Tesla Motors - Page 3

HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Tesla Motors didn't announce the self-driving car that some had expected but did roll out an exotic suite of driver-aid and safety features Thursday night.

And it said it'll have a hopped-up version of its Model S that has all-wheel drive and blasts to 60 mph in little more than 3 seconds.

Tesla's moves are closely watched by its shareholders, who seem to bid up stock prices wildly, then sell, so the Tesla shares rocket, then tumble, somewhat like technology stocks. And the electric-carmaker's moves are considered a foretaste of what mainstream automakers might need to emulate to stay abreast of the latest technology.

Tesla announced Thursday that the all-wheel-drive versions of its Model S electric car will manage a slight increase in range of about 10 miles on a charge vs. the rear-drive models — for a maximum of 275 miles — because of efficiencies designed into the new system.

Tesla says that it can upgrade its first and now-discontinued model, the Roadster, to drive 400 miles on a single charge—the longest operating range yet for the company’s all-electric vehicles. But there are only about 2,500 vehicles in existence that can receive the upgrade.

The extended range comes from a combination of improved battery technology since the Roadster’s introduction in 2008, improved aerodynamics and lower-friction tires. The company says it will drive a retrofitted model from San Francisco to Los Angeles to demonstrate the new technology in early 2015, and Roadster owners will be able to make appointments to receive the upgrade in the spring. There is no word yet on how much the update will cost.

The original Roadster could travel 245 miles on a single charge, while Tesla’s current Model S has a range of 265 miles. The average US driver drove about 30 miles per day in 2009, according to a US government study (pdf), but “range anxiety” is often seen as a problem faced by companies marketing all-electric vehicles.

The company has yet to reveal the range of the SUV-style Model X, which begins deliveries next year, or still forthcoming Model 3, expected to be a more affordable option than the Model S, which starts at $71,070 before incentives. Tesla’s announcement stresses that no upgrades to the Model S are expected soon, and CEO Elon Musk deleted a tweet that reportedly promised the upgrade to its existing models “obviously *will* happen long-term.”

ELON MUSK, A man not known for subtlety or lack of ambition, has a plan to dominate the transportation sector. He doesn’t call it that, of course. He gave it the far more benign name Master Plan, Part Deux.

Beyond creating a vertically integrated company that builds electric vehicles, batteries to store the power to propel them, and the solar panels to generate that power, he wants to create whole new vehicle lineups. Some of them sound like they’re in advanced stages of development.

The plan, which Musk posted to the Tesla Motors blog on Wednesday afternoon, comes a decade after Part One, which essentially laid out the company’s plan to make boatloads of money with the Model S so it could produce the more affordable Model 3. Having crossed those things off his to-do list—while also outfitting an automobile factory, a battery factory, and, oh, running SpaceX and Solar City—Musk has moved on to the second phase of his plan.

Even as the company scrambles to produce the Model 3 sedan that Musk remains convinced will bring EVs to the masses, Tesla Motors, according to the Master Plan, Part Deux, sees itself creating a compact SUV and “a new kind of pickup truck.” Beyond that, Musk says, “there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport.”

He means big-rigs and buses, and says both are the early stages of development—and could be revealed next year. “We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.”
Now, electric buses are nothing new. San Francisco is crawling with them. But a Tesla bus? You know it would be gorgeous. Musk says they’d be smaller than you’re used to, but offer plenty of room for wheelchairs, strollers, and bikes. They’ll be quick enough to keep up with traffic, and deliver a smooth ride.

Where things get really wild, though, is his claim that Tesla buses would not have to stick to pre-determined routes like the busses that rumble past your office. A little intelligent planning with smartphones and mapping (think = Uber Pool) can deliver people right to their door. He’s even put some thought into what people without smartphones will do. They can use fixed summon buttons at existing bus stops, which will otherwise be redundant.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the first image of the upcoming all-electric Tesla Semi truck during a TED Talk on Friday, describing in terms usually associated with the flash and elegance of a sports car. It’s really impossible to verify that’s the case based on this first picture — a shadowy behemoth surrounded by darkness, save for a couple lightning-bright headlines which light up the outline of the truck’s exterior. But we’ll take Musk’s word for it.

