Electric vehicles – Page 9194 – I wish I had more to offer

Discover National Parks and Historic Sites with Parks Canada and Communauto

Montreal, July 31st, 2017 – Communauto, North American car-sharing pioneer, and Parks Canada Agency are partnering for a sustainable partnership that combines historical discoveries and ecological displacements. All Communauto’s vehicles be equipped with a Discovery Pass that gives free access throughout the year to the 27 historic sites and national parks managed by Parks Canada located in Quebec.

Through articles and advice on his blog, Communauto will introduce history lovers to bucolic, historical and economic getaways. Looking for an excursion? Communauto and Parks Canada will suggest destinations throughout Quebec, both during summer and winter and for the whole family. With this partnership, Parks Canada continues to bring Canadians closer to their heritage through its extensive network of national parks, marine conservation areas and national historic sites.

“With this partnership with Parks Canada, we will demonstrate that you don’t need to own a car to get out of the city. With car sharing, you can now go out with a clear conscience, save money and reduce the environmental impact of traveling” said Marco Viviani, Vice President, Strategic Development, Communauto.”This partnership with Parks Canada is a great Recognition of the social and environmental vocation of our company and goes hand in hand with the mission of preservation and conservation of cultural and natural heritage promoted by the Agency” concluded Mr.Viviani.

Car-sharing offers a practical and economical alternative to ownership of a vehicle and helps to reduce the number of cars and their use, preserving quality spaces. Communauto’s fleet consists of 70% of eco-efficient vehicles. The company, through the rational use of cars by their subscribers, contributes to the avoidance of 40 tons of greenhouse gases annually.

About us

Communauto was founded in Quebec City in 1994. The company has a social, environmental and urban vocation. In addition to being the oldest car-sharing company in North America, Communauto was the first car-sharing organization on the North American continent to offer 100% electric cars to its customers, and to offer two types of car-sharing service (with and without reservation). Its service is based on the pooling of more than 2,000 vehicles. Communauto’s network is growing and is now present in 7 cities in Canada: Kingston, Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal (Laval and Longueuil), Quebec, Sherbrooke, Halifax and since 2012 in Paris.

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New cars rejected more CO2 in 2018

The numbers are stubborn and sometimes go against the times. While the merits of electric power are touted, as initiatives to pollute less multiply and the end of diesel seems announced, CO2 emissions of new cars increased in 2018 by 1%, to 112 grams per kilometer traveled. according to the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers… Continue reading New cars rejected more CO2 in 2018

Announcing HERE Navigation On-Demand

HERE Navigation On-Demand is the world’s first ‘Navigation as a Service’ solution, providing a market-ready framework that can add connected services and navigation to any vehicle. If you’re in the business of building cars, you may find yourself in a difficult position when building in-car navigation and infotainment systems. On one hand, consumers demand easy-to-use… Continue reading Announcing HERE Navigation On-Demand

Volvo Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 range, self-driving Lexus: Today’s Car News

Volvo 40.2 concept
Tesla bumps up the range of its Mid Range Model 3, slightly and announces it will start delivering Model 3s to China in March. Volvo teases a look at its first electric model, the Polestar 2. Faraday Future flutters its eyes open, looking for its future, as it agrees to a mutual cease-fire agreement with its main investor. Toyota reveals its first fully-self driving vehicle. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

Tesla gave buyers a few more reasons to choose its Mid Range Model 3 with an updated range estimate that's four miles longer than before: now 264 miles.

The company also announced it will begin delivering Model 3s to China in March.

Volvo teases a picture and a few more details about its first electric car, which will come from its new Polestar performance brand.

Faraday Future ended a months-long dispute with its chief investor, Hong Kong's Evergrande Health group, giving a spark of hope for the company's revival. The company is now seeking new funding, but with few employees and no remaining executives with automotive experience, it's hard to gauge how much interest it may find.

