Tesla Extremists Fade Away as Focus Shifts to Car Fundamentals Bloomberg | Dec 13, 2019 at 5:58 PM The perpetual war between Tesla Inc.’s bears and bulls may finally be simmering down.
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U.S. agency probes 12th Tesla crash tied to possible Autopilot use
TFILE PHOTO: he company logo is pictured on a Tesla Model X electric car in Berlin, Germany, November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. auto safety agency said Friday it will investigate a 12th Tesla crash that may be tied to the vehicle’s advanced Autopilot driver assistance system after a Tesla Model… Continue reading U.S. agency probes 12th Tesla crash tied to possible Autopilot use
2 Tesla Powerwalls + Solar Power + Tesla Model 3 = True Energy Freedom
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Published on December 13th, 2019 |
by Jake Richardson
2 Tesla Powerwalls + Solar Power + Tesla Model 3 = True Energy Freedom
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December 13th, 2019 by Jake Richardson
Fully Charged just released another very informative video about sustainable living. They make many videos about electric vehicles and this one includes an EV, a Tesla Model 3, but it’s more about how Tesla’s Powerwalls operate when paired with a rooftop solar system. Robert Llewellyn, the founder of Fully Charged, explains that he received a free Founders Series Powerwall 2 for participating in the Tesla referral program.
Image courtesy: Tesla
Robert’s home has been equipped with:
5.5 kW rooftop photovoltaic solar system
2 Tesla Powerwalls with a total of 26.8 kWh of storage capacity
Tesla Backup Gateway 2
Zappi2 Smart EV charger
He charges his Tesla Model 3 at home the with Zappi.
To integrate the new Powerwall into his home electrical system, including working with the EV charger, he needed to have a his grid connection upgrade to 3-phase. With the upgraded grid connection and the new Powerwall, the automatic transfer switch in the Tesla Backup Gateway 2 disconnects the home from the grid in the event of an outage, so electricity from the batteries can be used to safely power the home.
As a homeowner and an electricity consumer, Robert makes a great point when he says he tries to be very careful about using power between 4 pm and 8 pm. This is the peak time when electricity is not only expensive, it’s the dirtiest. Being able to avoid consumption during these key hours provides a new kind of freedom for homeowners — freedom from high electricity costs and the dirtiest fossil fuels.
Homeowners with batteries can charge them at night when electricity rates are very low and then use the electricity during the peak cost period to save money. It’s also possible, in some cases, to send some of your stored or self-generated electricity back to the grid to receive a small payment or credit. In the future, this ability may impact the energy marketplace.
Editor’s Note: Tesla is using this very capability to provide aggregated grid services through its Virtual Powerplant (VPP) program in South Australia. The program has demonstrated the ability to save homeowners with rooftop solar and storage money while providing valuable grid services to the local utility.
Robert’s 5.5 kW rooftop solar system is not huge, but seems to meet his needs. Depending on their electricity consumption, other homeowners may prefer to install a 10 kW or larger system to generate enough electricity through every season of the year, especially if they are charging an EV at home.
Solar power systems can be expanded after the initial installation and with solar panels having never been more affordable, upgrading from a smaller system to a larger solar system may be worth considering for many homeowners.
Imagine how much you would save by being able to generate all of your own electricity, or most of it, right from your own roof. Never paying for gas or electricity ever again sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
Installations like Roberts show that a fully electric future is no longer a future possibility, it is possible today. The future is now.
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Jake Richardson Hello, I have been writing online for some time, and enjoy the outdoors. If you like, you can follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeRsol
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Tesla increases price of Model 3 as federal tax credit ends
Tesla has slightly increased the prices of Model 3’s two least expensive versions in the US – just weeks before the end of the tax credit on Tesla’s vehicles. Over the last year, Tesla has been making a lot of price adjustments to the different Model 3 versions. At first, Tesla reduced the price of… Continue reading Tesla increases price of Model 3 as federal tax credit ends
Rumor: Tesla Gigafactory 4 Slated To Produce 500,000 Cars A Year & Employ 10,000
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Published on December 12th, 2019 |
by Steve Hanley
Rumor: Tesla Gigafactory 4 Slated To Produce 500,000 Cars A Year & Employ 10,000
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December 12th, 2019 by Steve Hanley
The following information is categorized as rumor because it has not been confirmed by Tesla, but German newspaper Bild (subscription required) is reporting that when fully completed, the new Tesla factory in Germany, known as either Gigafactory 4 or Gigafactory Berlin, will be capable of manufacturing up to half a million vehicles a year and employ as many as 10,000 workers. That information comes from the German Press Agency, according to the Bild report.
Credit: Tesla
Teslarati reports that annual production for both the existing factory in Fremont and Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai is expected to also be on the order of 500,000 cars per year for each facility, meaning until Tesla builds another factory somewhere, its global manufacturing capability will be 1.5 million vehicles.
