Tesla Energy
Tesla and Panasonic Will Begin Manufacturing Solar Cells and Modules in Buffalo, NY
Tesla and Panasonic have finalized an agreement this week to begin the manufacturing of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules at the Buffalo, NY factory. These high-efficiency PV cells and modules will be used to produce solar panels in the non-solar roof products. When production of the solar roof begins, Tesla will also incorporate Panasonic's cells into the many kinds of solar glass tile roofs that Tesla will be manufacturing. All of these solar products will work seamlessly with Tesla’s energy storage products, Powerwall and Powerpack. Production of the first PV modules will begin in summer 2017, and will ramp to 1 Gigawatt of module production by 2019.
This means Tesla won't need to invest much cash into the Buffalo factory thanks to Panasonic.
Tesla Makes Reno a Critical Stop on Way to Las Vegas and CES
As far as Tesla’s concerned, what’s happening in Las Vegas can stay in Las Vegas. The real action is some 400 dusty miles northwest, across the state in Reno. The electric-car maker is seizing on next week’s consumer electronics show to host investors and analysts at Gigafactory 1, the sprawling Nevada plant where it makes batteries and energy storage packs. Tesla Motors Inc.’s invitation-only “investor event” will take place Jan. 4, as the tech and automotive industries swarm into Las Vegas for CES 2017.
Tesla is likely going to show investors actual cells coming off the production line at the Gigafactory.
Model S
Video Of Tesla “Predicting” A Car Crash Seconds Before It Happens Goes Viral
Check out this amazing dashcam footage to see a Tesla car apparently predicting a car crash just seconds before it happened. Realizing that an accident was about to occur on the A2 highway in the Netherlands, the car’s autopilot feature, which assists the car to sense what’s up ahead by utilizing safe-driving-pattern monitoring, triggered the alarm and the emergency braking system moments before the crash unfolded. Despite the high-speed collision however, Hans Noordsij, who recently shared the video on Twitter, confirmed that nobody was serious hurt in the crash.
New Tesla Model S P100D Owner Keeps Experiencing Loss Of Power Steering
Brownlee’s P100D is one of the very first face-lifted and updated models to come off of the production line back in September. The YouTuber followed up the video with a tweet on December 20th stating that Tesla is claiming the issue was caused by a “contaminant” on the circuit for the electrical steering.
Glad to see Tesla's effort to find the root of the problem for this owner.
Tesla’s upcoming ‘Supercharger V3’ is the last piece of the EV adoption puzzle – and means more ZEV credits
Last weekend, I had a quick Twitter conversation with Musk during which he mentioned the third generation Tesla Supercharger. Tesla released a second generation of its DC fast-charging station last year that enabled a power output of 135-145 kW – up from the 120 kW of the first generation. Now Musk’s answer to me asking whether Tesla’s next Supercharger will have an output greater than 350 kW clearly shows that such an output will be a joke compared to what he has in mind for the ‘Supercharger V3’: @FredericLambert A mere 350 kW … what are you referring to, a children's toy? — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 24, 2016.
It’s safe to assume that it will be significantly greater than 350 kW and could bring down the charging time of a 300-mile battery pack to 15 minutes or less.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the possibility of supercharging at 350+ kW.
S.Korea considers new electric car rules as Tesla readies showroom
South Korea will consider scrapping a rule next year that denies subsidies for electric vehicles with high-capacity batteries, a move that could open its market to more long-range models including some from Tesla Motors Inc. Currently, buyers of EVs that fully charge in under 10 hours using a standard electricity supply receive up to 22 million won ($18,328). The Model S 90D and latest e6 from China's BYD Co Ltd likely take longer, industry officials say.
Autopilot
Data Wins
Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures:
Whenever people ask me which company I think will win the self driving car race, I say Tesla. And the reason is that they have more data. And when it comes to training machines to do what humans do, more data is better than more software engineers.
Tesla Semi
Uber Freight goes after the trucking business
Uber, the technology company (which, because of its ride-hailing app, functions a lot like a transportation company) launched Uber Freight on Monday night. The minimalist website features a gentle clip, filmed from above, of an 18-wheeler driving on a green hillside. There’s a place for carriers and shippers to give their email addresses to Uber, and links for media to contact the company.
Can't wait to see what Tesla reveals to compete against Uber Freight.
TSLA
Tesla (TSLA) Going 'All Out' to Hit Model 3 Production Goals
While many are skeptical about Elon Musk's Tesla aggressive 2nd-half 2017 production target of 100k units of the mass market Model 3, analyst Jennifer Liang of Chinese research firm KGI said their channel checks reveal that Telsa is going all out to speed up production by introducing system integrators (SI) in the supply chain and strengthening automation. "Versus supply chain management for Model S and X, where nearly all parts and components are shipped to Tesla's Fremont factory in California for sub- and final assembly, Tesla has brought in two SIs, located in Thailand and China, for various sub-assembly for Model 3," Liang said. "Its recent acquisition of Grohmann Engineering (DE), a specialist in automated manufacturing, is clearly another endeavour by Tesla to accelerate Model 3 production."
Tesla Motors Named Top 2017 Pick at Baird
Kallo does not believe Tesla's energy storage business and growth opportunity is currently reflected in share prices. "We believe TSLA battery sales are accelerating, and we should see additional benefits from the battery production ramp coinciding with the launch of the Model 3," he commented. "We recommend accumulating shares ahead of additional details being released about TSLA’s current battery costs and density metrics, and believe the upcoming Gigafactory tour on January 4 will be a positive catalyst for the stock."