Toyota reveals its first fully-self-driving system in a comfortable Lexus sedan that might make passengers want to pay to ride in it.

Finally, Infiniti gave a clearer look at its upcoming electric SUV concept scheduled to appear later this month at the Detroit auto show.

_______________________________________

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Here are the electric-car models on the way for 2019

2019 Audi e-tron first drive – Abu Dhabi UAE, December 2018
Regular readers of Green Car Reports know we have been saying for a year now that 2019 is the year of the electric SUV.

Now the year is finally here, and we thought we'd give our readers a peek at what we know about all the upcoming models. Most are SUVs, with a couple of hatchbacks thrown in.

In many cases their specific arrival dates are not made public, but we've estimated as closely has we can based on statements by the automakers.

2019 Hyundai Kona Electric

The Hyundai Kona Electric should be going on sale any day and is one of the most promising electric cars of 2019. With a rating of 258 miles of range, it was a finalist in Green Car Reports’ Best Car to Buy competition for 2019. Its small-crossover format gives ample space inside and a good view out. With only front-wheel drive available, some may consider it a car, rather than an SUV. Hyundai has said that it will start at $37,495.

2019 Kia Niro EV

The Kia Niro EV is related to the Hyundai Kona Electric from Kia’s sister company. The pair uses the same 64-kwh battery, and the Niro EV is expected to have 239 miles of range, a little less than its corporate sibling. It will be the first all-electric version of Kia’s dedicated green car: the Niro Hybrid went on sale in 2017 and the Niro Plug-In Hybrid in 2018. Kia has not announced pricing but the Niro EV is expected to go on sale in February.

2018 Nissan Leaf SL

2019 Nissan Leaf long range

Perhaps the biggest news in affordable electric cars is that the original modern electric, the Nissan Leaf, will finally move into the age of long-range electric cars. While Nissan never intended the Leaf to be a compliance car, the original model was rated at just 73 miles of range. Despite a few improvements over the years, the new model introduced in 2017 could only go 151 miles—better than anything but a Tesla at the time, but still short of what many drivers wish for.

The long-range Leaf will have a 60-kilowatt-hour battery made by Korean conglomerate LG, which is expected to carry it about 220 miles. Dealer pricing guides have shown its cost will land right in line with the longer, 238-mile, Chevy Bolt EV. It is expected to go on sale in the spring and to debut next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

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Byton brings its big-screen electric SUV back to CES, a step closer to production

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Byton M-Byte
The China-based electric vehicle maker Byton brought a close-to-production prototype version of its M-Byte SUV to the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show this week.

The debut of the vehicle, still headed for a starting price of around $45,000 and an available driving range of up to 325 miles, marks another step toward production for what was one of the surprise stars of last year's CES show.

Prior to last year’s show, few had heard of, Byton. And in all fairness, the real star of the show wasn’t the vehicle (then just called Byton Concept) so much as what it called the Shared Experience Display—a massive 49-inch screen tamed with gesture controls—and an elaborate, detailed proof-of-concept presentation to CES attendees and media.

DON’T MISS: Startup Byton: EVs aren't the innovation; personal-tech features are

Much of the Concept’s screen actually worked, and responded well to gesture controls, as demonstrated. It was what amounted to an effective distraction, at an electronics show, from the fact that the rest of the vehicle was still very much a cobbled-together concept car, with roughly a year of actual vehicle development underway.

What a difference a year can make. This year Byton reported at CES that the M-Byte, as it became called, is currently in prototype testing, and it brought the close-to-production prototype to CES 2019 with some significant tweaks—to the cabin design especially.

Byton M-Byte interior – production prototype for CES 2019

In addition to all the screen real estate that’s already accessible to those in front, Byton has added a new tablet-style screen between the driver and passenger, while keeping and redesigning the steering-wheel screen that serves as a small control tablet. Two big screens bring entertainment and other functions to rear-seat passengers, and face-recognition functions automatically recall personalized settings; directional microphones will accept voice inputs separately from each passenger.

