Tesla – Page 2416 – I wish I had more to offer

Ford Mustang-Inspired Electric Crossover Caught Almost Camo Free

It looks like a slick electric crossover to us. The Ford Mustang-inspired electric SUV unveiling is scheduled for November 17, ahead of the LA Auto Show, but we already obtained photos of a barely disguised prototype. It seems that the new long-range electric Ford is more like a crossover than an actual SUV. Size and… Continue reading Ford Mustang-Inspired Electric Crossover Caught Almost Camo Free

Tesla Autopilot Now Handles Construction Cones With Ease

Not only does the new feature work with Smart Summon, but also with Autopilot. Earlier this week, we shared that Tesla’s built-in cameras actually”see,” identify, display, and avoid construction cones while using the vehicles’ Smart Summon feature. The cones show up on the Tesla screen much like cars and trucks do. This is a huge… Continue reading Tesla Autopilot Now Handles Construction Cones With Ease

Ghost wants to retrofit your car so it can drive itself on highways in 2020

A new autonomous vehicle company is on the streets — and unbeknownst to most, has been since 2017. Unlike the majority in this burgeoning industry, this new entrant isn’t trying to launch a robotaxi service or sell a self-driving system to suppliers and automakers. It’s not aiming for autonomous delivery, either. Ghost Locomotion, which emerged… Continue reading Ghost wants to retrofit your car so it can drive itself on highways in 2020

Watch Tesla Autopilot handle a construction zone with traffic cones

A new video showing what Tesla Autopilot sees when navigating a construction zone gives an impressive look at Tesla’s evolving computer vision system. Earlier this week, we reported on Tesla updating its driving visualization to detect and render traffic cones. Tesla has been working on integrating construction zone navigation in Autopilot for a long time.… Continue reading Watch Tesla Autopilot handle a construction zone with traffic cones

Tesla Model S Plaid Prototype Laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:13

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Published on November 5th, 2019 |

by Dr. Maximilian Holland

Tesla Model S Plaid Prototype Laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:13

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November 5th, 2019 by Dr. Maximilian Holland

Respected German publication Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that the Tesla Model S Plaid prototype has been hand-timed lapping the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 13 seconds, according to the outlet’s local source. Adjusting for race-compound tires, this puts the Tesla around 19 seconds ahead of the Taycan Turbo’s 7:42 lap time reported by Porsche in August. It’s also faster than every gas-powered 4-door series production car ’round the ‘ring.

We’ve covered Tesla’s ongoing adventures at the Nürburgring Nordschleife before, reporting initial versions of the Model S Plaid prototype clocking laps of 7:23 in mid September. With further tweaks, it appears Tesla has now shaved a further 10 seconds off this time and has been recorded lapping the ‘ring in 7:13 — on at least two separate occasions (according to Auto Motor und Sport).

Tesla may not be done yet. Winter is now setting in at the Nürburgring, with unfavorable weather and shortening hours of daylight — not ideal for setting lap times. Tesla will very likely be back at the ring at least once more before the Model S Plaid is planned to go on sale sometime in Q3 2020. Tesla will want to record a more formal lap time for the final production-spec Model S Plaid, to help market the car, which will sell for a premium over the regular Model S Performance.

The Plaid prototype was piloted around the ring by Thomas Mutsch, a professional driver experienced in both GT and endurance racing, who has several recent wins in 24 hour races around the Nordschleife. The Plaid prototype continues to be shod in race compound tires, which give an approximate 10 second lap time advantage over production vehicles that are typically tested wearing more standard sport compound road-biased tires. Nevertheless, assuming this would translate into a ~7:23 time on road-biased tires, the Tesla looks set to take the outright 4-door production car record at the circuit. The current standing for series production 4-door vehicles (adjusted for tire choices) is:

*Tesla Model S Plaid time is adjusted by 10 seconds to account for tire choice. Data from FastestLaps.com

Note that the list excludes limited special edition cars that are not in series production.

Porsche Taycan Turbo at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Image Courtesy: Porsche.

