Items tagged with Elon Musk
Tesla is facing immense heat over accidents involving its electric vehicles slamming into emergency vehicles responding to incidents. The NHTSA said during its preliminary findings that, "Most incidents took place after dark and the crash scenes encountered included scene control measures such as first responder vehicle lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, and road cones. The involved subject vehicles were all confirmed to have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes." Given the high-profile federal investigation, Tesla is finally taking action to improve Autopilot's camera systems to detect the flashing lights of emergency vehicles...
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Tesla is the biggest name in the electric car market. And even though the percentage of EVs sold in the United States as a whole is in the low single-digits, Tesla is by far the best-selling brand led by the Model 3 and Model Y. One of the hallmark features of Teslas -- other than their overall performance and Superchargers -- is the optional Full Self-Driving (FSD). All Teslas come standard with Autopilot, which allows the vehicle to automatically accelerate, brake, and steer within a traffic lane. However, FSD ups the stakes with the ability to navigate from highway on-ramp to off-ramp, make automatic lane changes and even park for you. The latest FSD Beta takes things further by allowing Teslas...
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Tesla is on a mission to deliver its mainstream electric vehicles like the Model 3 and the Model Y to as many people as possible. Unfortunately, to reach those goals, the company’s more ambitious projects like the Semi and Cybertruck have taken a back seat on their way to production. Both of those vehicles have been delayed until at least 2022. Now, the company’s second-generation Roadster is getting another delay of its own. Tesla CEO Elon Musk originally announced the Roadster in late November 2017 and said it would enter production in 2020. But, as is typically the case with new Tesla launches, 2020 came and went with no production window in sight for the Roadster. Now, Elon Musk...
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Tesla isn't content with just building electric cars like the Model 3 (and upcoming Cybertruck), solar panels, and massive Powerwall battery storage units. Last night at the company's AI Day, CEO Elon Musk unveiled plans to develop a prototype Tesla Bot. The Tesla Bot could be lumped into the same category as the Boston Dynamics Atlas at a basic design level. They're both bipedal robots that are shaped and sized similarly to humans. However, the Tesla Bot has more streamlined and human-like proportions -- or at least that's what Tesla's concept renders show currently. According to Tesla, the robot will stand 5' 8" tall and weigh 125 pounds. In addition, it will be able to carry up to 45 pounds...
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With a name like Autopilot, you'd expect Tesla vehicles would be able to handle routine driving maneuvers while under computer control. However, as many have witnessed -- sometimes with deadly results -- Autopilot is still years away from being "trusted" as a fully competent replacement for a human driver. Autopilot's failings have been made abundantly clear by a federal investigation that was opened this week by the National Highway and Transportation Administration (NHTSA) into accidents involving Teslas and emergency vehicles. The NHTSA says that it will probe Tesla vehicles sold between 2014 and 2021 (including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y) after examining 11 incidents in which...
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President Biden sees electric cars as the future of transportation here in the United States. As such, the White House is pushing forward with an executive order that targets half of all vehicles sold in the United States to have some form of zero-emissions powertrain by 2030. According to the administration, zero-emissions refers to battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell vehicles. “The Executive Order also kicks off development of long-term fuel efficiency and emissions standards to save consumers money, cut pollution, boost public health, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis,” said the White House in a statement. The hybridization of America’s...
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Tesla production is booming, as demand for its electric vehicles has been immense. Demand has primarily been driven by its two best-selling vehicles: the Model Y compact crossover and the Model 3 compact sedan. However, the urgency to keep a steady flow of these vehicles exiting its Fremont, California, and Shanghai, China facilities has put some of its other high-profile projects on the back burner, namely the Semi and the Cybertruck. Tesla Semi Delayed Until 2022, Putting It 3 Years Behind Schedule Let's tackle the Semi first, as it was first announced in late 2017. Now, Tesla says that the Semi is being delayed until 2022. When first announced, Tesla noted that the Semi would enter production...
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It looks as though one of the best parts about owning a Tesla will soon become less exclusive. Ever since the Model S launched a decade ago, Tesla has built out an extensive Supercharger network in the United States and around the globe. The network is only accessible to Tesla owners and allows them to [relatively] quickly charge their vehicles when making long road trips (Tesla doesn't recommend relying solely on Supercharging to preserve the battery). In a tweet yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Supercharger network would open to competing electric vehicle manufacturers in the United States starting later this year. This would give non-Tesla EV owners yet another option to choose...
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By now, people have probably already forgotten about the Tesla Semi. Tesla first unveiled the all-electric Class-8 big rig back in 2017 and promised to revolutionize the trucking industry. Originally scheduled to go into production in 2019, the Semi has been stricken by numerous delays, which have left its paying customers anxiously awaiting delivery. Fortunately, a new report indicates that Tesla has finally exorcised its production demons and that the Semi is gearing up for low-volume production later this year. According to Electrek, the production line for the vehicle's drive axles has the green light. In addition, the general assembly line is apparently proceeding through the "final debugging...
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Is cryptocurrency a capitalistic scam, only benefitting the wealthy? That is what Jackson Palmer, co-founder of Dogecoin, seems to think after reemerging on Twitter to explain his take on the current state of crypto. On July 14th, Palmer addressed the frequent question of whether he will return to cryptocurrency after leaving Dogecoin behind. While his simple answer is “no,” there is much more behind this than meets the eye. First of all, Palmer believes that cryptocurrency is “an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially...