CHECK OUT: Byton electric SUV promised for 2019 at $45,000 after CES debut: first-ride video

Otherwise the dashboard itself has been given more of a wrap-around design, with pragmatic concessions like climate-control vents and hard buttons added to the center-console area.

That said, the concept-car-style front seats still swivel 12 degrees, to allow those in front to converse, when the car isn’t in motion (or at some point in the future, when an autonomous mode is activated). And Byton says that the screen will meet crash standards in all target markets.

Byton M-Byte interior – production prototype for CES 2019

Byton is working on a Level 4 autonomous-driving system, but the M-Byte will only launch with some driver-assistance features (smart cruise control and limited steering assist).

READ MORE: Byton reveals self-driving living-room on wheels, the K-Byte, in LA

The company states that it “aims to create a premium brand rooted in China which has a global reach.” It has an impressive roster of executives from BMW, Tesla, Apple, and Google, and it emphasizes its international building blocks. The carmaker is building an assembly plant in Nanjing, China, with production equipment from Japan and Germany. The company’s strategic investors include Chinese automaker FAW, Chinese battery giant CATL, and key suppliers such as Bosch, BOE, and Faurecia.

Byton M-Byte and K-Byte

Byton revealed its first drivable prototype of the M-Byte just last year and, in concept form, the K-Byte, an electric sedan that it plans to follow the M-Byte.

In what has to be one of the tightest timelines yet, for from-scratch development of a vehicle intended for the U.S. and Europe, the company is targeting mid-2019 for the debut of a production version of the M-Byte, with a mass-production start at the end of the year. If all things go right, and the company avoids Faraday Future–style drama, it could reach the U.S. sometime in 2020.

China × Cleantech — December 2018

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Published on January 6th, 2019 |

by Tim Dixon

China × Cleantech — December 2018

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January 6th, 2019 by Tim Dixon

Welcome to the next issue of China x Cleantech, our December 2018 edition. The year has closed, but let us review the final interesting cleantech developments from China last year.

China is changing rapidly. In order to aggregate and summarize the highlights, we publish a monthly China × Cleantech feature as an article here on CleanTechnica as well as on the “Future Trends” section of our website (link above). Here’s the previous report in case you missed it.

Tesla News
Tesla looms large in Chinese EV market news — the coming Model 3, Gigafactory 3, trade wars, and price cuts are trending across the internet. CleanTechnica is no stranger to these topics, so let us review what has been written here.

Tariffs were the biggest news in December. Steve Hanley wrote that Tesla announced it would reduce prices on the Model S and Model X in China. This decision was in response to the Chinese government’s decision to reverse the decision to have a 40% tariff on cars imported from the USA. Steve added that CNBC is indicating that this decision is temporary. Read more here on CleanTechnica.

Before the details on the temporary reversal, Steve Hanley wrote about the impacts of this trade war on the stock market and Tesla’s plans in China.

Zachary Shahan introduced an interesting comparison between the Tesla Model 3, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4 that might prove to be highly disruptive to the sales of those other luxury automakers. Vincent provided details on the Chinese market for luxury sedans, and from that information, it can be seen that the Model 3 is extremely competitive. Read more details, context and information here on CleanTechnica.

Zachary Shahan has long discussed the ongoing impact that the Tesla Model 3 is having on the Canadian and United States car markets. Looking forward towards 2019, he speculated about possible impacts that the Model 3 will have in Europe and China, including a “forecast” of potential Tesla Model 3 demand and a rundown of Gigafatory 3.

Electric Car Sales
Jose Pontes reported on the sales of electric cars in China for the month of November. The data showed more than 140,000 registrations in November, which is up 59% year over year (YoY). When extrapolating for December sales, that would bring the total sales in 2018 to ~1 million plug-in sales for China alone. Jose provides a more detailed analysis in his article including lists of the most popular electric cars.

