Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla missed guidance with only 14,820 vehicles delivered in Q1 2016, blames Model X supplier parts shortages

Yet the automaker is blaming its delivery miss on “severe Model X supplier parts shortages”, but Tesla wrote in a press release that these issues have mostly been resolved and that during the last week of full production in March, the automaker was producing 750 Model X vehicles per week. For those without a calculator handy, that’s about 40,000 Model X shipments/year run rate.

From the Tesla press release:

The parts in question were only half a dozen out of more than 8,000 unique parts, nonetheless missing even one part means a car cannot be delivered.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/04/tesla-deliveries-q1-2016/

Elon Musk's Tesla brand is going to be releasing its electric cars in India. Musk tweeted that the incoming Model 3 will be launched in new markets including India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland.

Musk added:  Will include India-wide Supercharger network

Tesla's entry in India also comes after Prime Minister Modi met with Elon Musk last September during his Silicon Valley tour.  During the visit Musk gave Modi a tour of the Tesla factory and said that he would bring the Tesla [Powerwall] to India, which is a solar powered battery that the company sells in the US, which can theoretically take a household off the grid and make it autonomous.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/elon-musk-says-teslas-model-3-is-coming-to-india/1/632447.html



Model 3 Mega Tweetstorm: Tons of new info on production ramp, dashboard, trunk and more

Europe will eventually get a full-fledged Tesla factory, but not until after Model 3 deliveries begin there. Tesla will come to India before the Model 3 is released. Spain’s lack of service centers “will be addressed this year.” Service centers and Superchargers will cover Italy by the end of this year. The same can be said for Ireland.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/03/model-3-tweetstorm-tons-of-new-info-on-production-ramp-dashboard-trunk-and-more-updating/


The car industry has never witnessed what Tesla is about to go through

“Years from now we’ll look back and say Tesla started an electric vehicle revolution. But that’s not because the people buying Tesla thought of it as an electric vehicle revolution.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/04/04/the-car-industry-has-never-witnessed-what-tesla-is-about-to-go-through/



Tesla Model S P90D electric car vs. Qantas Boeing 737-800 jet aircraft.
Who will win?  Who cares!?    But it was done to promote the partnership between Qantas and Tesla to collaborate on sustainable transportation.
http://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/roo-tales/car-vs-plane-fasten-your-seatbelts-batteries-are-included/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28716/whats-faster-tesla-or-qantas-jet/

[Sigmetnow]

Nissan CEO welcomes the storm of Tesla Model 3 reservations
http://electrek.co/2016/04/06/nissan-ceo-tesla-model-3/

7 people who are perfectly happy to wait 2 years for their Tesla Model 3
http://mashable.com/2016/04/05/meet-tesla-model-3-pre-order/#oQd_O6LG65q6


< Please take this mess off our hands, Elon! >
France Is Offering Tesla A Repurposed Nuclear Power Plant For Its European Factory
http://jalopnik.com/france-is-offering-tesla-an-old-nuclear-power-plant-for-1769262652

[Sigmetnow]

Elon Musk:  "Over 325k cars or ~$14B in preorders in first week. Only 5% ordered max of two, suggesting low levels of speculation."
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/718112326889529344

In an email sent out last night (see below), Tesla confirmed that following the overwhelming number of Model 3 reservations it received, the company is currently “increasing its production plans to minimize the wait for Model 3” – something Elon Musk hinted Tesla was looking into after witnessing the long lines of people waiting at Tesla’s stores to reserve the $35,000 long-range all-electric vehicle.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/07/tesla-model-3-production-plans/


The Tesla announcement on their blog noted they had used no advertisements or paid endorsements.  "This interest has spread completely organically."
https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/the-week-electric-vehicles-went-mainstream


Tesla Model 3 is shaking up the industry: Daimler shareholders express concerns at annual meeting

A third shareholder said there was no adequate European competitor to Tesla’s latest model. He asked management: “What is the reason for that?”

http://electrek.co/2016/04/07/tesla-model-3-daimler-shareholder/

[Sigmetnow]

SolarCity customers just produced enough energy in one day to charge every Tesla in the world
http://blog.solarcity.com/solarcity-customers-8-gigawatt-hours-teslas

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla’s Model 3 orders are through the roof. Here’s what that means for the planet.

