Apple – Page 989 – I wish I had more to offer

2020 Honda Ridgeline Arrives at Dealerships with New 9-Speed Transmission, Standard Honda Sensing®

The Honda Ridgeline is the ultimate tailgate vehicle for sporting events, picnics, and other gatherings thanks to industry-first and exclusive features like a Dual Action Tailgate that provides easy access to the lockable and weather-sealed In-Bed Trunk®, an available in-bed 115V AC power outlet, and a world’s first Truck Bed Audio System. This year, the… Continue reading 2020 Honda Ridgeline Arrives at Dealerships with New 9-Speed Transmission, Standard Honda Sensing®

Buy or Sell a Car via Mobile with the New eBay Motors App

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — eBay Motors, one of the world’s largest marketplaces for all things automotive, is launching an all-new, automotive-focused app for Apple iPhone and Android. Powered by advanced technology, the app is a powerful tool for buying and selling vehicles directly from consumers’ mobile devices in an entirely new way.… Continue reading Buy or Sell a Car via Mobile with the New eBay Motors App

Mitsubishi Creates Top-Spec Van Version Of Outlander PHEV

The newcomer is designed to offer the luxury of an SUV and the tax breaks of a plug-in hybrid van. Mitsubishi has added a new top-spec model to its Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid commercial vehicle range. The low-emission 4×4 has become a firm favorite among private customers, and Mitsubishi has long offered commercial versions aimed… Continue reading Mitsubishi Creates Top-Spec Van Version Of Outlander PHEV

Cars.com Predicts the Top 5 Trends That Will Shape the Next Decade in Automotive

CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — As we enter a new decade, Cars.comTM (NYSE: CARS) today revealed its top predictions for the trends that will most impact car shoppers and sellers. Increasing consumer expectations, connected technology, rising loan prices, a pivotal presidential election, and an infatuation with electric and autonomous vehicles will shape automotive and result… Continue reading Cars.com Predicts the Top 5 Trends That Will Shape the Next Decade in Automotive

It’s Wrong To Value Tesla [TSLA] As An Auto Business

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Published on December 11th, 2019 |

by Johnna Crider

It’s Wrong To Value Tesla [TSLA] As An Auto Business

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December 11th, 2019 by Johnna Crider

Tesla is an auto business, but at the same time, it’s not. It has grown from that into something else and investors need to look at Tesla not from any single angle, but need to see it as the whole it is. The Spring recently published an article on the potential of Tesla services, and it challenges one to look at Tesla in a different light.

The article points out that Tesla has always been valued from the same perspectives that investors use to value auto businesses. This is great for any normal car company — they build factories, have high upfront expenses, and sell a new car to a customer every 10 years or so. Tesla looks like your typical auto company at a glance, and this is what investors seem to go by. Take a quick look, slap a value on it based on certain metrics, and move along.

I agree with the author of the article, Kevin Rooke, who believes it is “becoming increasingly wrong to value Tesla’s auto business like an auto business.” This is because Tesla is so much more than that. Tesla is also a tech business, an energy business, and is taking a few pages from Apple as it starts to become a services business, which is what the article focuses on.

Another point the author makes is that most of the time, automakers don’t even know who exactly their customers are. Tesla CEO Elon Musk keeps a close eye on customer feedback on Twitter, often interacting with Tesla owners, investors, and supporters.

The article also highlights that Tesla has a different approach to selling its cars. It has a direct-to-consumer business model, which means there are no dealers. Unlike Ford or other automakers that sell to dealerships once the cars are off the line, Tesla sells to the customers directly.

Regarding services, the article points out that Tesla’s services look a lot like Apple’s. Some quick comparisons include trade-ins, insurance, service centers, Premium connectivity, and Supercharging. This is actually a smart way to bring in recurring revenue. Some may complain about having to pay for something that was once free, such as WiFi, but $10 a month for the internet is likely to cover costs plus a small premium and is not that expensive. Still, an important point is the option is there to make more money on this down the road.

Rooke illustrates how quickly the services could become a core part of Tesla’s business by providing an example: imagine 2 years from now that Tesla has a fleet of 2 million vehicles with $1,000 per vehicle in services revenue per quarter. If Tesla achieves a 10% gross margin on these services, then that is an additional $800 million of profit per year just from these services. Rooke shows other examples as well and also demonstrates just how Tesla can turn its services into those big businesses by comparing what Tesla does with other automakers. You can read more about his thoughts here.

By embracing the services potential with its technology, Tesla is positioning itself to become even more profitable despite what critics, who only see it as a basic auto company, have to say or argue.
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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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Aeva shrinks size, cost of crucial self-driving sensor; deepens VW ties

(Reuters) – Aeva Inc said it has shrunk the main components of its “lidar” self-driving car sensor onto a single chip, a move it expects to dramatically lower the price of a sensor widely considered a bottleneck in the mass production of autonomous vehicles. The company, founded by ex-Apple Inc engineers Soroush Salehian and Mina… Continue reading Aeva shrinks size, cost of crucial self-driving sensor; deepens VW ties

Tesla hacker finds upcoming streaming video apps – HBO, Comedy Central, Twitch and more

A hacker has found assets within Tesla’s operating system suggesting that there are a slew of new streaming apps coming to Tesla’s in-car entertainment system. The list includes heavy hitters like HBO and Twitch. There are also assets for Comedy Central, Chinese video hosting service YouKu, and several more. Green is the same hacker who… Continue reading Tesla hacker finds upcoming streaming video apps – HBO, Comedy Central, Twitch and more

