Tag: GM

GM slims down to attack Ford’s pickup profit machine

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$3.2 Billion Autonomous Car Startup Zoox Suddenly Fired Its CEO and Won’t Explain Why

Tim Kentley-Klay has been ousted as CEO of high-profile self-driving car startup Zoox. Kentley-Klay was voted out by Zoox’s board, Bloomberg reported. He had no prior experience in cars or artificial intelligence before founding Zoox in 2014 with Jesse Levinson. Zoox has already started searching for a replacement for Tim Kentley-Klay, who cofounded the Silicon… Continue reading $3.2 Billion Autonomous Car Startup Zoox Suddenly Fired Its CEO and Won’t Explain Why

The founder of $3.2 billion startup Zoox says that he was ousted as CEO ‘without a warning’ because ‘the board chose …

The CEO of Zoox has left in a management shake-up at the the high-profile, well-funded, and idiosyncratic self-driving car startup. Zoox has already started searching for a replacement for Tim Kentley-Klay, who cofounded the Silicon Valley-based company, a source close to Zoox told Business Insider. In the meantime, it has named board member Carl Bass… Continue reading The founder of $3.2 billion startup Zoox says that he was ousted as CEO ‘without a warning’ because ‘the board chose …

Lyft Welcomes VP of Engineering Manish Gupta

We are thrilled to welcome Manish Gupta to Lyft’s leadership team. In his role as Vice President of Engineering, Manish will lead engineering efforts across Lyft’s business platforms, including enterprise, partnerships, and healthcare, as well as our growing work with non-emergency medical transportation organizations. Reporting to Peter Morelli, Manish will also oversee the teams dedicated… Continue reading Lyft Welcomes VP of Engineering Manish Gupta

UBS repeats: Tesla will lose money on $35,000 Model 3

Tesla analyst: The company needs to increase price of Model 3 just to break even
4 Hours Ago | 03:09

Buyers waiting for that long-promised $35,000 Tesla Model 3 sedan probably shouldn't hold their breath.

After UBS recently pulled apart a Model 3 and compared its quality and estimated costs with two competitors, UBS analyst Colin Langan said he thinks Tesla will never be able to make money at the $35,000 the company originally planned to charge for an entry-level model designed for the masses.

“This car needs to sell in the low $40,000's to break even, and I think they're a long way from the 25 percent growth margin target, unless they can sell it well over $50,000,” Langan said Tuesday on CNBC's “Power Lunch.”

UBS hired a team of engineers to pull apart three different electric cars to compare their technology and production costs: a new Tesla Model 3, a 2014 BMW i3 and a 2017 Chevy Bolt.

The team examined a $49,000 2018 Model 3 and were “crazy” about the powertrain, “highlighting next-gen, military-grade tech that's years ahead of peers,” Langan said in a note dated Aug. 15. But the costs were higher than expected, and the cars would lose about $6,000 each at Tesla's original plan to sell an entry model at $35,000, he said.

It is another sign Tesla may have trouble turning into the mass-market automaker it said it wants to become.

Plans to manufacture the lower-cost vehicle have been delayed since its announcement in 2016 as the electric car manufacturer struggled to meet demand. CEO Elon Musk said in May that manufacturing the Model 3 at that price “right away” would cause Tesla to “die.”

Instead, Tesla focused on higher-cost versions that yield better margins, and that move may help Tesla post the profit in the third quarter of 2018 Musk said he expected. The cheapest model available now is $49,000, and buyers can add options that hike the price up to $80,000. Langan estimated the profit margin on the $49,000 version UBS tore apart was about 18 percent.

The problem is those prices aren't sustainable for a midsize sedan like the Model 3, Langan said. Even though the Model 3 is a battery electric, Langan said at least some of its buyers will also be shopping midsize sedans with internal combustion engines that are priced in the mid-$40,000 range, such as the BMW 3-Series.

The UBS engineers gave a breakdown of each car's powertrain and battery, electronic controls, frame and body as well as interior and safety features. They evaluated each part's design, ease of manufacturing and cost.

Tesla beat its two competitors in cost, but the Model 3 didn't have as big a lead over the other automakers as UBS had expected. However, some of the Model 3's technology seemed to be far ahead of that found on the Chevrolet and BMW. In particular, Tesla's electric powertrain stood out as exceptionally simple and flexible.

UBS based its estimates on consultations with engineers and industry research.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

Chevrolet and BMW did not comment on the original UBS report.