Even if Tesla manages to scale up and hit its very aggressive target of 500,000 vehicles a year by 2020, that would still represent only about .5 percent of global light-duty vehicle sales,” said Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “So it’s hard to have an overall impact from them alone.”

However, if what we’re seeing marks a broader shift, in which Tesla ends up driving the rest of the auto industry to change and make more electric cars, that’s another matter. “It’s obviously important for Tesla, but I think it’s going to push other automakers to match what Tesla’s doing, and also get other people to think about switching to electric,” said David Reichmuth, a senior engineer in the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Margo Oge, former director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality and author of the book “Driving the Future: Combating Climate Change with Cleaner, Smarter Cars,” concurred. “What it’s doing is bringing the cost down on the battery, making it affordable, putting pressure on other companies,” said Oge of Tesla’s success. These are important impacts, even if there still may not be enough electric vehicles on the road to cut down emissions a lot — at least not immediately.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/06/teslas-model-3-orders-are-through-the-roof-heres-what-that-means-for-the-planet/


Tesla Model 3 fervor has flavors of Apple
(The author's first computer was a Macintosh.)

Not only has every computer since that original Mac been an Apple product, but I have tuned out all other competitors ever since. There is no marketing tactic, no offer, and no ad any other computer company can devise that will get me to pay attention.
...
GM, with the Chevrolet Bolt, is up next with the launch of an electric car with at least the same basic cruising range as the Model 3, around 200-plus miles. But it’s too late to change the Bolt’s shape and much of its content as preproduction models are already rolling down the line; regular Bolt production is slated for late fall.

But does GM now take the Bolt’s electric powertrain and create a sleeker, more luxurious electric car with, perhaps, a Cadillac badge to take on Tesla? Does GM offer special lease deals to Model 3 buyers who are digging in for at least an 18-month wait?

If you’re Ford, does next year’s incremental bump in range for the Focus Electric, from 76 to 100 miles, plus fast charging, keep you competitive? Probably not. And what about Toyota, Honda and Hyundai, which have spent billions on fuel cell technology and have hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles already on the market?

http://www.autonews.com/article/20160405/BLOG06/160409910/tesla-model-3-fervor-has-flavors-of-apple


Tesla Model 3 depositors vs Chevy Bolt EV: sea change or double standard?

..."If Tesla is the automotive equivalent of Apple, the industry will be forever changed."

But why aren't the crowds just as eager for the Bolt EV, you might ask?

One answer is that they could well be, but General Motors didn't choose to crowd-source its development funding and reap the associated marketing benefits of such high numbers.

But another is that GM itself can't take deposits for the car. It's not legally allowed to sell you a Chevy Bolt EV.

Instead, you must purchase the car from an independently-owned third party known as a car dealer, under state franchise laws, after haggling for the vehicle.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103313_tesla-model-3-depositors-vs-chevy-bolt-ev-sea-change-or-double-standard


[Sigmetnow]

Mercedes Diesel Owners File New Lawsuit

Owners of Mercedes diesel cars filed a new class-action lawsuit in the United States saying the vehicles likely contained a "defeat device" used to cheat emissions testing, an accusation that Daimler, which owns the carmaker, denied.

U.S. law firm Hagens Berman, which had already filed a complaint in February, said new tests had shown that Mercedes BlueTEC cars produced nitrogen oxide emissions in virtually all road tests that were far higher than in controlled lab tests.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/mercedes-diesel-owners-file-new-lawsuit-n552816

[Sigmetnow]

Electric Car Sales Up 10% In US In 2016

Electric car sales in the US were a mixed bag again in March. Several plug-in hybrid models, led by the Chevy Volt, had a strong month and first quarter, but several fully electric models saw lower sales than in the previous year. I think these sales are still depressed by people waiting for longer-range electric vehicles that are around the corner (Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt, 2nd-generation Nissan LEAF, etc.).

http://evobsession.com/electric-car-sales-up-10-in-us-in-2016/

Tesla Model X production is ramping up; 750 per week were being produced by the end of the quarter.

[Sigmetnow]

Google’s self-driving car vs Tesla Autopilot: 1.5M miles in 6 years vs 47M miles in 6 months

It certainly makes for an interesting race to fully autonomous vehicles. Last year, Elon Musk said that he expects Tesla’s level-4 fully self-driving technology to be ready in about 2 years, while Google is vague about its timeline to bring its system to market, but it expects the cars will be on the road by 2020.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/11/google-self-driving-car-tesla-autopilot/

[Bob Wallace]

Is Sigmetnow really a crew of 15 on speed?  I can't believe the amount of info you continue to post.