“This will be a very spry truck,” Musk told the audience at his talk. “You can drive it around like a sports car.”

Musk has already taken the prototype for a test spin around a parking lot.

“There’s no gears,” he said. “It’s like single speed.”

The truck seems to retain the characteristic headlight design seen on the Tesla Model X and Model S. If the company is truly serious about going into the world of semis, it’s certainly trying to make sure keeps its identity. And it wants to turn Tesla Semi into an industry bully that can help alleviate heavy-duty trucking loads better than its competitors.

“With the Tesla Semi, we want to show that an electric truck can out torque any diesel semi,” he said. “If you had a tug-of-war competition, the Tesla Semi will tug the diesel semi uphill.”

Tesla will make a bigger reveal of Tesla Semi this coming September, which will be followed in the next 18 to 24 months with new details on a new electric pick-up truck model.

“It’s quite bizarre test-driving,” Musk said. “When I was driving the test prototype for this truck, it’s really weird because you’re driving around because you’re so nimble and you’re in this giant truck. I drove it around the parking lot. I was like, ‘this is crazy.’”

Musk added that the company is looking to open up four new Gigafactory sites in the near future, and they should be announced later this year, supporting chatter brought up by Tesla’s latest earnings statement.

Beyond that, Musk says Tesla’s testing of it autonomous driving systems is going very well, and believes the company could have the capability to demonstrate a totally automated drive of a passenger from California to New York before the end of the year.

And there’s no doubt Musk wants to see an autonomous Tesla Semi one day, although he acknowledges that’s a much more difficult thing to achieve. “We want to be cautious of the autonomy features” on a truck, he cautioned.

On July 01 2017 01:10 pmh wrote:
In other words:our patents are virtually worthless.

Nah probably not,just kidding. But this still looks like a kinda weird move to me. What are they hoping to gain here?
Maybe they want to push a standard for electric cards like with charging,but is that not highly flexible already? Like a charging station with xx kwh could probably also easily be made to charge at xy kwh. Maybe they want a bit help in building the infrastructure which probably would be to costly to do by themselves?

The wait is almost over. Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed on his Twitter page Sunday evening that the Model 3 has passed all regulatory requirements “two weeks ahead of schedule,” and the first production car should arrive shortly. To celebrate, Musk has announced possibly the most hotly anticipated event in the Model 3’s journey: the launch party.

The Model 3 is an important moment for Tesla. The entry-level sedan will start at $35,000, far cheaper than the company’s current cheapest car, the $68,000 Model S. The release opens Tesla up to a far wider market, and demand is expected to be high for a vehicle made by a company that, until now, has only made electric vehicles priced at a premium.

The first 30 customers will be invited to a special event, taking place July 28, where the company will hand over the world’s first Model 3 vehicles. These lucky few will be the envy of the Tesla world: Over 400,000 people have put down a deposit to order the $35,000 car as soon as it hits the roads. The reservation backlog is so long that new orders are expected to arrive around mid-2018 or later.

It’s exciting news, but customers will still want to know more about optional extras. Until now, the only thing we’ve known for sure price-wise about the Model 3 is its starting price. Pre-release models spotted on the streets of California since March have revealed the company is testing a variety of color options. Tesla may use the handover party to reveal how much extras like premium paint options, seating, and sound will set consumers back.

Musk also revealed that “SN1” (serial number 1) will be completed on Friday.

The company set itself the deadline of starting production on July 1. While it’s uncertain whether Tesla met that specific goal, it appears the company has excelled at its attempt to meet a goal that even Musk described as “impossible.” Musk explained to investors in May that the July 1 deadline was more to hold its suppliers’ “feet to the fire” to ensure parts were delivered on time, making Tesla’s achievement all the more impressive.

Musk also revealed that the company is expected to reach a production rate of 20,000 Model 3 cars per month by the end of the year, reaching its goal, set in February, of 5,000 cars per week. Currently, Tesla makes around 100,000 cars per year, but in February the company set itself the goal of producing over 500,000 Model 3 vehicles per year alone. It’s an ambitious goal, but considering Tesla has managed to reach its Model 3 production goals until now, the future looks promising.