Tesla – Page 2241 – I wish I had more to offer

GM’s Barra expects virus to ebb, economic recovery by early 2021

Tom Krisher, Associated Press Published 9:33 p.m. ET July 19, 2020 Detroit — The auto business used to be pretty simple. Crank out vehicles that people want to buy and collect profits. It’s gotten a whole lot more complicated since Mary Barra took over as CEO of General Motors in 2014. She has cut costs… Continue reading GM’s Barra expects virus to ebb, economic recovery by early 2021

Self-driving startup Aurora expands public road testing to Texas

Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg Published 2:53 p.m. ET July 20, 2020 Even as some robo-taxi developers are tapping the brakes, self-driving startup Aurora Innovation Inc. is expanding its testing operations to Texas, adding a third state to its existing public-road proving grounds in California and Pennsylvania. Aurora, founded by Chris Urmson, a former head of Google’s… Continue reading Self-driving startup Aurora expands public road testing to Texas

Mysterious Kia Electric Vehicle Prototype Spotted Under Camouflage

Looks like Kia will be adding another model to its roster of electric vehicles and we have reason to believe it’s the production version of the ‘ Imagine by Kia ‘ concept revealed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. It probably won’t look exactly like the study, especially inside, but that does seem to be… Continue reading Mysterious Kia Electric Vehicle Prototype Spotted Under Camouflage

Xpeng raises $500m as Chinese EV makers step up capital hunt

HONG KONG — Xpeng Motors, one of China’s most high-profile electric vehicle startups, has secured $500 million in its latest funding round, giving it further firepower as rivals join an intensifying hunt for capital to ensure their survival. The new funds came from investors including Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse and Sequoia Capital China, seven months after… Continue reading Xpeng raises $500m as Chinese EV makers step up capital hunt

Xpeng Raises $500 Million Even as China EV Market Sputters

1 / 2 Xpeng Raises $500 Million Even as China EV Market Sputters (Bloomberg) — Electric-vehicle maker Xpeng Motors raised about $500 million from a group of venture investors, showing Chinese startups with promising car models can attract funding even as the industry’s sales slump. Investors in the Series C+ financing round include Aspex Management,… Continue reading Xpeng Raises $500 Million Even as China EV Market Sputters

Nikola plummets 21% after company files to sell 24 million shares (NKLA)

Nikola fell as much as 21% on Monday after the company filed a prospectus outlining its intent to sell up to 23.9 million shares. Additionally, existing shareholders are looking to sell up to 53.4 million shares, according to the prospectus. Nikola said the proceeds from the sale would be used for general corporate purposes. Visit… Continue reading Nikola plummets 21% after company files to sell 24 million shares (NKLA)

NIO’s 50,000th Build Rolls Off The Assembly Line At Hefei Manufacturing Plant

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO celebrated the 50,000th vehicle produced at their Hefei advanced manufacturing plant. The Hefei manufacturing plant is a joint venture with JAC Motors, a state-owned automobile manufacturer in China. NIO and JAC Motors signed a joint cooperation agreement to establish a new manufacturing facility in April of 2016, and in October… Continue reading NIO’s 50,000th Build Rolls Off The Assembly Line At Hefei Manufacturing Plant

Sibros Closes $12 Million Series A for First Deep Connected Vehicle Platform

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Deep Connected Vehicle platform company Sibros, announced today it has closed $12 million in Series A funding, bringing its total capital raised to over $15 million. The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Moneta Ventures and Twin Ventures. The funds will be used to… Continue reading Sibros Closes $12 Million Series A for First Deep Connected Vehicle Platform

An Interview With NVIDIA: “Make All Cars Autonomous”

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Published on July 19th, 2020 |

by Alex Voigt

An Interview With NVIDIA: “Make All Cars Autonomous”

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My articles about the incumbent automotive industry are usually not at all friendly, and that is not done on purpose but is a result of a never-ending series of missed opportunities, wrong decisions, and ill-advised strategies they regularly annoy me with.

A full decade has passed in which I get angry when I listen to so-called industry leaders saying what they are doing, not doing, have decided to do, or concluded. Writing is probably my way of getting rid of that anger. Writing is my Anger Therapy.

The examples I could list are almost endless, but one of my top 10 was the decision from Daimler to sell its stake in Tesla in 2014. I called it one of the dumbest moves in the history of automakers for two reasons: #1 Financials, #2 Technology.

First of all, the nearly 10% stake in Tesla that Daimler originally purchased in 2010 would be worth about $80 billion today, almost twice Daimler’s $45 billion market cap on Friday.

And secondly, by selling its stake, Daimler lost the arguably even more important seat on the Tesla Board of Directors, and with that critical access to information about batteries and autonomous technology that is essential to Daimler’s survival.

Daimler lost its ability to negotiate a potential new deal for Tesla to supply drivetrain technology to Mercedes-Benz, as it had for the B-Class. In those early days, Daimler did not believe Tesla would be able to deliver and considered the B-Class as a proof of concept. Even after Tesla provided a good electric battery and drivetrain, Daimler did not take the technology for battery electric vehicles seriously.

That lack of understanding of the future technology and demand for sustainable transportation is expressed in its first and only BEV designed in house, the EQC, a vehicle that has missed all expectations with only about 700 vehicles sold so far. To compare, the objective for 2020 is 50,000 units. “Too late, too expensive, and too boring,” a core investor said about the EQC in the last shareholder meeting, in which CEO Ola Källenius announced an employee layoff. Daimler revealed this week that it will let 20,000 employees go to save €2 billion.

My anger boiled up again when I listened to a live press event 2 weeks ago in which Källenius and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang released news about their strategic partnership on autonomous cars. I started my therapy session and wrote an article. (See that link.)

My thoughts received a lot of support and positive comments from my audience, which was expected — although, you never know. What was not expected is that after the article was released I received a request from NVIDIA asking if I would be interested in a conversation with the company’s Senior Director of Automotive, Danny Shapiro.

Usually, what you expect as an author after you express your not-so-friendly words in an article about a partnership between two companies is to NOT get an invitation for further events or conversations. I was positively surprised, but assumed that the request was initiated as a corrective measure about what I said and wrote, but I happily accepted.

I learned later, though, that I had been wrong.

Instead of trying to correct me or expressing justifications and explanations, like Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, did on LinkedIn, NVIDIA was truly only interested in a conversation, and I have therefore now gained even more respect for it.

It would be useful to have a conversation with the Senior Director of Automotive for NVIDIA, but I figured it would me much more valuable if I could publish the interview for others to see, and NVIDIA agreed to it. So, here it is, my conversation with Danny Shapiro, Senior Director of Automotive at NVIDIA, about autonomous driving, software, and the future of transportation. The summary title: “Make All Cars Autonomous.”

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About the Author

Alex Voigt Alex Voigt has been a supporter of the mission to transform the world to sustainable carbon free energy for 40 years. As an engineer, he is fascinated with the ability of humankind to develop a better future via the use of technology. With 30 years of experience in the stock market, he is invested in Tesla [TSLA], as well as some other tech companies, for the long term.

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Alibaba-backed electric vehicle maker Xpeng raises $500m

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Xpeng Motors, backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said on Monday it has raised around $500 million in the latest funding round. As enthusiasm builds for more climate-friendly vehicles, the share prices of EV makers, including Tesla Inc and Nio Inc, have surged in recent months and auto makers are… Continue reading Alibaba-backed electric vehicle maker Xpeng raises $500m