Thanks a whole bunch!

[Sigmetnow]

Is Sigmetnow really a crew of 15 on speed?  I can't believe the amount of info you continue to post.

Thanks a whole bunch!

   LOL!  Such is the benefit of passionate interests, eclectic web news feeds, and copious free time.

Thank you!

[Sigmetnow]

Solar Go-Kart challenge, for high school students, with speed and endurance races.
Up to about 30 mph!

Short videos:

[Sigmetnow]

Most non-Tesla EVs on the market today have a top range of about 75 to 100 miles.  But upcoming 2017 models with 200+ mile range will make long trips more feasible.

Trip Planning in a Tesla Model S
http://www.teslarati.com/trip-planning-tesla-model-s/

EV Trip Planner currently has settings for Teslas and the Nissan Leaf (and allows inputs for other vehicles).
https://www.evtripplanner.com/index.php

Locations and availability of chargers of all kinds, and people's experiences with them:
http://www.plugshare.com

[Sigmetnow]

Yes, We're Still Guzzling Gas

Still, I'm not willing to give up on decoupling. In fact, there's another way to look at the gasoline-consumption data that paints a different picture[:] per-person U.S. gasoline consumption since 1960.

Per-person gasoline use peaked in the U.S. in 1978, and has basically been on a plateau (or at least a series of gently rolling hills) since the early 1980s. That's despite light trucks (minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks) pushing aside cars as Americans' vehicles of choice, and electric cars going through disappointment after disappointment.

Gas prices will go up again. Population growth will keep slowing. Electric vehicles will surely find their footing eventually. Self-driving cars might bring more efficient energy use. Virtual reality might reduce the need for travel. I still think we're getting close to peak overall gasoline use. But we're not there yet.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-04-13/yes-we-re-still-guzzling-gas

[Sigmetnow]

Some people have no faith in the latest technology. 

Tesla’s Autopilot is too much of a leap of faith for this 70 [year-]old lady [Video]
http://electrek.co/2016/04/14/tesla-autopilot-elderly-lady-video/

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla Vice President says Model 3 reservations are ‘approaching 400,000’, real success will be delivery
http://electrek.co/2016/04/14/tesla-model-3-reservations-2/

[Sigmetnow]

Two-thirds of new cars in Norway last month were hybrid or electric

Norway is a case study in the effectiveness of electric-car incentives.

The Scandinavian country is known as the friendliest place in the world for electric cars, thanks to generous financial incentives and other perks.

So while electric and hybrid cars continue to make up a small fraction of new-car sales in other countries, they account for a much larger percentage in Norway.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103383_two-thirds-of-new-cars-in-norway-last-month-were-hybrid-or-electric

[Sigmetnow]

SAEV:  Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicle

Studies suggest a driverless Tesla Model 3 fleet could be highly profitable, obtain significant market share
Calculated costs: $0.66 per mile.

These costs are on the low end of current manually-driven free-float carsharing services such as Car2Go, which charges roughly $0.70 to $1.23 per mile in Austin, Texas (assuming trips are between 2 to 10 miles and travel speeds are between 15 to 35 mph).

Under this pricing assumption, SAEV [Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicle] users would pay roughly 21 to 49% of what is currently charged by transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft (whose equivalent per-mile pricing is $1.50 to $3.18 in Austin).

In fact, these costs are competitive with AAA (2014) estimates of average costs of private vehicle ownership, which ranges from $0.40 to $0.95 cents per mile depending on annual mileage and vehicle type, suggesting that availability of a SAEV fleet can have significant impacts on private vehicle use (and ownership), particularly for low-mileage households.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/15/studies-driverless-tesla-model-3-fleet/

[Sigmetnow]

Mahindra’s Cheap Electric e2o Coming To UK Next Month

The India-based car manufacturer Mahindra has now opened up reservations for its e2o electric car in the UK market.