WATCH: Tesla whistleblower tweets details about allegedly flawed cars

Tesla whistleblower tweets details about allegedly flawed cars
4:55 PM ET Thu, 16 Aug 2018 | 01:21

Getaround car-share service raises $300 million in new funding round

Source: Jill Silvestri

Getaround, the car-share company that lets drivers rent their vehicles to strangers, is gearing up for more growth fueled by a new round of funding.

The San Francisco company has raised $300 million in Series D funding led by the SoftBank Vision Fund. Toyota and company insiders also provided money in the latest financing round. Getaround has raised $400 million in total capital so far.

“We are confident in our product, playbook, and team,” Sam Zaid, Getaround founder and CEO said in a statement. “We look forward to leading the growth of next-generation carsharing.”

Since starting in 2010, Getaround has steadily grown its car-share network to include several thousand vehicles in 66 U.S. cities. In the last year, Getaround has seen a sevenfold Increase in booked hours.

For SoftBank, the investment comes just months after the Japanese company agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in GM's autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise Holdings for $2.25 billion. SoftBank also has invested $9.3 billion in Uber, becoming the ride-hailing company's largest investor.

“SoftBank sees carsharing as an accelerating trend that will disrupt car ownership”, said Michael Ronen, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Car-sharing, which allows members to rent a vehicle for a few hours or several days, has been around for more than 15 years. Zipcar may be the best-known car-share company with more than 12,000 vehicles available for rent. In recent years the industry has picked up momentum with Daimler subsidiary Car2Go and GM subsidiary Maven both steadily growing their networks.

Questions? Comments? BehindTheWheel@cnbc.com.

Lyft and Aptiv have completed 5000 paid trips in their self-driving taxis

Lyft and self-driving technology company Aptiv have been operating a small fleet of self-driving cars in Las Vegas since the Consumer Electronics Show last January. And today, the companies say they’ve reached a new milestone in their partnership: 5,000 paid rides. Lyft and Aptiv claim to be operating the only commercial robot taxi service in… Continue reading Lyft and Aptiv have completed 5000 paid trips in their self-driving taxis

Car-sharing startup Getaround raises $300 mln in funding led by SoftBank

(Reuters) – Car-sharing startup Getaround Inc has raised about $300 million in the latest funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, the San Francisco-based firm said on Tuesday. Toyota Motor Corp and some other existing investors were also part of the Series D funding round, Getaround said. The company, founded in 2013, has been… Continue reading Car-sharing startup Getaround raises $300 mln in funding led by SoftBank

Tesla Model 3 is ‘military-grade tech years ahead of peers’ but still expected to lose money

Early Tesla employee's insight into working with Elon Musk
1:06 PM ET Thu, 16 Aug 2018 | 04:02

Tesla's Model 3 sedan is blowing engineers away, but it might be a big headache for folks in finance.

Analysts at UBS pulled apart three different electric cars to compare their technology and production costs: a new Tesla Model 3, a 2014 BMW i3 and a 2017 Chevy Bolt.

The engineers hired by UBS to examine a $49,000 2018 Model 3 were “crazy” about the powertrain, “highlighting next-gen, military-grade tech that's years ahead of peers,” said UBS analyst Colin Langan in a note dated Wednesday. But the costs were higher than expected, and the cars would lose about $6,000 each at Tesla's original plan to sell an entry model at $35,000, he said.

It is another sign Tesla may have trouble turning into the mass-market automaker it said it wants to become.

Plans to manufacture the lower-cost vehicle have been delayed since its announcement in 2016 as the electric car manufacturer struggled to meet demand. CEO Elon Musk said in May that manufacturing the Model 3 at that price “right away” would cause Tesla to “die.”

The company had originally billed the Model 3 as a sleek electric vehicle for the masses, and the car that would turn Tesla from a smaller maker of expensive electric cars to a volume manufacturer.

Instead, Tesla focused on higher-cost versions that yield better margins. The profit margin on the $49,000 version UBS tore apart was about 18 percent, for example.

UBS hired the engineers for a breakdown of each car's powertrain and battery, electronic controls, frame and body as well as interior and safety features. They evaluated each part's design, ease of manufacturing and cost.

Tesla beat its two competitors in cost, but the Model 3 didn't have has big a lead over the other automakers as UBS had expected. UBS based its estimates on consultations with engineers and industry research.

Tesla, Chevrolet and BMW were not immediately available for comment.

However, some of the Model 3's technology seems to be far ahead of Chevrolet and BMW. In particular, Tesla's electric powertrain stood out as exceptionally simple and flexible.

WATCH: Tesla whistleblower tweets details about allegedly flawed cars

Tesla whistleblower tweets details about allegedly flawed cars
4:55 PM ET Thu, 16 Aug 2018 | 01:21