Tesla – Page 2647 – I wish I had more to offer

Tesla opens access to CHAdeMO chargers for Model 3 drivers

Tesla has been widely known for having the most convenient fast charging networks in the world of electric cars. It's been so successful that some have even referred to it as Tesla's “moat” against competition.

For Model 3 owners, however, who make up the bulk of Tesla drivers, it has been all they have access to.

This week, Tesla released a long-awaited adapter to allow Model 3 owners to plug their cars into CHAdeMO chargers on other networks, and Tesla fans—and especially Model 3 drivers—are celebrating.

Other charging networks have different business models, focusing on urban areas, for example, where most EV owners live, or on workplace charging. While Tesla Superchargers are widespread and focused on enabling owners to make long trips in their cars, they aren't always where some owners want them.

Some shopping malls, for example, may have EVgo, Blink, or ChargePoint chargers, but not Tesla Superchargers. New York state highway rest areas are contracted to install Greenlots chargers, but not all have Tesla Superchargers. Most of these other networks offer CHAdeMO as well as CCS Combo fast chargers.

Tesla Model 3 CHAdeMO adapter

While the CHAdeMO chargers aren't as fast as Tesla Superchargers, they can provide about 100 miles of charge to a Model 3 in a half hour. Chargers using the CHAdeMO standard, however, might never be able to charge as fast as some of the fastest chargers rolling out today, however, at up to 350 kilowatts, which use CCS Combo connectors.

Since most non-Tesla fast-charge stations now include cords for both CHAdeMO and CCS standards, having a CHAdeMO adapter will give Model 3 drivers access to most fast charging sites across the U.S.

Since Teslas were developed before most other automakers agreed on a standard for fast-charging, most Teslas use a unique, proprietary charge port. CHAdeMO is a standard developed earlier in Japan and shared by Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Since then, most U.S. and European automakers have agreed on the CCS Combo standard, and Model 3s sold in Europe come with a CCS charge port in place of the proprietary Tesla charge port.

The Tesla Model S and Model X, which use a different battery and on-board chargers, have long offered CHAdeMO adapters, but they don't work for the Model 3.

The new Model 3 CHAdeMO adapter is available on Tesla's website for $450.

Musk now most tenured CEO in global auto industry

Under Musk, Tesla is breaking all records. The electric car-maker achieved a record production of 87,048 vehicles and record deliveries of approximately 95,200 vehicles in the second quarter of 2019. San Francisco: For many of us, Tesla is a new entrant in the global auto industry but Elon Musk has actually become the longest serving… Continue reading Musk now most tenured CEO in global auto industry

Chinese EV startup Seres halts US launch, lays off 90 people in Silicon Valley

Seres, the Chinese EV startup formerly known as SF Motors, is laying off 90 people in its Silicon Valley office, the company announced in a staff meeting held earlier today. The US launch of its first electric SUV, the SF5, is also now on hold, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The… Continue reading Chinese EV startup Seres halts US launch, lays off 90 people in Silicon Valley

Former Tesla employee admits uploading Autopilot source code to his iCloud

Guangzhi Cao, a former engineer at Tesla, admitted in a court filing this week that he uploaded zip files containing Autopilot source code to his personal iCloud account in late 2018 while still working for the company. Tesla sued Cao earlier this year for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to Autopilot and bringing them to… Continue reading Former Tesla employee admits uploading Autopilot source code to his iCloud

Udelv partners with HEB on Texas autonomous grocery delivery pilot

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Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng says Nio stock swings a ‘good lesson’ for rivals

Seeing your competitor undergo dramatic changes in fortune can be unnerving as there’s the fear that the same will happen to you. For electric vehicle maker Xpeng, Nio’s period of stock swings is a wakeup call for China’s EV startup boom. Xpeng and Nio are Tesla-like Chinese startups competing with more established automakers such as… Continue reading Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng says Nio stock swings a ‘good lesson’ for rivals

Is Tesla’s Warning of a Battery Minerals Shortage Nearing Valid or Not

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Harald Krüger To Step Down As CEO Of BMW

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Published on July 6th, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

Harald Krüger To Step Down As CEO Of BMW

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July 6th, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Just a few days ago, Klaus Fröhlich, the head of research and development for BMW, was whining to the press that nobody wants to buy electric cars. Well, actually, as it turns out, nobody wants to buy BMWs if the latest financials for the company are any indication. According to the Toronto Star, BMW has seen its position as Germany’s luxury car leader evaporate over the past few years and is facing strong financial pressure associated with developing electric and self driving cars that can compete with the likes of Tesla and other manufacturers.

The BMW Group has delivered more than 100,000 electrified vehicles to customers worldwide in 2017, as promised at the beginning of the year. An eye-catching light installation transformed the BMW Group headquarters, the world-famous “Four-Cylinder” in the north of Munich, on the evening of 18 December 2017 into a battery. (Ralph Larmann, 12/2017)

Now it reportedly will not renew the current contract for its CEO, Harald Krüger, when it expires next April. The company has just reported its weakest earnings in a decade, a reversal after sporting some of the highest profit margins in the automotive business for many years.

Krüger was chosen to lead the company in December, 2014 after his predecessor, Herbert Diess, left unexpectedly to take the reins at rival Volkswagen. In a statement to the press, he said, “After more than 10 years in the board of management, more than four of which as the CEO of the BMW Group, I would like to pursue new professional endeavors and leverage my diverse international experience for new projects and ventures.”

