Electric vehicles – Page 9177 – I wish I had more to offer

Hyundai Sells The Kona Electric In China As Encino EV For $24,766

Even without tax credits, you would pay the equivalent to $31,000. If you are interested in a Hyundai Kona Electric in the US, you have to live in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, or Washington. And have $36,950 to spare. In China, Hyundai will sell… Continue reading Hyundai Sells The Kona Electric In China As Encino EV For $24,766

Volkswagen starts mass production of new battery systems in Germany

BERLIN, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — Germany's largest car manufacturer Volkswagen has started mass production of battery systems for its upcoming electric vehicles, Volkswagen Group announced on Friday.
According to Volkswagen, the newly constructed facility in the German city of Brunswick would be producing up to half a million battery systems annually.
In addition to the production of the new battery systems, the new system's hardware and software was also developed at the Volkswagen facility in Brunswick.
A total of over 300 million euros (331 million U.S. dollars) had been invested in the new building at the company's main production site in Brunswick, the German car manufacturer announced.
“At our Brunswick location, we have a great deal of know-how in the planning and development of the high-voltage battery systems and are now setting new standards in production for the entire group,” said Thomas Schmall, chairman of the board of management at Volkswagen group components.
“..

Answers to “Bright” Questions

Happy Friday Elio’ers! A previous, popular Momentum was all about the exterior lighting on the Elio and it created some great discussion and questions. This week we will revisit the topic! First, how about some fun facts about automotive lighting? The very first headlamps, introduced in the late 1880s, used either acetylene or oil as the energy… Continue reading Answers to “Bright” Questions

Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted, NHTSA Looking Into Tesla Battery Fires As Trolls Swarm

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Published on November 2nd, 2019 |

by Steve Hanley

Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted, NHTSA Looking Into Tesla Battery Fires As Trolls Swarm

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November 2nd, 2019 by Steve Hanley

Good news and bad news in the Teslaverse today. The price of shares in the company will either rise or fall on Monday as a result. Let’s begin with the good news, shall we?

Tesla Model Y Prototype Spotted On California Highway

Whilst motoring serenely along on a California highway last week, YouTuber kenken830 noticed a vehicle he had never seen before coming up on his left. It turns out the car was a Tesla Model Y prototype out on a test drive. Kenken830 followed the car for several miles, capturing video of it with his car’s built-in cameras.

Through a happy coincidence, a friend of his was also driving along the same highway in a Tesla Model 3 at that moment. For a while, the two cars were side by side, making it possible to assess their size relative to each other for the first time in a real-world driving situation. Watch the video for yourself to see the difference, which is quite remarkable. Several people who watched the video have commented that the Model Y is much larger in comparison to the Model 3 than they realized.

If it is true the world is crazy for SUVs, then Tesla is about to unleash an all electric SUV with all the features and benefits of the Model 3 that targets the most popular cars in the new car marketplace today, cars like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Kona, and Volkswagen Tiguan. Even cars like the Jaguar I-PACE, Audi e-tron, and Mercedes EQC will be in its crosshairs. Elon Musk has stated publicly he sees the Model Y outselling the Model S, Model X, and Model 3 combined! Seeing the Model Y up close and personal like this makes it seem Musk’s words are more than an idle boast.

The hope for Tesla fans is that the Model Y will get here sooner rather than later. During the most recent Tesla earnings call, Musk indicated the timetable for Model Y production is being moved forward by several months. There are rumors the first of them could begin rolling off the assembly line in Fremont before the end of the first quarter next year — not a moment too soon for Tesla fans.

NHTSB Opens Investigation Into Tesla Battery Fires
A report in the New York Times carries this headline: “Tesla Batteries Investigated for Possible Defects.” The story itself is a hatchet job that hardly rises to the level of journalism, something the Times does over and over again when the topic is Tesla. Here’s what you need to know: Last April, a camera in a parking garage in Shanghai captured what appeared to be a Tesla Model S bursting into flame. Tesla immediately sent a team to investigate and determined that a battery cell had failed and triggered the incident.

In response to its findings, Tesla created an over-the-air update for the battery management system installed in some of its cars to “further protect the battery and improve longevity,” according to Green Car Reports. That update decreased the range of those cars according to several owners. That’s when attorney Edward Chen got involved. He filed suit on behalf of the affected owners, claiming that all Tesla batteries are defective and that the company tried to get out of its legal liability to provide defect-free products with an OTA that cost little to nothing.

This was all done “under the guise of ‘safety’ and increasing the ‘longevity’ of the batteries of the Class Vehicles,” the complaint stated. “Tesla fraudulently manipulated its software with the intent to avoid its duties and legal obligations to customers to fix, repair, or replace the batteries of the Class Vehicles, all of which Tesla knew were defective, yet failed to inform its customers of the defects.” At the time the lawsuit was filed. Chen said in a statement, “This is no different than what Apple did to their older iPhones in the throttling and performance case.”

After the suit was filed, Tesla issued a statement saying, “A very small percentage of owners of older Model S and Model X vehicles may have noticed a small reduction in range when charging to a maximum state of charge following a software update designed to improve battery longevity. As previously noted, we have been working to mitigate the impact on range for these owners and have been rolling out over-the-air updates to address this issue since last week.”

Not satisfied with the progress of the litigation, Chen fired off a letter in September to NHTSA requesting it open an investigation into Tesla batteries and any BMS updates. In turn, the agency sent a letter to Tesla in October demanding information on — Are you sitting down? — all Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles ever built and all OTA since the beginning of this year. The letter ends with a threat to impose more than $100 million in fines on the company if it does not respond fully by November 28. The Times report clearly relishes the idea that Tesla might have to pay dearly for negligence.

