Tag: Tesla

China suspends customs clearance for Tesla Model 3 imports – Caixin

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla Model 3 car leaves a cargo vessel at a port in Shanghai, China February 22, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s customs authority has suspended customs clearance procedures for Model 3 cars built by Tesla Inc, the financial publication Caixin reported on Tuesday. The report said the customs authority in Shanghai… Continue reading China suspends customs clearance for Tesla Model 3 imports – Caixin

Tesla Autopilot now detects stop lines in move to handle intersections

Tesla is making some moves to change Autopilot from a highway-only driver assist system to something that can also work in city streets with intersections. Today, we learn that Autopilot now detects stop lines. Over the last year, we started getting a much better understanding of what Tesla’s Autopilot can see thanks to the work… Continue reading Tesla Autopilot now detects stop lines in move to handle intersections

Mercedes-Benz’s EQV electric van has 200 horsepower and 249 miles of range

Mercedes-Benz is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial vans, especially at the high end, and the company is looking to protect that status in the future with an electric concept van announced Tuesday at the Geneva Motor Show. The EQV concept van, as it’s called, is supposedly capable of traveling up to 249… Continue reading Mercedes-Benz’s EQV electric van has 200 horsepower and 249 miles of range

AEye Advisory Board Profile: Scott Pfotenhauer

We sat down with each of our Advisory Board Members to ask them about their vision for the future of self-driving cars…
Mr. Pfotenhauer began his career at Intel in the mid 1970’s and has since been involved with numerous technology companies. Since joining Morgan Stanley in 1996, he developed and leveraged an expansive network of investment banking and wealth management resources to help clients formulate exit strategies for their businesses. He is a Senior Investment Management Consultant with Morgan Stanley, advising private client and corporate executives. Pfotenhauer obtained both a BA and MBA in Business from California Coast University.

Q: Where do you see ADAS solutions, autonomous vehicles, and/or artificial perception, heading within the next few years? The next decade? Beyond?
I was fortunate enough to work for Intel from the mid 70’s to the mid 90’s — and participated in the advent of desktop and mobile computing, which had their foundation on Intel products.

In the last 25 years, I’ve continued to look around the corner to try and spot the next “big thing”. We now have the advanced computing tools that allow companies to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) within their decision making and take advantage of big data. These trends converge around the auto industry and its next inflection points — EVs and autonomy.

Q: What do you see as the next logical step for the auto industry?
When I think about the auto industry, it’s remarkable how many inflection points it has gone through. The internal combustion engine of 1876 made cars feasible, while mass production which began in the early 1900’s made them affordable. The starter engine of 1912 rendered hand cranks obsolete, and then the first transcontinental highway in 1913 opened up the nation. The pickup truck of the early 1930’s made the vehicle more functional, while the automatic transmission, power steering, and braking of the 40’s and 50’s made it easier and safer for just about anyone to drive.

Seat belts, anti-lock brakes, and airbags increased the safety, while GPS and maps made us all more efficient. Now we have begun the climb up the 5 levels of automation — we won’t get anywhere without a complete set of artificial eyes — that are always on, don’t blink, don’t get distracted, or won’t tire.

AEye Advisory Board Profile: Scott Pfotenhauer — AEye Advisory Board Profile: Elliot GarbusAEye Advisory Board Profile: Tim ShipleThe Future of Autonomous Vehicles: Part I – Think Like a Robot, Perceive Like a HumanThe Future of Autonomous Vehicles: Part II – Blind Technology without Compassion Is RuthlessDeconstructing Two Conventional LiDAR MetricsAEye’s iDAR Shatters Both Range and Scan Rate Performance Records for Automotive Grade LiDARElon Musk Is Right: LiDAR Is a Crutch (Sort of.)AEye’s iDAR Leverages Biomimicry to Enable First Solid State Lidar with 100Hz Scan RateBlair LaCorte Named President of AEyeFutureCar Provides an In-Depth Look into How AEye’s AI-Based Perception System Can Become the ‘Eyes’ of Self-Driving Cars

UPDATE 1-Musk says $35,000 Model 3 to reach volume production mid-year

(Adds background) March 4 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Monday production of the $35,000 version of the electric carmaker’s Model 3 will start this month, but would not reach “volume production” until mid-year. “Gap in understanding is that $35k Model 3 production *starts* this month, but will not reach… Continue reading UPDATE 1-Musk says $35,000 Model 3 to reach volume production mid-year

