Tesla – Page 2433 – I wish I had more to offer

Consumer Reports calls Tesla automated parking ‘glitchy’

FILE PHOTO: A new Tesla Model 3 is shown at a delivery center on the last day of the company’s third quarter, in San Diego, California, September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) Smart Summon automated parking system is “glitchy” and only works intermittently, influential U.S. magazine Consumer Reports has said, adding… Continue reading Consumer Reports calls Tesla automated parking ‘glitchy’

Tesla Model Y Transformer, Easter Eggs, & Halloween Magic

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Published on October 9th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

Tesla Model Y Transformer, Easter Eggs, & Halloween Magic

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October 9th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

It’s October, which means that for most people that fall is in full swing. Leaves crunch underfoot as the scents of apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg mingle to warm our senses as the temperatures dip. I did say for most people. Those of us in the South are still experiencing higher than average temperatures, so we can only sip our pumpkin spice lattes and apple ciders wrapped up in thick blankets if we have the air conditioner on full blast.

October also means a really fun holiday where all the monsters come out and dazzle in their cute, creepy, sexy, scary, and hilarious glory. Monsters aren’t the only ones coming out, though — so are superheroes such as the Tesla Model Y Transformer. Simon Mahan’s son, Jonah, is ready for the North Texas Tesla Owner’s Frunk or Treat event (and the potential zombie apocalypse), and Jonah isn’t the only one.

As you can see, Halloween also isn’t just for humans and pets. Many Tesla owners are taking part in the fun tradition and are dressing up their Teslas. We already know what Jennifer Street is dressing her Model 3 as: Toothless from Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon — and she even got a shoutout from Dreamworks on her Model 3’s costume!

Jennifer is also creating a lot of cute Halloween Tesla-inspired artwork that makes you want to gorge yourself on candy corn while drinking hot apple cider.

Jennifer is also taking part in the North Texas Tesla Owners’ Halloween Frunk or Treat event, and she’s not the only Tesla owner doing this. Although her Toothless Tesla has come along beautifully and isn’t quite finished, below is a quick photo of her progress. It should be finished by October 24th — just in time for Halloween.

The North Texas Tesla Owners group shared a couple of other fun Tesla costumes with me to share on CleanTechnica:

Spooky Summon
Many Tesla owners are also getting creative with Smart Summon as a Halloween prank, which CleanTechnica is officially coining Spooky Summon. I’m not sure what is creepier, seeing a Tesla with no driver or one with a skeleton driving.

Also, as Eli Burton from My Tesla Adventure discovered, Tesla has created a Halloween Easter egg and it had him just a bit confused. To activate this Easter egg, change your Tesla’s name to Patsy. A creepy ghostlike foot drops onto the screen and does what feet don’t normally do — it farts. Eli thought it could be an Addams Family reference, but I was also a bit baffled. I even did a Google search and probably confused’s Google’s AI, which was all too happy to give me links to farting foot porn.

A quick view of Eli’s YouTube comments reveals the answer — It’s not really a Halloween Easter egg, but a Monty Python Easter egg. Craig Hamnett explained, “Google ‘Monty Python Patsy’ — he’s a dumb character in the series. The foot is the ‘Foot of Cupid’ and is seen in the opening credits of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Eric Idle was extremely involved with Monty Python and owns a Tesla.”

I’ve never seen Monty Python (please don’t scold me, y’all!), and it’s definitely on my to-do list, but I am more inclined toward Criminal Minds and CSI and that type of things. There’s just something about a good “whodunnit” that makes one feel thrills and excitement, especially as the good ultimately wins against the darkness of mankind.

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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Tesla Buys Hibar Systems In Another Effort To Make Its Own Batteries

It seems that Maxwell and Jeff Dahn were only part of the strategy. Tesla is clearly pushing to produce its own batteries. The company has always tried to control all aspects of its production. After buying Maxwell Technologies and making a research partnership with Jeff Dahn for a 1-million miles battery, it has reportedly bought… Continue reading Tesla Buys Hibar Systems In Another Effort To Make Its Own Batteries

Tesla deploys a big Powerpack system in Nantucket to secure the island’s power

Tesla has deployed a large new Powerpack system in Nantucket to secure the island’s power, which relies on two underwater cables. Nantucket is a small island of about 11,000 permanent residents about 30 miles off the Massachusetts coast, but it’s also a very popular touristic location. During the summer, the population can rise to 50,000… Continue reading Tesla deploys a big Powerpack system in Nantucket to secure the island’s power

Tesla-Panasonic relationship hits hard times as Tesla moves to make its own batteries

A new report paints the Tesla-Panasonic relationship as hitting some hard times and it happens just as Tesla is moving to manufacture its own battery cells. A new Wall Street Journal report is citing sources within Panasonic that describe a tumultuous relationship with Tesla, which has become an important partner for the battery manufacturer. Over the… Continue reading Tesla-Panasonic relationship hits hard times as Tesla moves to make its own batteries

Tesla Vehicle Efficiency Leads Industry Thanks To Tesla Vehicle Design Culture

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Published on October 5th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

Tesla Vehicle Efficiency Leads Industry Thanks To Tesla Vehicle Design Culture

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October 5th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally posted on EVANNEX.
By Charles Morris

More range! More range! That’s the mantra that has replaced the “More power!” of the internal combustion engine (ICE) era. How much range is enough? All we know at this point is that car buyers want more. Tesla, always attuned to consumer desires, upped the stakes once again in April, increasing the range of Model S to what Road & Track colorfully calls “a bladder-busting 370 miles.” The interesting thing is that the company achieved this 35-mile increase without increasing the size of the battery.