This is clearly an attempt to work the refs, as they say in sports. Chen’s letter to NHTSA has the effect of putting pressure on Tesla to settle the lawsuit. The New York Times in its reporting breathlessly notes that lithium-ion batteries are known to catch fire under some circumstances, such as in early iterations of the Boeing Dreamliner and in various smartphones. It makes sure its readers know lithium-ion batteries are banned on commercial aircraft and that not only did a Tesla catch fire in Shanghai, a car in the US actually caught fire twice! In his letter to NHTSA, Chen refers to the “alarming number of car fires that have occurred worldwide.”

Oh my God! Hide the women and children to protect them from this danger! But never, ever mention that there are more than 150 gasoline fires every day in the United States. The Times even goes so far as to conflate the claim by Walmart that rooftop solar systems provided by Tesla have caught fire at several locations with the danger of vehicle battery fires. The message is clear: stay away from Teslas if you don’t want to get burned or blown up.

I confess I read the New York ‘Times on a daily basis and consider it an authoritative news source in most instances. (Besides, I have a crush on Maureen Dowd, even though her profile photo is probably more than 20 years out of date.) But I have to say its reporting on Tesla falls to the level of the garbage spit out routinely by the likes of the Daily Mail. It is solidly on the side of the Tesla FUD network and undeserving of any credibility whatsoever. When it comes to the NYT and Tesla, caveat lectorem!
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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 Bull Talks Tesla’s Big Competitive Moat

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Published on November 8th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

Tesla Bull Talks Tesla’s Big Competitive Moat

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November 8th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

A Tesla bull named David recently addressed Tesla’s competitive moat in a Medium article. He actually wrote the article for friends who seem to think Tesla is just an electric car company that will most likely fail, but then decided to share with the world. David makes several good points in his article and sums up the mentality that people, especially the shorts, have about Tesla:

“It seems like the dominant notion is that Tesla is just another car company in a tough market which is dominated by titans, and so Tesla may not survive.” —David.

Tesla, however, has surrounded itself with a competitive moat that many can’t seem to swim across. Three things that David talks about in his article actually form Tesla’s competitive moat, and other companies — not just automakers — can learn from this. Several key points David covers in his article are:

The type of company Tesla really is
The location of Tesla
Tesla’s Advantage

Tesla, The Company
Tesla doesn’t just build cars, but also build the computers that run in cars. It builds software for the vehicles. Competing combustion cars can be seen as analog devices, while an electric Tesla is a digital (meaning connectable) device.

“What we end up with is an iPhone in an age of Nokia devices.” —David.

Location
The US is the world leader in the computer software industry, and Silicon Valley is the epicenter of that leadership. Which is why the location needed to be in Silicon Valley.

“[A]t some point, choosing a car with the right software will stop being an option. If you can’t call the car from your app, play video games while parked, get firmware updates overnight, see your dog while parked, get notifications on your mobile if someone gets close — you simply won’t consider it at all.” —David.

Advantage
Tesla’s main advantage over new companies such as Rivian is that it has a head start. David mentions that the electrification of automobiles has flattened out the competition in the same way the internet did. Who uses phone books when you can just look it up on Google Maps? Tesla’s current status and advantages is just one wave in Tesla’s competitive moat.

Tesla’s focus on the software gives it that sharp edge that has legacy automakers reaching for bandaids. But it’s only going to get worse for them.

What we are seeing with Tesla are the results of over a decade’s worth of innovation, hard work, and creativity. This force, if you will, will continue to grow. The beautiful thing is that all of this brilliant engineering started out as a mere thought, an idea. Imagine what you could create if you really put your all into it.
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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 breaks down range of Model 3 Performance with different wheels — surprising differences

With its new 2020 model year, Tesla is breaking down the range of Model 3 Performance with different wheels, and there are surprising differences with the different options. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously expressed disdain for the way automakers only update their vehicles on a model year basis once a year. Instead, Tesla has… Continue reading Tesla breaks down range of Model 3 Performance with different wheels — surprising differences

Tesla Model 3 and Model Y under consideration by police department

Electric vehicles and especially Tesla vehicles are now on the radar of police departments looking to update their fleet. The Tesla Model 3 is already being deployed and now even the Model Y is under consideration at a police department in Pennsylvania. All it takes is a test drive… and looking at the numbers. The… Continue reading Tesla Model 3 and Model Y under consideration by police department

Lordstown electric truck, Karma Revero range, Toyota and BYD: Today’s Car News

Karma has some of the longest plug-in range, among plug-in hybrids. GM’s Lordstown plant may soon really be building an electric truck. Hyundai is going for green-car variety in the U.S. And Toyota and BYD are new partners for electric vehicles in China. This and more, today at Green Car Reports. Toyota and BYD have… Continue reading Lordstown electric truck, Karma Revero range, Toyota and BYD: Today’s Car News

Toyota and BYD join forces for EV development in China

Toyota and BYD will partner to develop BEVs for the Chinese market, the two companies announced Thursday. The automakers will invest 50-50 in a new company, the primary mission of which will be to design and develop BEVs from the ground up. Staffing of the new company’s engineering and R&D departments will come from the… Continue reading Toyota and BYD join forces for EV development in China

Done deal: Ohio company aims to build electric work trucks at former GM plant

General Motors has officially sold its Lordstown, Ohio, assembly facility—for an undisclosed amount—to a company that will build electric pickups. They won’t have anything to do with GM’s upcoming electric pickups, however. Lordstown Motors wants to use the facility as its headquarters and as the production location for the Endurance, its own electric pickup aimed… Continue reading Done deal: Ohio company aims to build electric work trucks at former GM plant