Tesla Energy
Tesla’s battery cell presentation at the Gigafactory: ‘the output of this thing is going to be insane’ [audio of Q&A]
Musk said that Tesla is investing in vertical integration. He half-jokingly said that the “best case scenario” would be to “put the factory over a mine and out comes a car”. He compared the concept of the Gigafactory’s vertical integration to Ford’s effort 100 years ago at River Rouge Complex, the largest integrated factory in the world at the time. Musk said that the Gigafactory will go further in integration than River Rouge.
Elon does a good job in the Q&A (audio linked to in article) describing Tesla's ambitions to become the best manufacturer in the world within 10 years. It's interesting to note that Tesla is already designing much of the automation going into their factories and will take a significant leap forward in automation when Model 3 enters production.
Model S
Tesla releases the details of its new Supercharger Credit program
Tesla Model S and Model X cars ordered after January 15, 2017 will receive 400 kWh (kilowatt-hour) of free Supercharging credits (roughly 1,000 miles) annually on the anniversary of their delivery. We carefully considered current Supercharger usage and found that 400 kWh covers the annual long-distance driving needs of the majority of our owners. As a result, most owners will continue to enjoy the benefits of Supercharging on road trips at no additional cost. If customers travel beyond their annual credit, they will be charged a small fee to Supercharge. In North America, pricing is fixed within each state or province; overseas, pricing is fixed within each country. In most regions, Tesla owners will pay per kWh as it’s the fairest way to pay for the exact energy used. However, due to local regulations, in several regions we will charge per minute of usage instead, though we are actively working with regulators to update the rules.
I'm glad Tesla is implementing a pay-to-charge program like this, especially before Model 3 hits the road in mass numbers. I think it's a fair and reasonable system.
Model 3
Tesla will rule the car world
Here’s what I see. Tesla is, as it ever was, defying traditional business truisms. By dreaming big, using open-source principles and getting customer buy-in for Musk’s vision, Tesla will become the 21st-century car company. All the others will just be following Tesla’s tire tracks.
Tesla Model 3 Prototype Spotted at Gigafactory, And It Looks Incredible
The hotly-anticipated Tesla Model 3 made an appearance in prototype form last week, as investors gathered at a Gigafactory event where the company confirmed it has started mass production of battery cells. The photos confirm what everyone was hoping: despite being a budget-range car, the Model 3 is going to be stunning when it hits the roads.
Autopilot
Tesla’s Autopilot Head Departs With Hiring of Apple Engineer
Sterling Anderson, director of Autopilot programs since November 2015, departed Palo Alto, California-based Tesla in December, his LinkedIn page shows. Chris Lattner, who led the 2014 introduction of Apple’s Swift programming language for apps on its devices, has been named vice president of Autopilot software, according to a Tesla blog post.
Sterling Anderson leaving Tesla is significant news as he was the leading both Autopilot and the Model X program.
TSLA
Tesla - Tilson Compares To Amazon And Netflix But Won't Buy Or Short
Before making a decision, I wanted to see the Gigafactory (I toured the Fremont, CA factory in 2013) and hear Elon Musk and CTO JB Straubel (link to recording below), whom I’d never seen before. Overall, I was quite impressed and have decided not to short the stock – though with some feelings of regret because I think there’s a decent chance it works on the short side, but this is offset by my feeling that there’s maybe a 20% chance that Musk and Straubel pull another inside straight and the stock spikes upward.
Nice article from investor Whitney Tilson, who had previously shorted Tesla from $35 to $205 (!!!)). It's hard to imagine that he was tempted to short TSLA again, but thanks to the Gigafactory tour he's apparently come to his senses.
Apple’s Mac Pro, Touch Bar MacBook and original Air designer, Matt Casebolt, will now be designing Teslas
9to5mac has learned that Matt Casebolt, a high profile Senior Director of Design for Apple’s Mac lineup left the company last month for a role at Tesla as Sr. Director Engineering, Closures & Mechanisms... Over the past two and a half years Casebolt led the development of the MacBook Pro with its standout and sometimes controversial Touch Bar feature. Before that, he led the team working on the iconic ‘trash can’ Mac Pro and was previously instrumental in the design of the first generations of MacBook Air. These are some of Apple’s most iconic Mac products over the past decade.
I love my iPhone and new Airpods, and I'm a huge Apple fan but I'll be frank... Apple just isn't as an exciting of a company as Tesla is. Tesla's next 10 years is filled with new products that aim to change the world in a bold and ambitious way. It's a mission and trajectory that's difficult for Apple to compete with.
Other News
Fiat Chrysler shares plunge 13% after EPA accuses automaker of using deceptive software
The agency alleged Fiat Chrysler violated the Clean Air Act by installing and failing to disclose "engine management software in light-duty model year 2014, 2015 and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks with 3.0 liter diesel engines sold in the United States." The undisclosed software results increased nitrogen oxide emissions from the vehicles, the EPA said. The Justice Department is reportedly working with the EPA on this issue. The company could be liable for civil penalties and injunctive relief for the alleged violations, the EPA said.
Alphabet’s Waymo Cuts Cost of Key Self-Driving Sensor by 90%
Waymo has cut costs by 90 percent on LiDAR sensors, which bounce light off objects to create a three-dimensional map of a car’s surroundings. The breakthrough will let Waymo bring the technology to millions of consumers, John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive officer, said in a speech at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.