Tesla’s Model S charging at a GreenWay charging station in Wroclaw, Poland. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica | Tesla Shuttle

As Tesla explains, its engineers were able to boost range by making incremental improvements to several parts of the powertrain: “All Model S and X vehicles now benefit from Tesla’s latest generation of drive unit technology, which combines an optimized permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motor, silicon carbide power electronics, and improved lubrication, cooling, bearings, and gear designs to achieve greater than 93% efficiency. Pairing a permanent magnet motor in the front with an induction motor in the rear enables unparalleled range and performance at all times. The net effect is a more than 10% improvement in range, with efficiency improvements in both directions as energy flows out of the battery during acceleration and back into the battery through regenerative braking.”

More range is bound to make the appeal of Tesla’s world-leading electric vehicles even greater. However, the real story here is not about range, but efficiency. At the moment, EV designers are focused on maximizing range, but if at some point the market decides that there’s such a thing as “enough range,” designers could leverage greater efficiency in the powertrain to make battery packs smaller, giving their vehicles more space, better performance, and/or lower prices. Efficiency also offers a direct benefit for consumers — it translates into lower electric bills.

Tesla Model X Powerwall in a garage, via Tesla.

Tesla’s EVs are some of the most efficient on the market — to give one example, the Model S Performance full-size sedan is substantially more efficient than the tiny smart EQ fortwo. When it comes to the vaunted “Tesla killers” — Audi’s e-tron and Jaguar’s I-PACE — the larger Tesla Model X simply blows them away on efficiency. As Road & Track explained in a recent article, Model X is so much more efficient that it offers 91 more miles of range than the Audi and 121 more than the Jag, even though the Tesla’s battery pack is only slightly larger.

As R&T sees it, the reason the legacy automakers’ latest and greatest EVs can’t match Tesla’s aging models comes down to inefficiency, not only in their powertrains, but in their corporate cultures. Tesla’s culture is one of continuous improvement — in the eight years that Model S has been on the market, its efficiency has increased by 25 percent, from 89 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) to 111 MPGe. Tesla has improved the vehicle’s motors, air suspension, tires, and even its wheel bearings.

Tesla Model S Supercharging, by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

Another policy prized at Tesla is open communication between departments, in contrast to the “silos” that so many employees of traditional corporations complain of. As R&T explains, Tesla’s newer wheel bearings are more expensive than the old ones, but they may have added as much as 15 miles of range at far less cost than adding battery capacity. The newer Teslas also use Brembo monobloc brake calipers. “Because they can be made to retract the pads from the spinning rotors faster and more reliably than sliding calipers, monoblocs reduce friction — enough to provide up to 20 miles of increased range,” writes Road & Track’s Jason Cammisa. “The additional stopping power, credibility, and better pedal feel are just added bonuses.” Are the Brembos expensive? Very — but on a per-mile-of-range basis, they’re still cheaper than batteries, and Tesla figured that out because the brake team communicates with the battery engineers, and they cooperate to continuously improve the company’s vehicles.

Related: Our Interview With Tesla President Jerome Guillen, Part Deux

Featured image: Tesla Model 3 deliveries in Tampa, Florida. Photo by Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica.

About the Author

Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀

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The Tesla Effect Is Making Luxury Cars Lose Value Faster Than Ever

A study from Capital One shows some of these luxury cars lost 30 percent of their value. Everyone that follows car news knows Tesla has made a considerable impact on premium carmakers. Most of them are now developing fully electric sedans or SUVs just to have something to compete with the American EV manufacturer. But… Continue reading The Tesla Effect Is Making Luxury Cars Lose Value Faster Than Ever

Nio, the Tesla of China, surges after reporting strong vehicle deliveries for Q3

Nio, known as the Tesla of China, is gaining after reporting solid vehicle delivery numbers for the third quarter.In September, the company delivered 2,019 vehicles.Nio has been struggling amidst declining electric vehicle sales in China.

Here are the Tesla paint colors that best hold their value

Tesla vehicles have already proven to hold their value better than other vehicles in their segment, but there can be a significant difference depending on the paint color. Here are the Tesla paint colors that best hold their value. Due to Tesla being a relatively new brand and the variables of EV battery loss unknowns… Continue reading Here are the Tesla paint colors that best hold their value

Tesla Model X beats Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi e-tron in camper trailer towing test

The Norwegian EV association put a Tesla Model X, a Mercedes-Benz EQC and a Audi e-tron through an interesting towing test with identical camper trailers. Here are the results… Many people still think that you can’t tow a trailer with an electric car, but the Model X became the first one with 2,267 kg/5,000 lb… Continue reading Tesla Model X beats Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi e-tron in camper trailer towing test