The 3-door, 4-seat hatchback possesses an advertised range of 79 miles per full charge, and was designed specifically for transportation in dense urban environments (the company is based out of India, of course). First deliveries in the UK market are slated to begin in May.
...
As far as the company’s approach to sales and service, Mahindra is clearly taking a page out of Telsa’s playbook — do the sales process entirely digitally, rather than through dealerships. Test drives can reportedly be booked online for residents/guests in London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Milton Keynes.

http://evobsession.com/mahindras-electric-e2o-coming-to-uk-next-month/

[Sigmetnow]

Valeo and Siemens Partner To Make EV Powertrains

French auto supplier Valeo and German engineering giant Siemens are teaming up to make high voltage powertrains for the entire range of electric vehicles including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles.

Building upon their complementary scope and portfolio, the joint venture will provide substantial synergies in manufacturing and sourcing and create a base for sustained growth and profitability. The electric vehicle components market is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of more than 20% until 2020.

http://electriccarsreport.com/2016/04/valeo-siemens-partner-make-ev-powertrains/

[Sigmetnow]

Will the CHAdeMO EV charging standard lose out against the CCS standard?

Potential Nissan Options In The Case Of CHAdeMO Withdrawal
http://insideevs.com/potential-nissan-options-in-case-the-case-of-chademo-withdrawal/

[Sigmetnow]

The two highest-scoring cars overall in the UK's owner-reported Driver Power 2016: Top 10 best cars to own survey are all-electrics:  the Tesla Model S and the Renault ZOE. 
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/driver-power/95238/best-cars-to-own-driver-power-2016-results

[Sigmetnow]

After a year of battery replacement, testing, and waiting for the right weather, the solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 is taking off today for a three day trip from Hawaii to California.

The completion of the Pacific Crossing
Solar Impulse will take off for its ninth flight from Hawaii to Mountain View, California at 4PM UTC / 6PM CET / 6AM HT. The first Mission Flight of this year will be lasting almost three days in order to complete the crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

Live broadcast and updates here:
http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-9-from-Hawaii-to-Mountain_View_CA

Live on Twitter Periscope:
https://twitter.com/solarimpulse/status/723131168548261888

Edit:   Follow on Twitter under @solarimpulse.

[Sigmetnow]

Need to see if this is just marketed as a compliance car.

Honda will offer all-electric and PHEV versions of the Clarity as soon as next year

Good news coming from Detroit this morning. Honda came to its senses and officially confirmed that the Clarity, which until now was only a fuel cell car, will be offered with two new powertrains, all-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV), as soon as next year.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/21/honda-clarity-all-electric-plug-in/

[Sigmetnow]

U.K. electric-car sales finally take off after long lag

After years of low sales and tepid government support, U.K. plug-in electric car sales are taking off, five years after the first modern electric cars hit the road.

Sales steadily increased during 2015, but really took off in the first quarter of this year.

From January through March, a total of 10,496 electric cars and plug-in hybrids were sold in the U.K., 23 percent more than during the same period in 2015.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103499_u-k-electric-car-sales-finally-take-off-after-long-lag

[ritter]

Looks like VW will buyback US TDI cars since they can't be retrofitted to meet US emissions. Details forthcoming. I wonder what will become of us lease holders. Shafted, as usual? 

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/04/volkswagen-to-buy-back-500000-defeat-device-enabled-cars-reuters-sources-say/

[Sigmetnow]

Looks like VW will buyback US TDI cars since they can't be retrofitted to meet US emissions. Details forthcoming. I wonder what will become of us lease holders. Shafted, as usual? 

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/04/volkswagen-to-buy-back-500000-defeat-device-enabled-cars-reuters-sources-say/

At least some of the "600 lawsuits" should address that....   

[Sigmetnow]

Philadelphia transit authority orders 25 Proterra electric buses

Philadelphia is set to become the first city in the Northeastern US to put battery-electric buses into service. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) plans to purchase 25 40-foot Proterra Catalyst e-buses, which will be deployed on two bus routes in South Philadelphia.

Two canopy-style charging stations will be installed along the routes, and operators and service personnel will receive training in the new technology.

“We have one of the greenest bus fleets in the country,” said SEPTA Deputy General Manager Rich Burnfield, noting that more than half of Philly’s existing buses are hybrids. “With 25 electric buses, this is a real opportunity to pilot those vehicles.”

https://chargedevs.com/newswire/philadelphia-transit-authority-orders-25-proterra-electric-buses/

[Sigmetnow]

Diesel cars' emissions far higher on road than in lab, tests show
UK inquiry after Volkswagen scandal finds much higher nitrogen oxide levels than when vehicles are tested in laboratory

Diesel cars are producing many times more health-damaging pollutants than claimed by laboratory tests, with some emitting up to 12 times the EU maximum when tested on the road, according to a government investigation undertaken following the Volkswagen scandal.

