Tesla – Page 2598 – I wish I had more to offer

Volkswagen’s Shanghai EV plant with SAIC has started trial production: VW CEO

A new logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is unveiled at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Trial production has started at Volkswagen AG’s (VW) (VOWG_p.DE) and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd’s (600104.SS) $2.5 billion electric vehicle (EV) factory in Shanghai, VW’s chief executive said on Friday, the latest… Continue reading Volkswagen’s Shanghai EV plant with SAIC has started trial production: VW CEO

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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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