Model S
Tesla discontinues ‘Resale Value Guarantee’ program for new vehicles to focus on low interest rates
“We have discontinued the Resale Value Guarantee program as of July 1 so that we can keep interest rates as low as possible and offer a compelling Lease and Loan program to customers. We will continue to support customers currently financed through the RVG program.”
Model X
Tesla Model X 60 kWh Now Available - Starting Price Is $74,000
Today we’re introducing Model X 60D at a starting price of $74,000 – giving customers the flexibility to choose the Tesla model, price point and range that best fits their lifestyle... The new Model X 60D delivers up to 200 miles of range (EPA est.), a top speed of 130 mph, zero-to-60 acceleration in 6.0 seconds, and all-wheel drive performance, starting at $74,000.
MotorWeek Road Test Of 2016 Tesla Model X
MotorWeek finally released its previously announced full road test of Tesla Model X. It’s not a typical SUV, and the review is full of many positives as one might expect. MotorWeek does note some small disadvantages, such as the seats (non-folding 2nd row and noisy).
Model 3
Tesla Model 3’s trunk opening is bigger on production version than on prototype, says Elon
Tesla Model 3 reservation holders will be happy to know that Tesla apparently already fixed that small trunk opening issue seen on the Model 3 prototypes, which has been a big concern for several early adopters. We are only a few days away from pencil down on the Model 3 design and CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company took care of the trunk opening.
Autopilot
Elon Musk announces ‘moderate to big’ improvements for Autopilot on current hardware
Elon is betting on a better reading of the radar feedback with “temporal smoothing” to make these expected improvements: "Working on using existing Tesla radar by itself (decoupled from camera) w temporal smoothing to create a coarse point cloud, like lidar."
Tesla Model X goes off the road and crashes in Montana, driver blames the Autopilot
Now we learn of yet another crash where the Autopilot was reportedly at play. A Tesla Model X crashed in Montana Saturday night resulting in the SUV driving through a guardrail and going off the road. The driver blames the Autopilot but Tesla has yet to chime in… Based on the pictures of the aftermath, the vehicle appears to be totaled with the front passenger side being completely torn off, including the wheel, but fortunately, both occupants are reportedly OK.
NHTSA’s Tesla Autopilot evaluation is requesting information about the entire Autopilot fleet
Here are some of the requests we found to be most notable: The detailed list of all of Tesla’s Autopilot capable vehicles including the VIN, model, model year, total mileage with Autosteer on, total number of “Hands on Wheel” Autosteer warnings records, etc. The list of all consumer complaints, field reports, reports involving a crash, property damage claims and lawsuits. To describe all past, present or future analyses and studies that pertain to or are possibly related to the alleged defect. And to describe any and all modifications to Tesla’s vehicles that may or may not relate to the alleged defect.
Autopilot wasn’t on during Model X crash in PA and Musk says it would have prevented accident
Now apparently Tesla managed to access the logs (they can be downloaded directly in the vehicle) and CEO Elon Musk says that the Autopilot was actually turned off during the crash which happened on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on July 1st – the day after NHTSA announced a probe of the Autopilot following a fatal accident in Florida.
Musk went as far as saying that if the Autopilot would have been on before the crash, it could have prevented it.
European Authority says ‘no safety concerns’ with Tesla’s Autopilot after ‘beta’ scare
Lammers appears to be OK with Tesla’s Autopilot as long as it is made clear that it is a semi-autonomous driver assist system and not a self-driving car. Tesla never presented it as such, but they also made assertions that the system could enable hands-free driving on highways – though Tesla has always emphatically recommended keeping your hands on the wheel and that the driver be ready to take control at all times.
Tesla Model S Autopilot Reliability — Why Americans Should Love Tesla
Of course, the whole reason everyone is talking about Autopilot and its success rate lately is because of the recent fatal car crash of Joshua Brown, who was driving a Model S while using Autopilot mode. Now, you can quibble about whether Autopilot was released too early or irresponsibly, but I tend to fall in the camp that believes people should be responsible for their own actions.
Tesla's Autopilot: Too Much Autonomy Too Soon
"By marketing their feature as ‘Autopilot,’ Tesla gives consumers a false sense of security," says Laura MacCleery, vice president of consumer policy and mobilization for Consumer Reports. "In the long run, advanced active safety technologies in vehicles could make our roads safer. But today, we're deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology. 'Autopilot' can't actually drive the car, yet it allows consumers to have their hands off the steering wheel for minutes at a time. Tesla should disable automatic steering in its cars until it updates the program to verify that the driver's hands are on the wheel."
Elon Musk clarifies the use of the word ‘beta’ for the Autopilot, says will need at least 1 billion miles to get out of it
In a Twitter conversation on Sunday, the CEO explained that the company’s fleet would need at least 1 billion miles of data to stop calling the Autopilot ‘beta’. He added that the automaker will probably hit the mark in about “six months” and that the system will “include hundreds of refinements to handle rare corner cases”. The next improvements will come in the form of Tesla’s v8.0 software update. He emphasized again that the use of the word beta is to highlight that the system is not perfect and that Tesla drivers don’t have to use it
Tesla Autopilot Crash Victim's Family Hired a Personal Injury Lawyer
Jack Landskroner, who has been hired by the family, says it hasn’t been determined whether Brown’s family may file a lawsuit based on the accident, but he says his firm is looking into “anything and everything” related to the fatal crash. Landskroner says he and other lawyers at his firm, Landskroner Grieco Merriman, have been contacted by other drivers who have been involved in accidents while using Tesla’s autopilot feature, the car manufacturer’s semi-autonomous mode that Brown was reportedly using at the time of the crash. Landskroner says that he and his firm are carefully investigating each incident, but hadn’t come to any conclusions. He says no decision has been made by the Brown family about whether to sue for liability related to the crash, or at all.
TSLA
Musk Touting New Master Plan for Tesla Puts Focus on the Future
Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, amid a sustained downpour of bad news, tantalized customers, investors and his more than 4 million Twitter followers last weekend by saying that he’s close to releasing “Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2.” Analysts suspect the new corporate manifesto will connect the dots between Tesla’s myriad projects, including its proposal to acquire solar installer SolarCity Corp. Tesla’s website, which historically has focused on clean transportation, now says the mission is to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Tesla is said to be under investigation by the SEC for failing to disclose a fatal crash
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating Tesla Motor Co. for possibly breaking securities law by failing to disclose that one of its drivers had died while using the company’s Autopilot semi-autonomous software.
Other News
Referral Program ends today
Today's the last day to save $1000 with Tesla's latest referral program. The $1000 discount applies to both the Model S and Model X (including the new Model X 60 as well).
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Atieva unveils ‘Edna’ and races the all-electric van against a Tesla Model S and a Ferrari
“Under Edna’s skin are two electric motors, two sets of power electronics, two gearboxes, one battery capable of storing 87 kWh of energy and outputting over 900 horsepower, plus all of the software to make the components play nicely together. With Edna we are able to test various aspects of the powertrain system, including motor control algorithms, regenerative braking behaviors, accelerator pedal feel, and cooling strategies, to name a few.”