A Department for Transport (DfT) study of cars made by manufacturers such as Ford, Renault and Vauxhall found there was a vast difference in nitrogen oxide emissions measured in the laboratory and under normal driving conditions.

Not a single car among 37 models tested against the two most recent nitrogen oxide emissions standards met the EU lab limit in real-world testing, with the average emissions being more than five times as high.

However, the DfT said it had found no vehicles outside the VW group with systems in place to deliberately rig emissions figures. Robert Goodwill, the junior transport minister, said: “Unlike the Volkswagen situation, there have been no laws broken. This has been done within the rules.”
...
The models tested represented 50% of all diesel cars on the roads sold from 2010 to 2015, the report said.

The results do not mean any of the manufacturers other than Volkswagen have potentially broken any laws, because the only legal standard currently is to meet the lab requirement.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/21/all-top-selling-cars-break-emissions-limits-in-real-world-tests

[ritter]

Looks like VW will buyback US TDI cars since they can't be retrofitted to meet US emissions. Details forthcoming. I wonder what will become of us lease holders. Shafted, as usual? 

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/04/volkswagen-to-buy-back-500000-defeat-device-enabled-cars-reuters-sources-say/

At least some of the "600 lawsuits" should address that....   

Latest news says lease holders should be able to be released from the contract without penalty. Funny, I told VW 6 months ago that the lease agreement said it could be cancelled in case of fraud and I wanted to exercise that. The response was essentially "your fraud, not ours!". I've refrained from jumping on the lawsuit bandwagon, but have been sorely tempted!

[Sigmetnow]

Ten Charts That Will Make You Rethink Tesla's Model 3
With the hoopla over, now the hard work really begins.

Battery cost makes up a third of the price of an electric vehicle—a fact that hasn't been lost on Tesla. The company has been throwing a lot of its sweat and money at cutting this expense—including building the biggest battery factory on the planet and launching a standalone battery-storage business. The strategy seems to be working: Tesla is now making finished battery packs at or below $220 per kilowatt hour, considerably less than the industry average, according to analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). If Tesla can shave an additional 30 percent off its battery cost, it should be able to sell the Model 3 with a healthy 20 percent gross profit margin.

Tesla is also expanding range by eking more miles out of the same electricity. Musk said on Twitter that he thinks the final Model 3 will have a drag coefficient of 0.21. That would make it one of the sleekest cars ever sold....

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-21/tesla-changed-cars-forever-now-it-must-deliver

[Buddy]

And the fossil fuel industry said:  "Oh F***

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3060005/mobile-wireless/scientists-can-now-make-lithium-ion-batteries-last-a-lifetime.html

Just another in an unending line of nails in the coffin for fossil fuels.

No wonder the Koch Brothers are trying to slow down the transformation to electric vehicles.

Just think:  And unending supply of energy from the sun......and now an unending way to store it.

Sorry Koch-heads.....your days are numbered....

[Sigmetnow]

Baidu opens self-driving car R&D center in Silicon Valley, hires Tesla Autopilot

Baidu, China’s most popular search engine, like its US-based counterpart Google, is heavily investing in autonomous driving technologies and today it officially announced the launch of a self-driving car R&D center in Silicon Valley, right in Google’s backyard.

The company expects its team will grow to over 100 researchers and engineers by the end of the year. The company already moved several of its staff from its newly-created Autonomous Driving Unit (ADU) to Sunnyvale and recently hired a Tesla Autopilot software engineer.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/22/baidu-self-driving-car-rd-center-silicon-valley-tesla-autopilot/

[Sigmetnow]

Understanding the Culture of Die-Hard Tesla Model 3 Fans

These unwavering brand fans sparked our attention. We wanted to learn more about who these Model 3 ‘wish-to-be-owners’ are. To do this, we used Affinio to analyze anyone who mentioned ‘Tesla Model 3’ over the last 30 days. Affinio’s algorithm takes a look at each of these individuals, then groups them into clusters based on similar interests. This leaves us with a breakdown of data-driven personas based on their interests.

http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/affinio/understanding-culture-die-hard-tesla-model-3-fans-01514507

[Sigmetnow]

Is today's car industry "broken"?

