2018, up 14.27% on 2017. It… Continue reading Sytner sells four Volkswagen dealerships to Johnsons

Volkswagen ID.3 To Be Produced Also In Dresden (From Fall 2020)

Volkswagen ID.3 cars will be assembled also in Dresden (near the Zwickau factory) from late 2020 on. Two weeks after starting production of the ID.3 in Zwickau, Volkswagen announced that its nearby small production facility and exhibition space – the Gläserne Manufaktur (or Transparent Factory) in Dresden, also will produce the ID.3. Formerly, the Transparent Factory… Continue reading Volkswagen ID.3 To Be Produced Also In Dresden (From Fall 2020)

Tesla Gigafactory 4, Tesla’s Growth Cost, & A German Forest

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Published on November 18th, 2019 |

by Tim Dixon

Tesla Gigafactory 4, Tesla’s Growth Cost, & A German Forest

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November 18th, 2019 by Tim Dixon

Tesla recently unveiled that the location of its 4th Gigafactory will be near Berlin, in Brandenburg in the Grünheide municipality next to the GVZ Berlin-Ost Freienbrink industrial park, and that it will require the removal of part of a forest.

Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China. Photo courtesy Tesla.

While Germany and land use are both outside of my writing purview (which is Chinese electric vehicle news), it ignited an old interest.

The removal of a forest and replacing it with industrial/service/housing/energy has been a quintessential environmental issue for a long time, and I foresee that this event will trigger contentious debate and will be used by Tesla detractors in the environmental and investment community, but I think we need to deal with this issue.

I myself experienced the very negative local blowback towards the expansion of a wind farm on the moorland near my hometown and how media can manipulate narratives.

Yet I also see this as a possible opportunity for Tesla to double down on its environmental protection and mission.

To start off, Tesla’s Fremont factory was purchased second hand (very sustainable). Since then, Tesla has had to build its own factories, and these factories have always been “outwardly” not very innovative when it comes to sustainable design.

Tesla Fremont factory. Photo by Kyle Field, CleanTechnica.

Secondly, forests are not made equal. Cutting down a young forest compared to an old growth or tropical forest has different environmental impact.

So, thinking about this and the writing of Lloyd Alter at Treehugger, I thought I’d offer a solution and the reason I think it won’t happen.

Solution
I think the solution to the environmental impact is two fold:

Firstly, the design and manufacturing of the factory should account for the “upfront carbon cost,” material choice, and energy use.

Secondly, Tesla should pay for the creation of protected areas of “high ecological significance” and/or afforestation efforts in key areas.

The embodied carbon or “upfront carbon cost” should be part of the design process and efforts should be made to reduce its upfront and long-term carbon cost. This could be done by looking at the materials, design, and placement of the factory, including whether or not other unused facilities are available. Material choice could be interesting, as Tesla could build using more modern wood construction methods like Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT). Imagine if Tesla Gigafactory 4 was a massive wooden, renewable energy–powered, electric vehicle and energy storage factory. Germany being the birthplace of the Passive house (Passivhaus) offers up the opportunity for Tesla to find and modify the best practices of building design to create a more sustainable factory.

Environmentally sensitive areas on land and at sea are in danger of destruction/collapse, and Tesla could create a fund to actively protect and grow protected areas — money to protect the Amazon, marine ecosystems, and reforestation efforts around the world. A upfront donation and/or ongoing revenue share could provide protection of the most valuable ecological assets of earth.

My reasoning why this won’t happen
When I worked at the European HQ of Tesla, we had a large all-hands-on-deck meeting. A new executive was making a speech about joining Tesla. In this speech, he reiterated a point I have heard many times about Tesla, that it’s a startup. Compared to established car manufacturers, we were tiny. We had to be lean and fast moving for a car company, and the future depended on us creating meaningful change. Tesla is still a startup in spirit, even if no longer in scale.

While sustainable factory design and development is key to our future industrial development, I don’t think it will be seen as a key part of Tesla Gigafactory 4’s design process since Tesla will still see it as something the company can’t risk — it’s outside the company’s core mission and too untested.

Tesla is a leader in electric vehicle production and the energy transition, but this means it has to invest its capital in ways it sees as the best for achieving its long-term goals. It is working at a rapid pace to help create a sustainable society, and has to survive against powerful entrenched industries which would prefer to not change. So, I hope Tesla looks at Gigafactory 4 design and construction as somewhere it could innovate, and I hope the company is talking to top experts about this. Nonetheless, I cannot fault the company if it focuses on getting the Tesla Gigafactory 4 built in a less risky and mature way.

But a wood car factory is still a cool-sounding idea.

For updates, follow me on Twitter or add me on LinkedIn.

Sources: WELT, Treehugger, Treehugger, Inhabitat
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About the Author

Tim Dixon When not researching the Chinese electric car market, I am teaching in China. My interest in sustainable development started in University and it led me to work with Tesla Europe in the Supercharger team. I'm interested in science fiction, D&D, and travel. You can follow me on Twitter @TimDixon3.

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