The finished factory will cost $4.4 billion according to a report by Frankfurter Allgemeine and cover an area larger than 420 soccer fields, which can be up to 110 meters long and 73 meters wide. Bild claims to have seen the proposed building plans for the finished factory.
The factory, like the one in Shanghai, China, will be built in stages. It is unclear at this time whether Tesla has submitted plans for the entire factory to local authorities for approval or submitted only preliminary drawings for future expansion. We do know the initial stage of the factory is expected to employ 3,000 workers and begin production of the Model Y SUV sometime in early 2021. Production of the Model 3 sedan is expected to begin sometime later, perhaps after the second phase of the factory is completed.
The decision to build its newest factory in Germany came as a surprise to some. In an interview with Auto Express in November, Elon Musk said, “Brexit [uncertainty] made it too risky to put a Gigafactory in the UK,” something British voters might want to keep in mind as they head to the polls this week. Musk hinted in 2014 that he was considering a design and tech center in the UK, but those plans have also been shelved. That facility will now be built in Berlin.
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Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his homes in Florida and Connecticut or anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. You can follow him on Twitter but not on any social media platforms run by evil overlords like Facebook.
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Nio nets key Mobileye autonomous tech deal, but still needs cash
Chinese EV start-up Nio has secured a key deal to build an advanced self-driving car using technology developed by Intel’s Mobileye division – but the firm is still searching for new funding to meet its ambitious growth plans. Nio, which currently offers a range of electric SUVs in China, has agreed to construct a new… Continue reading Nio nets key Mobileye autonomous tech deal, but still needs cash
Tesla Cybertruck: Here are some of the coolest mods and attachments
The Tesla Cybertruck has sparked the imagination of some really creative people who have designed some crazy looking mods for the electric pickup truck. Here are some of the coolest mods and attachments we have seen so far. When Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck last month, the electric pickup’s radical design generated an incredible amount of… Continue reading Tesla Cybertruck: Here are some of the coolest mods and attachments
Tesla Begins Rolling Out Its Sexy New “Mini-Powerwall” Backup Gateway 2 Hardware
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Published on December 12th, 2019 |
by Kyle Field
Tesla Begins Rolling Out Its Sexy New “Mini-Powerwall” Backup Gateway 2 Hardware
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December 12th, 2019 by Kyle Field
Tesla has started rolling out its new Backup Gateway 2 hardware with its Powerwalls, resulting in a much cleaner look for the overall installation. Instead of installing its communication hardware in standard grey electrical enclosures, the new Gateways come packaged up in a beautiful new enclosure that mimics the look of the Tesla Powerwall 2s themselves.
Image courtesy: Fully Charged
We spied the new Backup Gateway 2 hardware in a new episode of Fully Charged as host Robert Llewellyn walked through the installation process of his new Tesla Founders Series Powerwall 2. Ironically, his signature edition came without Elon Musk’s signature (which it was supposed to include). I’m betting it’s because Elon is planning to make the trip out to the UK to chat with Robert and sign it in person, but time will tell whether that comes to pass or not. In the meantime, Robert signed it for Elon as a placeholder.
We discovered that Tesla would be updating the look of the Powerwall Gateways late last year when Tesla recalibrated its Powerwall product family, raising prices just over 10% at the same time. The new look raises the bar for the aesthetics on perhaps the most critical piece of hardware in the installation of a Powerwall. Check out the 3 minute video at the bottom of this article for a unique look at how to connect to the Backup Gateway.
That’s because the Powerwall Gateway is much more than just an LTE connection to the world — though, it does provide a communications link to the outside world. On the recent Powerwall installation at my new home, Tesla came out to commission the new system and one of the first steps after everything was bolted in and wired up was to get the communications set up. Unfortunately, our system did not come with the new Powerwall Gateway, but everything inside it is effectively the same and provides the same functionality.
The primary connection for the system to the world is an integrated cellular connection. The Gateway is also typically paired up to the home’s WiFi connection for a lower-cost, higher-bitrate connection to the internet. Finally, for folks with a nearby ethernet connection (remember those clunky old wired things?), the Tesla Powerwall Gateway offers an ethernet connection.
The old form factor of the Gateway had two antennas up top, one for cellular and one for WiFi to keep everything humming along nicely in today’s connected world. Those have since been integrated seamlessly into the new design. Our system was brought online with the cellular connection first, followed by the WiFi connection. We aren’t going to run ethernet to the garage (at least not yet), so we will just keep the system running on WiFi with a cellular backup for the time being.
Image courtesy: Tesla
Tesla’s new Gateway is more than just a data connection, though. Using that data connection, the Gateway serves as the brain for the Powerwalls, telling them what mode to operating in, sending data to and from the owner’s smartphone app, and triggering automatic overrides to standard protocols under special circumstances like in the event of an incoming storm. The Backup Gateway 2’s monitoring of energy usage is revenue grade, meaning it is accurate to within +/- 0.2%.