Carmakers Attempt to Steer Clear of VW Crisis

“What’s clear is that there are legal tricks the whole industry is using,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the Bergisch Gladbach in Germany. “That might be legal, but it’s not a legitimate thing to do, and shines a negative light on the industry as a whole.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-22/days-of-reckoning-for-carmakers-as-vw-crisis-spawns-global-scare

[Sigmetnow]

Volvo targets one million electrified cars by 2025

“It is a deliberately ambitions target,” said Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson. “It’s going to be a challenge, but Volvo wants to be at the forefront of this shift to electrification”.

http://www.electric-vehiclenews.com/2016/04/volvo-targets-one-million-electrified.html

[Sigmetnow]

Solar Impulse 2 Video:  The Hawaii to California leg of the round-the-world airplane flight powered by the sun.  Landing at Moffett Airfield, Mountain View, California, at night.
Flight time:  2 days, 14 hours, 29 minutes.

The completion of the Pacific Crossing
Si2 left Hawaii on 21 April at 6:15 local time and landed at the Moffett Airfield at 23:44 local time (UTC-7) [23 April] completing the crossing of the Pacific Ocean with several world records. By attempting the first solar flight around the world, pushing back the boundaries of the possible, going into the unknown, and taking on a project deemed impossible by industry experts, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg want to support concrete actions for sustainability and show that the world can be run on clean technologies.

http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-9-from-Hawaii-to-Mountain_View_CA

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla’s Autopilot lowers probability of having an accident by 50% based on early data, says Musk

Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made an interesting comment that went mostly unnoticed during a talk in Norway. While talking with Minister of Transport and Communications Ketil Solvik-Olsen, Musk said that based on early data from the Autopilot program, Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system, the probability of an accident happening is about 50% lower when the system is activated.

Here are Musk’s exact words:

“The probability of having an accident is 50% lower if you have Autopilot on. Even with our first version. So we can see basically what’s the average number of kilometers to an accident – accident defined by airbag deployment.  Even with this early version, it’s almost twice as good as a person.”

He is referring to the first generation of the Autopilot as he expects the second generation, which should be fully autonomous, to be significantly safer as it will need to be in order to be made legal by regulators.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/24/tesla-autopilot-probability-accident/

[Sigmetnow]

"Inside EVs" explains Edmunds' surprising result on low EV trade-in loyalty:  the most popular EV models being traded-in had no current model to be loyal to -- or, a much better version will be available in a few months.

And:

Tesla – If you have bought a new EV at Tesla Motors over the last 3 months (which was the number 1 seller by a long shot, almost ~30% of the segment), you probably realized pretty quickly that this isn’t your dad’s dealership, and if you had an EV to “trade-in”, you didn’t do it here.

While small, fuel-efficient SUVs were a popular choice, "...only about 1.4 percent went toward a gas-guzzling purchase of a large SUV or crossover SUV."

Bottom line:  wait for 2017 numbers!  The 400,000 reservations for the Tesla Model 3 show the public is eager to buy an affordable, full-featured EV with 200-mile range.

Edmunds: Electric And Hybrid Owner Loyalty Sinks To All-Time Low – We Explain Why
http://insideevs.com/edmunds-claims-electric-hybrid-owner-loyalty-sinks-to-all-time-low/

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla officially launches the ‘Destination Charging’ program in Europe with 150 new chargers
http://electrek.co/2016/04/25/tesla-launch-destination-charging-europe/

[Sigmetnow]

Dubai Wants 25 Percent of Car Trips Driverless by 2030
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/dubai-wants-25-percent-car-trips-driverless-2030-n561616

[Sigmetnow]

German automakers are reluctant to finance the government’s €1 billion electric vehicle plan
http://electrek.co/2016/04/25/germany-ev-incentive-2/

[Sigmetnow]

Four new (or updated) electric cars coming for 2017
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103587_four-new-or-updated-electric-cars-coming-for-2017

[Sigmetnow]

VW's European Recall Hits Delay as Passat Fix Is Pushed Back

Volkswagen AG postponed a recall of about 150,000 rigged Passat sedans because it couldn’t get German regulators to sign off on the fix, another blot on the carmaker’s effort to recover from the seven-month-old diesel scandal.

