Tesla Energy
SolarCity Co-Founder and CTO Peter Rive Is Leaving Tesla
Both Rive brothers have now left Tesla.
“We can confirm that Pete Rive will be leaving the company to explore new opportunities," according to the spokesperson. "As co-founder and CTO of SolarCity, Pete has played an instrumental role in expanding access to solar to hundreds of thousands of people across the country, helping to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy," the statement said. "Pete’s responsibilities, including work on Solar Roof, will be distributed among Tesla’s existing engineering teams. We want to thank Pete for everything he’s done for SolarCity and Tesla.”
Model S
Lucid Air electric luxury sedan: a Tesla Model S owner's take
Informative comparison review of the Lucid Air vs the Model S:
For me personally, the Air has two big advantages over the Model S: the bigger driver’s door, and the improved control ergonomics. And I do love the sweeping panoramic windshield and glass roof. But on the other hand: no hatchback for my bikes and dog. No cool CEO who also makes rockets. No company policy to change the world. And here’s the killer: no Supercharging network.
Tesla to receive generous EV subsidies in Korea
Great news for Tesla in Korea:
Local Tesla customers will be eligible to receive the government’s subsidies following plans to scrap a strict rule that blocked generous incentives for long-range electric vehicles. Beginning September, the Ministry of Environment on July 18 said it will abolish the so-called “10-hour charging rule” that determined the incentive eligibility. As of now, an EV has to be fully charged in less than 10 hours with a 7 kilowatt-hour low-speed charger. As a result, Tesla Model S, its first vehicle to be sold in Korea, failed to receive the hefty incentives that reached up to 26 million won (US$23,278), as it takes at least 13 hours to fully charge with high capacity -- 70 kilowatt/hour or 90 kilowatt/hour -- battery equipped cars.
Model 3
Model 3 Interior Images
Here we see the rear interior of the vehicle. Now, although people have seen the front interior of the vehicle multiple times, the rear has rarely been noticed. The first thing we see is that there is more storage space. Just like the front of the vehicle, storage space has been added to the bottom of the doors which are not present in the Model S/X. Based on design, the back of the middle seat will open up allowing for space to put some items and most likely 2 cup holders to go with them. There are also physical armrests in the doors that come down to approximately waist level if someone were sitting. In the Model S/X, the armrests are just a portion of the door that caves down and in as shown in the image with only a small amount of space. There are also 2 USB charge ports but the cup holders that pop out have been removed.
The Model 3 interior photos look great.
Autopilot
Tesla pushes new Autopilot 2.0 update with truly ‘silky smooth’ control algorithm
We talked to a few owners of Tesla vehicles with second generation Autopilot who already received the update and they all noticed improvements with both Autosteer and TACC. Their vehicles are not “ping ponging” between the lanes anymore, both on highways and also on single lane roads. They all called the update “smoother”, like Musk’s comment, but the biggest improvement is the Automatic Lane Change, which is now almost flawless, according to some owners. Though, we are also hearing about overall improvements.
Autopilot 2.0 continues to improve, albeit it's been somewhat slower than Tesla had hoped for. But Tesla has laid great groundwork with their neural net and vision software, and I'm expecting Autopilot 2.0 to continue to make impressive improvements.
TSLA
Tesla Welcomes Linda Johnson Rice and James Murdoch as New Independent Directors to its Board
We would like to welcome Linda Johnson Rice, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), and James Murdoch, Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Fox (21CF), to Tesla’s board of directors.
Interesting choice to bring in a media executive into the Tesla board.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: We need to build a base on the moon
Elon Musk thinks we need to build a base on the moon if we are going to stoke public interest in space travel. Speaking at the International Space Station (ISS) Research & Development Conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, the SpaceX founder and leader spoke about the various opportunities space offers for business and innovation. He also lamented that many people seem to be unaware of the International Space Station, or do not seem to fully understand "how cool the ISS is." Asked what opportunities space affords, Musk cited several things, but said, "If you want to get the public fired up, you've got to put a base on the moon," adding that it would be the "continuance to the dream" of the Apollo missions.
Other News
Electric car startup Lucid Motors is short of cash and weighing its options
Building a new car company is not easy:
Ford is still very much interested in acquiring the Silicon Valley-based startup, according to one person very close to the negotiations. Jim Hackett, Ford’s new CEO, visited the company with a number of executives on June 28. Ford subsequently presented Lucid with a draft contract called a term sheet. Even if Lucid agreed to sell, there would be a period of research and due diligence before the acquisition closed. However, Recode has been told that at least two other unnamed companies are also interested in acquiring the startup, and that the Series D funding round is proceeding in parallel. One source describes the fundraising as “a work in process,” with Lucid sitting on financing offers of more than $200 million while it considers selling the company outright.