It’s unlikely that the legacy automakers will let their combustion engine expertise get overtaken by EVs without a fight. There’s evidence that Porsche is developing a faster Panamera version (codename “Lion”) with the intention to (temporarily) reclaim the top spot on the leaderboard for combustion power, with informal lap timing of 07:11. When and to what extent that will translate into a series production Panamera version is as yet unknown. Why doesn’t Porsche develop a version of the Taycan EV to take the top spot? Likely because its business model still involves making most of its income from selling combustion cars, like every other legacy automaker. Perhaps in another 10 years when Porsche is offering more EVs it will finally allow the superior technology to rise to their top spot.

With ever tightening emissions limits being unavoidable for combustion cars, and EVs only at the very start of their performance development curve, this is not a fight that combustion engine vehicles can hope to win in the long run. We have Tesla and the rivalry with the Porsche Taycan to thank for showing what’s already possible.

Article images courtesy of respective brands, author’s own graphic.
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About the Author

Dr. Maximilian Holland Max is an anthropologist, social theorist and international political economist, trying to ask questions and encourage critical thinking about social and environmental justice, sustainability and the human condition. He has lived and worked in Europe and Asia, and is currently based in Barcelona. Follow Max on twitter @Dr_Maximilian and at MaximilianHolland.com, or contact him via LinkedIn.

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What We Think We Know About The Tesla Cybertruck

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Published on November 7th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

What We Think We Know About The Tesla Cybertruck

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November 7th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

In his new blog, Whole Mars, Omar Qazi (aka @Tesla_Truth) gives us some of his thoughts on what we already know — or at least, think we know — about the Tesla Cybertruck. I have some catching up to do, as I have never seen Blade Runner, which seems to be the theme of Tesla’s hottest new product.

I am sure, as is Omar, that there are going to be a lot of new features and surprises when we do see the truck in just a couple of weeks. So, besides some of those interesting Cybertruck renders (thanks, Earl and Eva!), Omar put together some of his thoughts to help us stay patient while Tesla builds up the suspense and momentum.

“Tesla will unveil its ‘Cybertruck’ electric pickup on November 21. Elon Musk has called the supposedly Blade Runner design ‘heart-stopping’, with better utility than a Ford F-150 and superior performance to a basic Porsche 911.” —Sean O’Kane, The Verge

What We Know
The Verge highlights that the Cybertruck will seat six people and the price will start at around $50,000. It will offer 400 to 500 miles of range in the highest-priced version and could be powered by a dual-motor setup. Also, something to look forward to is the ludicrous towing capacity of 300,000 pounds. 300,000 pounds is a lot.

The above is a great question. What are some items that weigh 300,000 pounds? Well, the Space Shuttle weighs 165,000 pounds, so, yes, the Cybertruck can tow a rocket and anything that weighs 300,000 pounds or less. It won’t be able to tow a Falcon 9, though. At just over 3 million pounds, perhaps the Tesla Semi would be a more suitable truck for towing the Falcon 9 rocket.

The truck can also tow, if China ever needed Tesla to do so for some reason, the Bell of Good Luck. Weighing 254,000 pounds, this 17-year-old bell is the heaviest bell in the world and is located in Henan, China. It’s 24 feet in height and more than 15 feet wide. The truck can also tow a railroad locomotive engine weighing 250,000 pounds or a 240,000 pound radio tower. We can definitely agree that these are some insane towing skills.

It will be interesting to see the Cybertruck compared to the Truckla, which used to be a Tesla Model 3. As we’ve written before, its owner, Simone Giertz, transformed her Model 3 into a pickup truck. In a 31 minute video, Simona, her mechanic, Marcos Ramirez, designer Laura Kampf, and car refurbisher Rich Benoit teamed up to completely transform the Model 3 into Tesla’s first-ever pickup truck, named the Truckla.

When Simone asked Elon if she and Truckla were invited, he said, “Of course.”

It would be fun to see both the Cybertruck and the Truckla on stage together, and perhaps Simone could inspire Elon to make a second pickup truck made from the Model 3 as she did with hers? One thing for sure is that, with Tesla, creativity is always abounding.

Aside from humongous towing capacity and tremendous torque, we also expect ports for electric power tools and compressed air tools to plug in, a suspension that dynamically adjusts for load, and perhaps a solar tonneau. See: “Elon Musk Solicits Input For The Tesla Truck As It Gets Serious About Electric Pickup #ElonTweets.”