The German carmaker is working to gain regulatory approval for repairs that ensure the vehicles don’t become noisier and have worse fuel economy after disabling emissions-cheating software, according to Juergen Stackmann, the VW brand’s sales chief. Volkswagen, which had planned to start recalling 2.0-liter diesel-powered Passats in March, is now switching gears and seeking approval for repairs to the higher-volume Golf hatchback instead.

“Neither the regulator nor us is happy with the result” of the fix for VW’s best-selling sedan, Stackmann in an interview at the Beijing motor show. “We’re working on a new solution to the Passat. We’ll start with the Golf in Europe. It’s not a race for time.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-25/vw-postpones-german-recall-of-tainted-passat-sedans-on-fix-delay

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla Model S 90D EPA Rating Tops 300 Miles Highway

With the rumored possibility that Tesla will introduce a Model S P100D with 100 kWh battery pack, presumably with improved battery chemistry and battery management software, we could see EPA range ratings near 350 miles and as high as 400 miles in the very near future.

http://www.teslarati.com/new-tesla-model-s-90d-gets-300-mile-epa-rating/

[Sigmetnow]

Hyundai is working on an all-electric SUV with “around 200 miles of range”

While some (including myself) were disapointed when Hyundai confirmed that its first all-electric vehicle, the Ioniq, will only have about 110 miles of EPA-rated range, we can now find some comfort in the fact that the Korean automaker plans for its next all-electric vehicle to have almost twice as much range as the Ioniq.

Following a new report coming from Korea ahead of the Beijing Auto Show, Hyundai confirmed working on an all-electric SUV with around 200 miles of range.

http://electrek.co/2016/04/26/hyundai-all-electric-suv/

[Sigmetnow]

Automakers entrenched in fuel cell hydrogen are succumbing to physics and going electric

I think we are witnessing the start of a new (but long overdue) trend this year. The few established automakers still pushing fuel cell hydrogen vehicles appear to be warming up to battery-powered electric vehicles instead. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai, arguably the automakers most stuck on hydrogen, all announced new electric vehicle programs in the past few weeks.

Toyota is working on a plug-in version of the Corolla. Hyundai is bringing its Ioniq electric platform to market by the end of the year and this morning, we reported on the Korea-based automaker developing a next generation battery-powered electric SUV.

Those two automakers are arguably the most entrenched in fuel cell technology with the Toyota Mirai, the Hyundai Tuscon Fuel Cell, and billions spent in investments between the two of them, but the most telling news is that Honda, another fuel cell believer, is planning to launch a battery-powered version of the Clarity, a car it actually developed for its fuel cell program.

Again, this transition is long overdue. For most people, the physics of fuel cell vehicles make little sense compared to battery-powered vehicles. The complex powertrain featured above should be enough to drive people away from the technology, but a more simple demonstration of the inefficiency of fuel cell versus electric vehicle is evident when comparing cycles:

http://electrek.co/2016/04/26/automakers-fuel-cell-hydrogen-electric-vehicles/

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla confirms base Model 3 will have less than 60 kWh battery pack option, cost is below $190/kWh and falling
http://electrek.co/2016/04/26/tesla-model-3-battery-pack-cost-kwh/

[Sigmetnow]

Except Ford.

Ford says 'no thanks' to 200-mile electric car race, for now
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103530_ford-says-no-thanks-to-200-mile-electric-car-race-for-now

[Sigmetnow]

New study of views about electric cars:

Half of car buyers say electric car must have 300 miles of range

The study looked at current consumer views of electric cars, and was conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Range is apparently still an issue for many consumers, with 56 percent of respondents saying cars must have 300 miles of range before they would even consider purchasing one.
...
There's better news, too: 52 percent of respondents said electric cars were "just as good as or better than" gasoline cars.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103394_half-of-car-buyers-say-electric-car-must-have-300-miles-of-range

The study (pdf) is here:
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/consumer_views_pev_benchmark.pdf

[Sigmetnow]

Elon Musk recently visited Norway and thanked them for their support of sustainable energy and electric cars.  Most of Tesla's cold weather testing is done in Norway.  He also spoke about the Gigafactory; "subsidies" for ICE cars; an even cheaper Tesla than the Model 3; and teased about his plans for a new kind of transport to replace buses that provides point-to-point transportation like a car.

Here is the YouTube link:


Article:
Fourth-Generation Tesla to Arrive After Model 3 Says Musk
http://www.teslarati.com/fourth-generation-tesla-come-model-3-says-musk/