@Honda: Honda Holds World Premiere of 5th Generation Honda City

First time with a new 1.0 liter TURBO engine with 122 PS that offers driving performance superior to a 1.5 liter engine, torque equivalent to 1.8 liter engine, and fuel efficiency to a maximum 23.8 kilometers/liter. Exterior design combines sportiness and elegance with a more spacious cabin than other city cars. Value-added functions and features… Continue reading @Honda: Honda Holds World Premiere of 5th Generation Honda City

Galaxy S11 Series to Be Equipped with Superhigh Quality Cameras and Batteries with Large Capacities

Level of interests towards Samsung Electronics’ flagship smartphone ‘Galaxy S11’ that will be released in 2020 has heightened. Various predictions mixed with expectations are coming out like water confined by a dam.There is even a rendering image that reminds one of actual Galaxy S11 has come to the surface. Although the image is based on… Continue reading Galaxy S11 Series to Be Equipped with Superhigh Quality Cameras and Batteries with Large Capacities

The #1 Thing I Love About Our Tesla Model 3 That No One Talks About

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Published on December 8th, 2019 |

by Zachary Shahan

The #1 Thing I Love About Our Tesla Model 3 That No One Talks About

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December 8th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

We spend a lot of time in our Tesla Model 3. Aside from driving approximately the US average, we generally spend about an hour a day sitting in a student pickup line (45 minutes some days, up to an hour and a half others). And then there are various times when I might be working in the car for a while — for example, while the girls enjoy the beach and I have to get articles published on CleanTechnica. 😛

The point is: we spend a lot of time in the car, and a lot of that time involves actually doing stuff, not just driving. That leads into the thing I love about our Tesla Model 3 that gets very little attention — and when it does get attention, often gets negative attention!

The Model 3 has a supremely minimalist — yet premium-feeling — design. With out white & black interior, it feels like what a car interior designed by Apple would look and feel like. The open, clutter-free space is the perfect balance to a life with two young monsters and hectic traffic. Sitting on the comfy white seat, resting my arm on the smooth, black center armrest, and gazing across the empty dash in front of me feels almost like coming home and plopping myself down on the couch to watch tennis. (If I had free time, I think that’s what I’d enjoy doing.)

Everything I need for the car is on the touchscreen, which I can let slip out of my direct view but then can easily check or use as needed. Aside from my phone sitting under the touchscreen and a bottle of water or coffee, my vicinity is clean, clear, and ideal for a peaceful ride. I couldn’t ask for more.

Some people criticize the interior of the Model 3 as basic, simple, or bare. I honestly can’t imagine wanting it to be different, as anything more would be adding clutter. The vegan leather is so smooth and premium. I recall renting a Mercedes a couple of times that had a somewhat similar center console. It was an enjoyable “little thing” that I appreciated at the time. The Model 3’s smooth black center console fits into its surroundings much better (and it feels slightly better as well). The space in front and to the other sides of me fit the elegant and thick right armrest. I don’t have all the clutter the Mercedes swarmed me with.

The car is even more minimalist when it’s driving itself.

This all may seem like a little aspect of the Model 3, and perhaps I’m overdoing it. To the contrary, though, I think this is one of the biggest daily benefits of a truly magical car. Minimalism is often, ironically, under-appreciated. Minimalism done well is difficult, but then so complete and fulfilling.

The drive quality, the interior feel of the car, and the look of the model from the outside as you walk up to it — these are three aspects of a car that an owner regularly notices. Each of them is critical in its own right to a fully enjoyable ownership experience. Everyone should know by now that Tesla nails #1 and is highly regarded for #3, but the superb implementation of #2 is equally if not more important. It is one reason it’d be so hard to switch to any other vehicle.

I will bring up one issue I have on this topic, though. If I sit in the passenger seat, it’s comfortable to move the seat back a bit and work on my laptop. If I have to sit in the driver’s seat and do this, I have to put the seat much further back due to the steering wheel, and I then lose a comfortable position for my elbows. I don’t have anywhere to rest them and I’m too squeezed in to have them hang in space. Now, I don’t expect Tesla to design a solution for such an edge case! However, this review wouldn’t be complete without noting that that’s the one place in which I could see the interior design being much better for my personal use case.

Oh yeah, there’s also the glossy black console between the armrest and touchscreen. I don’t know if it’s Franz, Elon, or both of them who love that glossy black plastic, but I’m yet to meet an owner who loves it and I’ve met several who hate it. I don’t understand the rationale for putting it in a Tesla. I imagine I’ll get mine turned into a matte trim eventually. (Aftermarket suppliers and detailers must appreciate it, since they must make a lot of money hiding the gloss for Tesla owners.)

Have any other thoughts on the wonderful, smooth, elegant Tesla Model 3 interior? Think I’m fully off my rocker? Your comments are welcome … but I’ll spam them if you don’t agree with me! (jk, ofc)

If you’d like to buy a Tesla Model 3, Model S, or Model X and get some free Supercharging miles, feel free to use my special, magical, unicorn-blessed referral code: https://ts.la/zachary63404. You can also get a $100 discount on Tesla solar with that code. There is currently no use for a referral code when putting down a reservation for a Cybertruck or Model Y.
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It will make you happy & help you live in peace for the rest of your life.

About the Author

Zachary Shahan is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the CEO of Important Media. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.

Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA] — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in this company and feels like it is a good cleantech company to invest in. But he offers no investment advice and does not recommend investing in Tesla or any other company.

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