Tesla Owners Are Enraged That the Company Cut Its Prices

Bad Timing Last week, Tesla announced plans to cut the prices of eight of its vehicle models. That’s great news if you’re looking to buy a Tesla. But not-so-great if you already own one. Some owners saw the value of their EVs decrease by tens of thousands of dollars overnight, leading to a slew of… Continue reading Tesla Owners Are Enraged That the Company Cut Its Prices

Has Tesla Finally Opened Up The Full Potential Of Its Model 3 Battery?

6 H BY GEORGE BOWER Our research suggests the above is true. In a previous article (ref), we calculated and compared Tesla’s 2170-cell energy density based on the pack’s usable energy and the weight of one 2170 cell (weighed by Jack Rickard). The energy density by weight calculated at 246-250 wh/kg and 711-721 wh/liter based… Continue reading Has Tesla Finally Opened Up The Full Potential Of Its Model 3 Battery?

Tesla ‘much bigger’ than Elon Musk and is doing things others can only dream of, analyst says

Tesla is 'much bigger' than Elon Musk, analyst says
8 Hours Ago | 04:15

There's more to Tesla than its billionaire boss, according to one analyst.

Philippe Houchois, equity research analyst for U.S. and European autos at Jefferies, said the company has become “much bigger” than Chief Executive Elon Musk, who is seen by many as the face of the electric vehicle maker.

“Tesla at this stage is much bigger than Musk,” Houchois told CNBC's “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday. “Of course, Musk gets a lot of attention. But Tesla has been able to be profitable, at a level of pricing and product that nobody expected to generate cash.”

Houchois does not own shares of Tesla, he told CNBC later in the day by email.

Last year was a challenging one for Tesla and its CEO, marked by an ill-fated take-private deal, quibbles with Wall Street analysts and what Musk described on Twitter as a transition “from production hell to delivery logistics hell.”

Musk's tweets have proven to be a source of contention for investors. He and Tesla were fined $20 million each last year over a tweet in which the former said he had “funding secured” for a deal to take Tesla private at $420 a share. The Securities and Exchange Commission claimed he had misled investors.

Then, earlier this year, regulatory issues returned to haunt the company and its boss, after the SEC asked a judge to hold him in contempt for violating its settlement deal by making an “inaccurate” February 19 tweet about production.

Musk has continued to use Twitter to make announcements related to the company. Just overnight, Musk said Tesla would unveil its highly anticipated Model Y SUV on March 14.

Tesla doing things others are only 'dreaming about'

Tesla turned its first quarterly profit in two years in the third quarter of 2018, and followed up with a smaller profit in the fourth quarter. Musk, however, has since warned that he doesn't expect the carmaker to report a profit in the first quarter of 2019, citing one-time charges and challenges with deliveries to Europe and China.

Getty Images
Elon Musk

His comments arrived as Tesla launched the long-awaited $35,000 standard version of its Model 3 sedan, and said it would shift all sales online, a move that will result in store closures and job cuts.

Many on Wall Street reacted negatively to the news, with Barclays analyst Brian Johnson going as far as to call it the “un-iPhone moment.”

Houchois takes a different view.

“Every carmaker dreams about the ability to sell cars online,” he said. “They are implementing a number of developments… that other carmakers are only just thinking about or dreaming about.”

The strategist said the investment case for Tesla only works if it puts the brakes on growth, adding that it was his expectation the company would “definitely” grow at a slower pace in 2019.

Long term, Houchois says he hopes the automaker will grow profitably and destress its balance sheet, “and from that it can grow again.” Tesla paid off a $920 million debt obligation in cash on Friday.

It has also made a number of cost-cutting decisions at looks to lower the price of its vehicles, including scrapping a customer referral program that offered benefits like limited free charging and laying off 7 percent of its full-time workforce.

“I think right now… what they will demonstrate hopefully… is the ability to stabilize the cash generation and stabilize the balance sheet by growing more slowly while still moving to that phase where they're not just a niche premium into a more volume,” Houchois said.

He added: “If they go into that phase reasonably successfully, I think there's a very strong case that Tesla can be self-funded.”