Electric vehicles – Page 9506 – I wish I had more to offer

Audi brings thought leaders to the MQ! Innovation Summit

Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, autonomous and electric mobility. Those are the main topics of Audi’s MQ! Innovation Summit, to be held on November 8 and 9. 700 thought leaders, including cofounder of Apple Computer Steve Wozniak, will convene in Ingolstadt to discuss a “mobility quotient” (MQ) as a measure of a person’s or organization’s mobility.… Continue reading Audi brings thought leaders to the MQ! Innovation Summit

BMW Group grows sales in first three quarters of 2018

Munich. In the first three quarters of the year, the BMW Group grew its worldwide sales by 1.3% (1,834,810 units), despite ongoing headwinds in several major sales regions. Sales in September, a month affected by intense competition in Europe, were down 0.8% (237,781) as the company continued to follow its policy of prioritising profitable growth.… Continue reading BMW Group grows sales in first three quarters of 2018

Charging Your Chevy Bolt EV In The Most Insane Way Possible

3 H BY WADE MALONE And here I’ve been parking and plugging in my own electric car like a sucker! We have seen a number of organizations combine a robotic arm with a charging station. Tesla’s snake-like concept garnered the most attention a few years ago. Although the impracticality of these set ups means we haven’t… Continue reading Charging Your Chevy Bolt EV In The Most Insane Way Possible

Tesla says orders placed by October 15 eligible for full tax credit

(Reuters) – Electric carmaker Tesla Inc said bit.ly/2NCbs1r all orders for its vehicles placed by Oct. 15 are eligible for full federal tax credit of $7,500 and such customers will get their cars delivered by the end of the year. FILE PHOTO: Rows of the new Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles are seen in Richmond,… Continue reading Tesla says orders placed by October 15 eligible for full tax credit

UPDATE 6-BMW to buy control of China venture in ‘new era’ for foreign carmakers

SHENYANG, China (Reuters) – Germany’s BMW (BMWG.DE) will pay 3.6 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to take control of its main joint venture in China, the first such move by a global carmaker as Beijing starts to relax ownership rules for the world’s biggest auto market. The luxury carmaker said on Thursday it would increase its… Continue reading UPDATE 6-BMW to buy control of China venture in ‘new era’ for foreign carmakers

Does Faraday have a Future? Latest financing disrupted—again

Faraday Future completes first pre-production FF91 on August 28, 2018
Faraday's Future has hit another snag, in a dispute with the company's latest investors.

The development of the luxury electric Faraday Future FF91, has been a roller-coaster ride of winning financing, running into disputes, delaying the car, and finding new investors.

DON'T MISS: Faraday Future gets a $2 billion lifeline to build expensive crossover

The latest round of $2 billion in financing announced in June by a Hong Kong investment company, allowed the company to produce its first production prototype of the FF91 luxury electric SUV.

Now that financing is in doubt after Faraday filed an arbitration suit against Evergrande Health, the Hong Kong investment company saying it hasn't produced the first $700 million round of promised funding. Evergrande responded that Faraday had not met investment targets to release the money.

CHECK OUT: Faraday Future factory completes its first full car (Updated)

In the on-again-off-again saga of Faraday Future's development of a high-end luxury electric car, the company introduced the car with a flashy evening reveal at the Consumer Electronics show in 2017 and broke ground on what was expected to be a massive factory in Las Vegas.

No sooner had the cornerstone been laid than financing evaporated, and the car went into hibernation.

READ MORE: Faraday Future unveils FF 91, its first production electric car; deposits open, no price given

Since then, the company has secured liquidity and run aground twice. An investment last fall allowed the company to lease a former Pirelli tire factory in California's Central Valley. Another round of funding last February quickly evaporated, before Evergrande threw Faraday a lifeline in June.

With Faraday now running into rocky shoals again, it's not clear who or what might bail them our now—and enable the production they'd been working toward.

Tesla May Double Size Of Gigafactory 1 & Triple Its Workforce — If Infrastructure Permits

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Published on October 11th, 2018 |

by Steve Hanley

Tesla May Double Size Of Gigafactory 1 & Triple Its Workforce — If Infrastructure Permits

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October 11th, 2018 by Steve Hanley

Nevada governor Brian Sandoval hosted a technology and innovation conference at Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 on Tuesday. When he took office in 2010, unemployment in Nevada was 14%. More than 175,000 residents of the state lost their jobs after the Republican-induced financial meltdown of 2008, and the rate of bankruptcies and home foreclosures were the highest of any state in the nation.

