Tesla Energy
Graph of the Day - Tesla Powerwall 2 way ahead of competition on price
The Powerwall 2 is almost 30% cheaper than its next closest competitor, but the comparison is actually better than the graph makes it appear because the AC version of the Powerwall 2 includes a built in battery-inverter and the DC version includes a built in DC converter while its closest competitors on cost per stored kilowatt-hour do not.
Model S
Tesla adds ‘100D’ badges for Model S and X, hints at imminent release of its longest range car yet
The change was first spotted today by Tesla subreddit moderator 110110. The badge was added to the source code of the configurator, but it isn’t public and can’t be selected just yet. While it clearly hints at an imminent release of the new model, we don’t know exactly when it will be available for order yet. We reached out to Tesla to see if they wanted to comment, but the company didn’t answer our inquiries.
I'm somewhat surprised we haven't seen the release of the 100D Model S and X yet. Perhaps Tesla is waiting until January and the start of the new quarter.
Model X
2016 Tesla Model X Review: Fast and Flawed
But beyond the brag-worthy magic, the all-wheel-drive Model X 90D largely disappoints. The rear doors are prone to pausing and stopping. The second-row seats can’t be folded, limiting cargo-carrying ability. The big windshield is neat but not tinted enough to offset the brightness of a sunny day, and wind noise is excessive. Despite its 5,400-pound weight, the X has warp-speed thrust, hitting 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds. Driven sedately, our test car’s 90-kWh battery provided about 230 miles of range. The agile Tesla corners more like a sports sedan than an SUV, but its ride is too firm and choppy for a $110,000 car.
Somehow Consumer Reports missed all the great parts of the Model X - great handling, the out-of-this-world falcon wing doors, amazing visibility, open and spacious interior, etc. The only part that I do agree with Consumer Reports is that I think the Model X ride is a bit too stiff.
Autopilot
Elon Musk: Enhanced Autopilot To Be Released In 3 Weeks, Incremental Monthly Releases Beyond That
Musk confirmed, via Twitter, that Enhanced Autopilot will become available in “about three weeks”, with the system’s advancement and progress happening incrementally in future monthly releases. Once complete, the software will be updated over-the-air, as will the official level 5 autonomy, when the time comes.
Tesla Semi
Silicon Valley Has an Empathy Vacuum
Otto, a Bay Area startup that was recently acquired by Uber, wants to automate trucking—and recently wrapped up a hundred-and-twenty-mile driverless delivery of fifty thousand cans of beer between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. From a technological standpoint it was a jaw-dropping achievement, accompanied by predictions of improved highway safety. From the point of view of a truck driver with a mortgage and a kid in college, it was a devastating “oh, shit” moment. That one technical breakthrough puts nearly two million long-haul trucking jobs at risk. Truck driving is one of the few decent-paying jobs that doesn’t require a college diploma. Eliminating the need for truck drivers doesn’t just affect those millions of drivers; it has a ripple effect on ancillary services like gas stations, motels, and retail outlets; an entire economic ecosystem could break down.
Autonomous driving has potential to reap truly disruptive effects on the trucking industry, and this is something Tesla will need to navigate if their Tesla Semi is a big success.
Elon Musk
Right-wing group led by Trump propagandist launches campaign against Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX
A right-wing propaganda group led by one of Donald Trump’s top propagandists recently launched a campaign called ‘Stop Elon From Failing Again’. According to their manifesto, the initiative aims to stop Elon Musk from “defrauding” American taxpayers through his companies, Tesla and SpaceX. The effort is backed by conservative public relations specialists and Trump insiders that are funded by fossil fuel interests. Unsurprisingly, it is full of misinformation about Tesla, electric vehicles, and solar energy.
Other News
Flying cars are closer than you think
The big constraint on all of this stuff is batteries. Assuming no battery breakthrough, what [flying car] companies are trying to solve, fundamentally, is the power problem — which is, "How do we get the thing airborne and 50 miles without literally running out of charge?" The single biggest X factor in the next five or 10 years for all of this stuff will be if there is some fundamental breakthrough in battery technology, then basically all of these questions of what’s possible get reopened. Because if I had 10 or 100 times the amount of power that lasts 10 or 100 times longer, then we’re building Iron Man suits. Then all kinds of things start to happen.
5 major automakers join forces to deploy 400 ultra-fast (350 kW) charging stations for electric vehicles in Europe
The new network will be based on Combined Charging System (CCS) standard technology and each station will feature not only both level 2 AC chargers and level 3 DC chargers, but also the new ” ultra-fast high-powered chargers” and, like the ones of the Ultra E project, they will be able to deliver up to 350 kW – more than twice the capacity of the current best charger, Tesla’s Supercharger at 145 kW. 400 sites are apparently just the “initial target” of the joint-venture and deployment will start in 2017.