For more, see our Tesla trucks and Tesla pickup truck archives.
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Johnna Crider Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, and Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter

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GM sells shuttered Ohio plant to EV truck start-up

FILE PHOTO: A mural is seen on the side of General Motors’ shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant during the United Auto Workers (UAW) national strike in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S. September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) confirmed on Thursday it has sold its shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio to a start-up… Continue reading GM sells shuttered Ohio plant to EV truck start-up

Have A Look At The New Tesla Model 3 Ascension R

As if the Tesla Model 3 wasn’t already a performance beast. If you have the time and the money, this Tesla Model 3 aftermarket upgrade is truly intense.in a number of ways. Sure, there are plenty of aftermarket products and upgrades for just about every vehicle. However, we cover and support companies like Unplugged Performance,… Continue reading Have A Look At The New Tesla Model 3 Ascension R

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm Discusses Elon Musk’s Outrageous Goals

Denholm, along with Ron Baron, has a lot to share in this recent interview. Elon Musk has often come in for criticism because of missed deadlines, over-ambitious forecasts and, in a few cases, unfulfilled promises. It’s true that production dates for the company’s vehicles have often slipped, many owners are unhappy about delays in delivering… Continue reading Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm Discusses Elon Musk’s Outrageous Goals

Walmart Is Re-Energizing Tesla Solar Systems After Settling Lawsuit With Tesla

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Published on November 6th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

Walmart Is Re-Energizing Tesla Solar Systems After Settling Lawsuit With Tesla

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November 6th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

Reuters has reported that Walmart and Tesla have settled their lawsuit. The lawsuit Walmart filed back in July claimed that Tesla solar panels caught fire on the roof of 7 stores in the United States. On Monday, November 4th, 2019, a court filing showed that Walmart voluntarily discontinued without prejudice. In other words, Walmart dropped the lawsuit.

“Walmart and Tesla are pleased to have resolved the issues raised by Walmart concerning the Tesla solar installations at Walmart stores. Safety is a top priority for each company and with the concerns being addressed, we both look forward to a safe re-energization of our sustainable energy systems.” —Joint statement from Walmart and Tesla.

I’m sure that having Walmart withdraw its lawsuit against Tesla won’t stop some of those who march with the flag of TSLAQ from using other disasters to claim Tesla is going bankrupt, but this does show how their focus on Tesla and Elon Musk has become a bit of obsession. Some collect dockets of every one of Tesla’s court cases in the hopes that Tesla will go bankrupt, only to be disappointed by a simple and logical matter like a settlement. And when they are not collecting dockets, they spend their time online harassing Tesla owners.

The news of Walmart dropping the lawsuit and both companies settling will add some more free publicity for Tesla (and Walmart). Every time Tesla gets free airtime on channels such as CNN, Fox, and even local stations, it just means that Tesla doesn’t have to pay for anchors to talk about it. The fact that Walmart and Tesla are working to resolve their issues is a great thing. Walmart Canada has already ordered a total of 40 Tesla Semi trucks as well as having solar panels installed.

Not only has Tesla’s stock price begun to climb up following the news, but this just shows that no matter how hard some of the short sellers try to dissuade people from supporting Tesla, not everyone listens to them and the doom they predict is yet to arrive.

Walmart and Tesla plan to re-energize the solar systems on Walmart’s roofs, by the way.

What Does This Mean For Tesla?
Tesla will continue to make its vehicles and solar products, and people will continue to buy them. Right now, Tesla is focusing its solar priorities on the victims of the California wildfires in the hope of helping those without electricity.

In fact, Tesla isn’t even making much money on its energy storage products after recently lowering prices for those in the area affected by the fires.

Speaking of solar, on Halloween, Elon Musk posted a video of someone dropping a pumpkin from the roof onto the ground. However, it wasn’t the ground. What was on the ground that the pumpkin smashed into was Tesla’s latest version of the Solar Roof, now known as “Solarglass,” which I think is a really cool product name.

Elon also joked about walking on a Tesla Solarglass in stilettos (you couldn’t pay me to walk anywhere — not even to the bathroom — in those toe and heel torture devices) and it made think of the song “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves.

“I’m walking on sunshine (wow!)
And don’t it feel good
Hey, alright now
And don’t it feel good, hey.” —Walking On Sunshine

Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.
It will make you happy & help you live in peace for the rest of your life.

About the Author

Johnna Crider Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, and Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter

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