Batteries
Chanan Bos reported on the news that Lithium Werks, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer headquartered in the Netherlands, was partnering with the Chinese Zhejiang Jiashan Economic and Technological Development Zone Industry Corporation in October to build a gigafactory in China. In December of 2018, they announced that construction will start in 2019 and the initial annual production capacity will be 8 GWh. This will make it the first European company to build a battery gigafactory in China.

Steve Hanley reported on the news that China is going to add large amounts of stationary battery storage to its grid to combat curtailment and provide grid frequency response in 2019. With both lithium-ion batteries and flow batteries being part of the plan, Steve highlighted two projects in China and their benefits and drawbacks.

CATL, a leading Chinese battery producer, has set up a subsidiary in the United States in the city of Detroit, with aims to build ties with American automakers and develop products and services for the American automotive market. The USA subsidiary is CATL’s fourth subsidiary — it already has subsidiaries in Japan, France, and Germany, the latter of which being where CATL is building a battery factory to supply BMW. CATL wants to provide all automakers with batteries, and this is just one of its efforts to accomplish this goal.

Other Chinese Electric Car News
Xpeng, one of many Chinese EV startups, has started selling its electric G3 SUV in China. The G3 has a reported range of 365 km (227 miles) NEDC and a cost of 150,000 RMB ($21,500) after subsidy. The G3 is inspired by Tesla vehicles and has many features and style choices similar to Tesla’s, which is understandable since Tesla has had a massive impact on creating the present zeitgeist in the automotive market (electric, autonomous, high-tech, futuristic).

Nicolas Zart reported on the news that Qiantu (China) and Mullen Technologies (USA) are going to release the K50 electric supercar in the USA by 2020. Nicolas, who met people from both companies, reported that Mullen Technologies will be manufacturing the K50 and did the homologation process. For more details, including pictures of the K50 and details on Qiantu’s future plans, read Nicholas Zart’s article at CleanTechnica.

JAC and Volkswagen in November signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop an electric vehicle R&D centre. In December, they broke ground on the site. The joint venture, JAC Volkswagen (江淮大众), was established in December of 2017 and is developing Volkswagens cars for China. This site is not the first cooperation between JAC and Volkswagen in EV development, just the next step in both companies’ electric vehicle development. See more pictures and read more at EV Partner.

Electric Pickup Trucks
The Chinese electric pickup truck market is starting to pick up steam. In October, I reported on two pickup trucks being listed on the market. Now we have gotten news that two more pickup trucks are getting ready. It looks like 2019 is going to be an interesting year for electric pickup trucks in China.

JAC has officially revealed the JAC i3-T330, with a 265 km (164 miles) NEDC range and peak torque of 330 NM (Newton meters) — the peak torque is probably where they got the name. See pictures at EV Partner.

Foton Auto has revealed its own electric pickup truck based on an already existing pickup truck. It has 350 km (217 miles) of NEDC range. This is expected to be a work truck. All Chinese pickup trucks are targeted towards working person requirements, and unlike other markets, they do not have high-end trims — although, that is logical for a working truck.

Electric Heavy-Duty Trucks
Electric logistics sector news in China is dominated by light- and medium-duty electric trucks, because they are the most common and have the highest number of companies developing and selling them, but that doesn’t mean China doesn’t have heavy-duty electric trucks. I researched the market earlier in 2018 and interesting things are happening.

CAMC completed its first batch of heavy-duty electric trucks, with a range rating of 150 km (93 miles) NEDC. The batteries are provided by CATL and the company attributed bringing the truck to market to the “blue sky defence war/蓝天保卫战,” China’s policy to reduce air pollution, which requires logistics to move towards electrification or rail transport.

While the range is not great, it does meet certain logistics scenarios, and hopefully we will see China create more long-range trucks in the near future.