Finally, the Backup Gateway 2 provides critical safety functionality to the system as the automatic transfer switch. This switch monitors the incoming power from the grid, looking for any issue that would indicate unstable grid power. This could be a full disconnect of grid power, low voltage, fluctuations in the power, or something else. It’s Tesla’s way of putting its finger on the pulse of the grid. The incoming grid power into the house runs through the Backup Gateway 2 and, if an issue is detected, the relay in the automatic transfer switch flips, disconnecting grid power from the home.
When this happens, the Powerwalls are called on to power the now-isolated home and, after a few seconds, for the systems to cut over — everything in the home will then be powered off of the Powerwalls. On the grid side of things, the relay is a key to maintaining the safety of the power system. If the home was to remain connected to the grid when the Powerwalls started pumping power to the house (and the grid) when grid power was down, that power would feed out into the grid, potentially creating an unsafe condition for others working on the grid.
According to its product data sheet, the Backup Gateway 2 can support single-phase or three-phase 220 volt or 440 volt connections, making it an extremely useful piece of hardware.
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About the Author
Kyle Field I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. TSLA investor.
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Tesla’s Competitive Advantage Under A Magnifying Glass — The Netherlands
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Published on December 12th, 2019 |
by Maarten Vinkhuyzen
Tesla’s Competitive Advantage Under A Magnifying Glass — The Netherlands
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December 12th, 2019 by Maarten Vinkhuyzen
It’s easy to ignore Tesla’s Dutch sales success as just a temporary fluke created by an incentive change. And it is, but that is not the interesting thing about it.
What’s interesting is how the other cars that are subject to the same change react, and how different that is from how Tesla’s vehicles react. It illustrates the competitive advantage of Tesla under a magnifying glass.
Dutch electric vehicle sales in the first 9 days of December:
Perhaps over 90% of these cars are company cars made available for private use as a “Benefit in Kind” to employees. With this kind of company-provided vehicle, the employees have a large amount of freedom to choose the car they like the best within a budget allocated to them. The incentive for electric vehicles is that they provide a lower addition to the person’s taxable income compared to gas burners. This incentive will be smaller next year, which will make the upfront cost competition with fossil fuel addicts more difficult.
Another challenge in 2020 is the start of new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations. Carmakers will be fined for every gram they exceed the 95 grams of CO2/km limit. They are all well above that line at the moment. The best way to lower the average is to sell more zero-emissions vehicles. Over a dozen new fully electric models will go onto the market as a result. These December sales, however, will be a lot harder to match in the new year.
All of these models are fighting for customers on equal terms. All can get the same incentives. All are subject to the same regulations. Some have large dealer networks, some have fewer sales locations. That is the biggest difference. As we can see, though, the one with the least sales locations sells the most. That is not logical.
There is no home turf advantage for any of them, like the Detroit Dwindling Three have in the USA or French and German carmakers have in their home countries. This is a pure beauty pageant comparing the cars and dealer networks on equal terms. With the whole industry trying to deliver as much as possible before the deadline, we have a unique opportunity to compare their popularity.
I can only speculate about why Tesla is winning so many more sales than the competition. According to José Pontes in his recent report on November sales in the Netherlands, there are a number of reasons. Some carmakers, like Volkswagen Group, are just not that interested in a few dozen extra sales. Others were late in realizing what was happening, like Renault and Nissan, or were just starting production of a refreshed model, also Renault and Nissan.
But this is not the real explanation I am looking for. Why is Tesla delivering about 10 times as many as the next guy?
Okay, it is a better product at a better price for many people. But is that it? (Personally, I am waiting for my Renault ZOE in two weeks.) The Tesla Model 3 is getting nearly three times as many sales as the rest combined, while almost everyone is pushing to get as many cars out the door as possible in this end-of-year rush. That is a big difference. Is it just the cool factor? All the hype, Twitter wars, fanboys, and media attention? Is it something else?
Perhaps only the Ford Model T has been this dominant.
Please share your experience.
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Maarten Vinkhuyzen Grumpy old man. The best thing I did with my life was raising two kids. Only finished primary education, but when you don’t go to school, you have lots of time to read. I switched from accounting to software development and ended my career as system integrator and architect. My 2007 boss got two electric Lotus Elise cars to show policymakers the future direction of energy and transportation. And I have been looking to replace my diesel cars with electric vehicles ever since.
And putting my money where my mouth is, I have bought Tesla shares. Intend to keep them until I can trade them for a Tesla car.
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Top 10 Future Electric Pickup Trucks Worth Waiting For
The Cybertruck is just one of 10 promising electric pickup trucks coming our way. The Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T may be the most hyped and anticipated upcoming electric pickup trucks, but there are several more notable electric trucks in the works. With the debut of the Cybertruck, attention is again placed upon electric pickup… Continue reading Top 10 Future Electric Pickup Trucks Worth Waiting For