It is customary for German companies to renew the CEO’s contract one year before its termination. When BMW did not do so in April of this year, it started speculation that Krüger would step aside when his contract ended instead of signing on for another 5 year term.

BMW was once thought of as a leader in the nascent electric car field when it brought its highly innovative BMW i3 electric car to market in 2013. But, the company failed to capitalize on its early lead as it struggled to find a way forward for EVs.

BMW i3s at the National Drive Electric Week Event in Oxnard, California. Image credit: Kyle Field | CleanTechnica

Krüger was “too cautious,” Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the CAR Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen tells The Star. “BMW was not able to use the head start for a new generation of electric vehicles.”

David Bailey, a professor at the Birmingham Business School, told CNN that BMW needed to accelerate its move into new technologies. “[Krüger has] done a very good job in recent years, but BMW faces some very big challenges going ahead. They felt the needed to bring in somebody new given the scale of the challenge.”

The Tesla Effect
It has not been lost on management or customers that the Tesla Model S is now the best selling large luxury car in Germany, which is hugely embarrassing to BMW as well as Mercedes-Benz and Audi. We may never know exactly how the changes in the marketplace brought about by Tesla have affected the fortunes of those companies but there is little question it has roiled the industry and forced companies to confront the coming electric vehicle revolution faster than they might done otherwise.

The Tesla Model S. Image courtesy: Tesla

In addition to being hit with an antitrust penalty of $1.6 billion by EU authorities recently, BMW has has been adversely affected by a rise in tariffs on vehicles exported to China from its plant in South Carolina due to the tariff war going on between the US and China. In March, it downgraded its profit projections for 2019 and announced a cost saving plan that will trim $13.6 billion in costs by the end of 2022. That plan focuses on dropping some models and streamlining vehicle development.

Bankwupt?
BMW says it is rushing to bring electric cars to market, but in truth, when your head of R&D says nobody wants to buy electric cars it is hard to take such statements seriously. At CleanTechnica, we have said for a while that some traditional car companies may go out of business or be forced to merge with other companies as a result of the arrival of electric vehicles.

BMW and Mercedes have indicated they will collaborate on the development of electric and self driving cars, a sign that a consolidation in the industry may already be under way. Unless BMW can get back on track with its development of competitive electric, autonomous vehicles, it could even be the first traditional automaker to go bankwupt — but it probably won’t be the last.

About the Author

Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. His motto is, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away!” You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.

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Tesla Autopilot team loses several more engineers as Elon Musk takes over

We are now getting more information about the Tesla Autopilot team restructuring that started in April as a new report lists several Autopilot engineers who have left the automaker. The report comes from The Information and builds on a previous report from Electrek back in May. We reported that Tesla was restructuring its Autopilot software… Continue reading Tesla Autopilot team loses several more engineers as Elon Musk takes over

Tesla CEO Elon Musk pours cold water on fans waiting for Model S, Model X refresh

Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors.Yuriko Nakao | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesTesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Monday night that the company is planning “a series of minor ongoing changes” for its older Model S and Model X vehicles, but not a major refresh.
Musk's declaration follows the departure of Tesla's former vice president of production, Peter Hochholdinger, who oversaw Model S and X manufacturing during his tenure there. Hochholdinger has joined Lucid Motors, a would-be Tesla competitor that plans to ship its first electric vehicle next year. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson was previously the chief engineer of Tesla Model S.
In May, Tesla employees told CNBC the company was then planning a Model S refresh that would potentially include a 400-mile range battery — a goal that Musk later nodded to during a shareholders' meeting, although he didn't say it would be for the Model S — and could use Model 3 seats. They also said Tesla was rejiggering its Fremont, California, factory to make way for the refresh and for production of its upcoming Model Y crossover.
While plans for the Model S refresh have been reined in, changes at the Fremont plant are underway, according to a passel of new filings with the City of Fremont.
Specifically, the filings reveal that Tesla aims to overhaul its body-in-white and paint facilities and equipment in Fremont before embarking on its next phase of electric vehicle production.
Musk promised that Tesla would deliver between 90,000 and 100,000 vehicles for the second quarter of 2019, and this time, his forecasting was right on target with Tesla reporting deliveries of 95,200 cars to customers for the second quarter.
A Tesla Model S is displayed during the London Motor and Tech Show at ExCel on May 16, 2019 in London, England.John Keeble | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesWaxing optimistic about demand in its production and deliveries report last week, Tesla stated:
“Orders generated during the quarter exceeded our deliveries, thus we are entering Q3 with an increase in our order backlog. We believe we are well positioned to continue growing total production and deliveries in Q3.”
However, the company did not specify if “orders generated” included those for vehicles besides their Model 3, S and X. Tesla has already begun taking orders for its Model Y, which is a crossover SUV, and for its electric Semi. It has a Roadster refresh and Tesla pickup in the works, as well.
None are in commercial production yet.
On its existing lines, Tesla produced a record87,048 electric vehicles during the second quarter of 2019. Tesla's earlier record was in the fourth quarter of 2018, when it produced 86,555 vehicles.
Company executives have repeatedly stated that Tesla expects to deliver at least 360,000 vehicles to customers in 2019, meaning they have to deliver 201,650 to hit their own guidance in the second half of the year.
That will require production to ramp significantly beyond previous levels.
WATCH: Elon Musk says Tesla will have 'robotaxis' on the road by 2020
VIDEO1:2601:26Elon Musk says Tesla will have 'robotaxis' on the road by 2020The Bottom LineFollow @CNBCtech on Twitter for the latest tech industry news.