HOWO (China National Heavy Duty Truck), which is the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks, showed off 24 new trucks at its year-end conference, including the pure electric “HOWO T5G 220,” which is a heavy-duty truck designed to be a “sprinkler truck” — a truck designed to spray water onto the roads and into the air to combat air pollution and dust. With batteries provided by CATL, the truck has a range rating of 200 km (124 miles) NEDC, which is fine for its low-speed city driving work schedule.

The dual DC charger offers a 1.5 hour charge. The battery, which is from CATL and is reported to be a “world leading battery,” is explained as follows: each battery pack has 29.26 kWh of energy capacity and the vehicle’s total energy storage capacity is 242 kWh. For pictures and details, head over to the EV Partner article.

One step back
Finally, to end on some less than positive news, China is one of the global leaders in the expansion of coal power plants, helping lend large amounts of money to countries around the world to develop coal power plants even when financial data and science might indicate that such investments are not the best for the planet or long-term return on investment. For more details, read Joshua S Hill’s article here on CleanTechnica.

See our previous China × Cleantech reports for more info from the red giant. Subscribe to the China X Cleantech newsletter to not miss a beat.

About the Author

Tim Dixon When not researching the Chinese electric car market, I am teaching in China. My interest in sustainable development started in University and it led me to work with Tesla Europe in the Supercharger team. I'm interested in science fiction, D&D, and travel. You can follow me on Twitter @TimDixon3.

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Tesla Model S Resale Values = Best In Class

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Published on January 6th, 2019 |

by Guest Contributor

Tesla Model S Resale Values = Best In Class

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January 6th, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Originally published on EVANNEX.
By Charles Morris

It’s always fun to talk about Elon Musk’s tweets and tokes, but when it comes to predicting Tesla’s long-term financial prospects, savvy observers understand that the two metrics that matter are the demand for the company’s products and the margin of profit it earns on each unit. So, if TSLA stock slips in response to an unguarded comment by the Iron Man, consider it a buying opportunity. If you see evidence that demand for Teslas is flagging, then you can start to worry.

Tesla Model S (Image via Tesla)

One way to gauge the level of demand for an automaker’s vehicles is to examine how their value holds up in the used market. Generally speaking, vehicles that are more in demand depreciate less. So it’s encouraging to read a recent report from venture capital firm Loup Ventures, which found that the depreciation of Tesla’s Model S compares quite favorably with that of other vehicles in its class.

Based on a mathematical analysis of data on used car sales, Loup Ventures concluded that, after 50,000 miles, a typical Model S will have lost around 28% of its original value, whereas competing models in the luxury sedan class will have lost an average of 38%. Even when variables such as model year, miles driven and initial sale price were taken into account, Loup found that a Model S could be expected to retain 7% more value than its competitors.

Two things to keep in mind: higher-priced cars usually show worse depreciation than budget models; and plug-in cars in general exhibit worse depreciation than comparable gas-powered models (among other things, plug-in vehicles tend to be improved every year, and only new vehicles are eligible for federal and state incentives). Of the plug-in vehicles on the US market, Teslas show by far the least depreciation, holding their value better than the Chevy Volt, BMW i3, or Nissan LEAF.

The Loup Ventures team started by looking at an Autolist survey, which included 1.6 million data points gathered between January 2012 and August 2016. Autolist found the following amounts of depreciation after 50,000 miles:

Tesla Model S: 28%
Lexus LS 460: ~32%
Mercedes S-class: ~36%
Porsche Panamera: ~37%
BMW 7 Series: 40%
Audi A8: 40+%
Jaguar XJ: 41%

However, the researchers weren’t entirely satisfied with these numbers — during the years covered by Autolist’s survey, the supply of Teslas was limited, which could have artificially kept resale prices high. Therefore, the Loup team decided to conduct their own survey based on today’s prices.

The team examined the same auto models that were included in the Autolist survey, scraping listings of certified pre-owned cars from manufacturers’ websites. Next, they built a regression model to predict the percentage by which each car had depreciated based on model year, miles driven and MSRP. They also included a categorical variable designed to account for any inherent difference between Tesla and its competitors.