Sandoval spearheaded an economic renewal program that convinced Tesla to build its first Gigafactory in an undeveloped industrial park outside the city of Sparks, not far from Reno. Nevada offered Tesla an attractive package of tax incentives to lure it to Nevada, but the benefits were tied to a set of specific performance goals that Tesla has to meet in order to receive them. So far, Tesla has hit every target set forth in the agreement it signed with the state, and it is ahead of schedule building the Gigafactory.

Since Tesla came to town, the community around Sparks has flourished and other tech companies such as Apple, Switch, and Google have set up shop in Nevada. But growth comes at a cost. From roads and schools to hospitals and fire departments, the infrastructure necessary to support a community has lagged behind the influx of new workers. Home prices and apartment rents have increased by 50% or more in the past few years.

At the conference, Elon said he can foresee doubling the size of Gigafactory 1 and tripling the workforce from 7,000 today to more than 20,000, according to a report in the Reno Review Journal. “The biggest constraint on growth here is housing and infrastructure,” Musk said. At last report, the median price of a new home in the Reno/Sparks area is over $389,000 and average rentals are creeping close to $1,400 a month. “We’re looking at creating a housing compound on site at the Gigafactory, using kind of high-quality mobile homes,” Musk said. (Perhaps he read our fake story about Tesla cities on April 1, 2017.)

He praised governor Sandoval for how proactive he and his administration have been in addressing the need for community infrastructure and affordable housing. The governor told the audience his administration is working with housing developers to address the shortage of dwelling units. “We’re constantly looking at ways to allow for the construction of that affordable housing,” Sandoval told the press.

The road forward has not always been smooth. Just this week, Tesla settled a lawsuit brought by the state of Nevada which claimed the company was in arrears by $665,000 on unemployment insurance payments. Tesla says the deficit was the result of a clerical error. But the money has now been paid and the lawsuit dismissed.

When Tesla first started building Gigafactory 1, no one really knew whether it would be an expensive boondoggle or a success that would attract other businesses to the area. Now that that question has been answered, the hard work of fashioning a new community needs to move forward. Musk told the governor on Tuesday, “Nevada’s a real get-it-done state. Just keep being you. Don’t change, and we’ll be fine.”

CleanTechnica visualization of some nearby housing around the first Gigafactory.

CleanTechnica contributor Chanan Bos has created a rendering of what a housing area near Gigafactory 1 might look like. Elon’s use of the phrase “high-quality mobile homes” may not have been the ideal choice of words. Mobile homes remind people of the FEMA trailers the government used to house the homeless after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans. One assumes Musk was referring to manufactured housing, which can be quite spacious and even elegant.

The idea harks back to the traditional company town where workers lived near the mills that employed them. One such community, the Siemensstadt Housing Estate near Spandau, Germany, was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. We can assume if Elon is behind the idea, it will be more than an ordinary trailer park.

Hearing Musk say he is considering doubling the size of the Gigafactory and greatly expanding its workforce is the reward Governor Sandoval and Nevada get for taking a chance on Tesla when it was still a fledgling organization. The agreements the state and Tesla signed have worked out exceedingly well for all parties so far. It appears that more good news is around the corner on Electric Avenue, Sparks, Nevada.

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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 take him. His muse is Charles Kuralt — “I see the road ahead is turning. I wonder what's around the bend?”

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UPDATE 1-SEC, Tesla support approval of settlement

(Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk submitted a joint filing late on Wednesday in support of a settlement, saying the terms were in the best interest of investors. FILE PHOTO: Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk stands on the podium as he attends a forum… Continue reading UPDATE 1-SEC, Tesla support approval of settlement

Groupe Renault strikes new energy-sector agreements with EDF, Total and ENEL for the promotion of electric mobility

#EnergyTransition #EasyElectricLife Groupe Renault has restated its commitment to the development of a smart electric ecosystem to advance the energy transition and promote mobility for all. Groupe Renault and EDF sign a cooperation agreement aimed at optimising self-consumption, developing smart islands and providing green power solutions. Groupe Renault, Total and the start-up Jedlix launch a… Continue reading Groupe Renault strikes new energy-sector agreements with EDF, Total and ENEL for the promotion of electric mobility

Uber-funded research project pushes new ways to measure safety of driverless cars

October 11 at 12:01 AM A typical driving test considers basic skills: Can you parallel park? Do you merge safely? Do you know to yield to pedestrians? No such government exam is required for cars driven by a computer. The idea has been dismissed by federal officials who oppose regulation and industry leaders who say… Continue reading Uber-funded research project pushes new ways to measure safety of driverless cars