The article includes all the details of the team’s analysis, which the statistically inclined may wish to read. The researchers concede that their study wasn’t perfect – they could have used more data on non-Tesla vehicles, and the bewildering array of options available made it impossible to calculate the precise MSRP of some models. However, they believe that their conclusion that Model S depreciates at a rate 7% lower than that of competitors in its class is sound.

A look at an older Tesla Model S. (Image via Tesla Shuttle and CleanTechnica)

Be the numbers what they may, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that Tesla’s vehicles hold their resale value well — comments on the subject by frustrated would-be owners aren’t hard to find. But after all, these cars often seem to have minds of their own, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they stubbornly refuse to lose their value as quickly as most other luxury vehicles do. That may be bad news for car buyers with moderate budgets, but it’s a good sign for the future of the company.

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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Tesla Q4 2018 Vehicle Production & Deliveries, Also Announcing $2,000 Price Reduction in US

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Tesla Q4 2018 Vehicle Production & Deliveries, Also Announcing $2,000 Price Reduction in US

Jan 02,2019

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Tesla Q4 2018 Vehicle Production & Deliveries, Also Announcing $2,000 Price Reduction in US

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In Q4, we produced and delivered at the rate of nearly 1,000 vehicles per day, setting new company records for both production and deliveries.

Production in Q4 grew to 86,555 vehicles, 8% more than our prior all-time high in Q3. This included:

61,394 Model 3 vehicles, in line with our guidance and 15% more than Q3.
25,161 Model S and X vehicles, consistent with our long-term run rate of approximately 100,000 per year.
Q4 deliveries grew to 90,700 vehicles, which was 8% more than our prior all time-high in Q3. This included 63,150 Model 3 (13% growth over Q3), 13,500 Model S, and 14,050 Model X vehicles.

In 2018, we delivered a total of 245,240 vehicles: 145,846 Model 3 and 99,394 Model S and X. To put our growth into perspective, we delivered almost as many vehicles in 2018 as we did in all prior years combined.

Our Q4 Model 3 deliveries were limited to mid- and higher-priced variants, cash/loan transactions, and North American customers only. More than three quarters of Model 3 orders in Q4 came from new customers, rather than reservation holders.

There remain significant opportunities to continue to grow Model 3 sales by expanding to international markets, introducing lower-priced variants and offering leasing. International deliveries in Europe and China will start in February 2019. Expansion of Model 3 sales to other markets, including with a right-hand drive variant, will occur later in 2019.

1,010 Model 3 vehicles and 1,897 Model S and X vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of Q4, and will be delivered in early Q1 2019. Our inventory levels remain the smallest in the automotive industry, and we were able to reduce vehicles in transit to customers by significantly improving our logistics system in North America.

Moving beyond the success of Q4, we are taking steps to partially absorb the reduction of the federal EV tax credit (which, as of January 1st, dropped from $7,500 to $3,750). Starting today, we are reducing the price of Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles in the U.S. by $2,000. Customers can apply to receive the $3,750 federal tax credit for new deliveries starting on January 1, 2019, and may also be eligible for several state and local electric vehicle and utility incentives, which range up to $4,000. Combined with the reduced costs of maintenance and of charging a Tesla versus paying for gas at the pump – which can result in up to $100 per month or more in savings – this means our vehicles are even more affordable than similarly priced gasoline vehicles.

Tesla’s achievements in 2018 likely represent the biggest single-year growth in the history of the automotive industry. We started the year with a delivery run rate of about 120,000 vehicles per year and ended it at more than 350,000 vehicles per year – an increase of almost 3X. As a result, we’re starting to make a tangible impact on accelerating the world to sustainable energy. Additionally, 2018 was the first time in decades that an American car – the Model 3 – was the best-selling premium vehicle in the U.S. for the full year, with U.S. sales of Model 3 roughly double those of the runner up.

We want to thank our customers, suppliers, investors, and especially our employees, who worked so hard to accomplish this.

***************

Our net income and cash flow results will be announced along with the rest of our financial performance when we announce Q4 earnings. Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5%. Tesla vehicle deliveries represent only one measure of the company’s financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements herein, including statements regarding growing the addressable market for Model 3, such as our plans and timing for international expansion, are “forward-looking statements” that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. Various important factors could cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks identified in our SEC filings. Tesla disclaims any obligation to update this information.

Source: Tesla, Inc.

Elon Musk wants to keep ex-girlfriend Grimes out of an investor lawsuit over his take-private tweet

Theo Wargo | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Elon Musk and Grimes attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.

Elon Musk is fighting to keep his ex-girlfriend from being dragged into an investor lawsuit over the Tesla CEO's now infamous take-private tweet.

Musk's attorney, Dean Kristy, argued in a motion filed Thursday in a U.S. district court that the proposed subpoena of Canadian musician Grimes, who was dating Musk in August when he tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share, is an effort to “sensationalize these proceedings” rather than a legitimate fact-finding mission.

A group of investors is suing Tesla and Musk related to the tweet. The plaintiffs are also proposing subpoenas of rapper Azealia Banks, who alleged in Instagram posts that Musk was using drugs at the time, and various media outlets that interviewed Banks or Musk, like Business Insider and The New York Times.

Having Musk remain as CEO at Tesla is critical, he's the right 'wartime CEO', says Gene Munster
11:36 AM ET Mon, 1 Oct 2018 | 02:17

“Plaintiffs did not bother to contact any of the five non-parties it intends to subpoena to find out if they even have any relevant information,” Kristy argues in the motion. “None of the third parties ever worked for Tesla or Mr. Musk, or is alleged to have had any involvement in his tweets or in his evaluation of a potential go-private transaction.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission revealed in its own lawsuit against Musk — settled in September and resulting in $40 million in total fines — that Musk chose his proposed buyout price of $420 because he thought Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher, would find it funny.

Banks is a friend of Grimes' and said in Instagram posts that she stayed at Musk's house in the days after he sent the tweet. She later made allegations about his drug use and motivations on Instagram.

“Ms. Boucher and Ms. Banks were in close contact with Mr. Musk before and after the tweet at issue and are believed to be in possession of relevant evidence concerning Mr. Musk's motives,” said Eduard Korsinsky of Levi & Korsinsky, the firm representing the plaintiffs, in a statement to CNBC. “Granting the motion would allow the plaintiffs to preserve this evidence and help provide a fair opportunity to take discovery for all parties.”

Kristy, citing news articles about the incident and rapper, says in the court filing:

She is a “veteran of long and nonsensical beefs [having] feuded with everyone from Sarah Palin to Nick Cannon”; she “remains a Twitter villain even after being banned from the service”; she went on a rant on Instagram “that began as a delirious critique of colonial wealth and racial privilege, [and] became a vaguely eugenicist denigration of Musk as a caveman”; and she “has a history of making bold and sometimes unverified claims,” including against Beyonce, MonetX (a rival) and Russell Crowe. Published reports also indicate that Ms. Banks apparently claims to have offered Twitter's CEO a form of “protection” from ISIS. Despite reports that completely undermine her credibility, plaintiff calls her a “key source of information in this matter” – which if anything underscores how weak plaintiff's case is – based entirely on her claim that she was present in Mr. Musk's home to visit Ms. Boucher from August 10-12 (well after the August 7 tweets) and supposedly observed Mr. Musk, even though he flatly denies ever meeting her.

The plaintiffs are also seeking subpoenas of The New York Times, Business Insider and Gizmodo related to articles the outlets published in the weeks after Musk's tweet.

The case is numbered 3:18-cv-04865-EMC in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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