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The Tesla Cybertruck is no doubt an interesting entry into the full-size pickup truck market. We say this not just because the Cybertruck is an electric vehicle but also because of its design. Just look at the thing; it's quite an assault on the eyes in an effort to shift the paradigm of how a truck should look. That brings us to recent commentary surrounding the Cybertruck. Earlier this week, an opinion article claimed that the hulking EV would become Tesla's first flop. Not counting its first low-volume Roadster, which was loosely based on the Lotus Elise, the Model S and Model X were successful entries for the automaker. In addition, the Model 3 brought Tesla to a mainstream audience, and...
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Tesla has been in the news frequently over the past few months, namely for its new and comically fast Model S Plaid sedan and for the late arrival of the Full Self Driving Beta v9 software. Now, Elon Musk is making headlines for an upcoming upgrade to Tesla's vast Supercharger network. Tesla's last big Supercharger V3 update occurred in mid-2019 when the on-site charging stations were upgraded from 150 kW to 250 kW output. Musk confirmed today that the next evolutionary bump of its Supercharger network would boost output to 300 kW. However, we don't know if this bump in capacity will result in a Supercharger V4 designation. Not bad, although new Model S has more range & faster charging. 3...
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After months of empty promises, we are finally seeing some movement with Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta v9 software. Tesla CEO Elon Musk repeatedly talked up the software, assuring multiple times that it would be available "in two weeks." Unfortunately, the software never materialized, which brought the ire of many customers that paid $10,000 for the FSD option on their Teslas. Finally, after all the hoopla, Musk was forced to respond. "Generalized self-driving is a hard problem, as it requires solving a large part of real-world AI," said Musk at the time. "Didn't expect it to be so hard, but the difficulty is obvious in retrospect. Nothing has more degrees of freedom than reality." Over...
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Tesla owners are apparently losing their patience with CEO Elon Musk and his bold promises surrounding Full Self Driving (FSD). The feature is currently in beta, despite it being a $10,000 option on current Tesla vehicles. The FSD beta first rolled out in October 2020 to a select number of owners (as part of the early access program). However, Musk's repeated claims on delivering FSD updates to take driving duties further away from the driver have come up empty. On June 6th, Musk proclaimed, "One more production release of pure vision this week, then FSD Beta 9 a week or two later. V9.0 FSD is also pure vision. Foundational improvements are immense." Two weeks later, Musk remained silent about...
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There's no doubt that the Tesla Model S Plaid is an insanely fast vehicle, as Tesla claims that the car can do 0-60 in just 1.99 seconds and that it can hit 200 mph [with an optional wheel/tire package]. However, it's one thing for a company to make these wild claims; they also must be verified in the real world. Thankfully for us, MotorTrend was given access to a Model S Plaid and decided to perform its own instrumented testing to see if the vehicle lives up to the immense hype. The results were impressive, but there is a caveat to the automotive publication's numbers achieved with the electric car. For starters, Tesla wouldn't let MotorTrend test the vehicle at its usual proving grounds: the...
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Last night, Tesla held a delivery party for its Model S Plaid, its most powerful and fastest electric vehicle. The vehicle is [now] priced at $129,990, can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.99 seconds, and reach a top speed of 200 mph thanks to its new triple-motor powertrain design. While all the performance-enhancing goodies are excellent, there's just as much new stuff happening inside. And we're not just talking about the redesigned interior that looks much more modern than what originally debuted on the Model S nearly a decade ago. Tesla managed to install some PlayStation 5-caliber hardware in the new Model S, which turns it into a rolling gaming rig. "There's never been a car that has state...
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In less than a week, Tesla has dropped two bits of bad news for customers looking to purchase the fastest version of its redesigned Model S flagship electric sedan. Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Plaid+ version of the EV was canceled, which means that customers won't be able to take advantage of the claimed 520-mile range. Last night, Tesla struck again by raising the price of the [regular] Model S Plaid from $119,900 to $129,990 out of the blue. Unfortunately, there was no prior notice about the price increase, and no explanation has been given. Even more curious is that the sizable price hike comes just hours before Tesla is scheduled to hold a "delivery event" for...
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With one tweet this afternoon, Tesla CEO Elon Musk crushed the dreams of Model S Plaid+ reservation holders that hoped to enjoy the best of both worlds with EVs: unmatched performance and incredible range. This week, Tesla is holding a delivery event in which the first Model S Plaid vehicles will make their way to reservation holders. But those that opted for the even more expensive Model S Plaid+ were instead greeted with disappointment. "Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good," said Musk in a tweet. Granted, Musk is correct; the Plaid really is so good. It goes from a standstill to 60 mph in 1.99 seconds, and has a driving range of 390 miles backed by a $119,900 price tag, but...
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Up until this point, Tesla vehicles have used a combination of front-facing radar, ultrasonic sensors, and computer vision systems to enable its Autopilot self-driving system. However, the company announced this week that it is making a significant change in how the system works on its entry-level Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. Model 3 and Model Y EVs rolling off the assembly line going forward will no longer rely on radar. Instead, Autopilot will solely rely on the input of the vehicle's numerous cameras positioned around the car. The new camera-based system is aptly called Tesla Vision. Tesla explains the transition, writing, "these will be the first Tesla vehicles to rely on camera...
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We all knew that the second-generation Tesla Roadster was going to be a performance monster aimed at crushing any potential competitor. At the time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that the Roadster would be capable of going from a standstill to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds. However, Musk confirmed this week that the electric car would be capable of nearly halving that time with an optional space-age package. A prototype Roadster is currently on display at Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and the plaque below the vehicle reads as follows: Demonstrating the versatility of electric power and adding extra distinction to the car's already high performance, an announced SpaceX package would outfit...
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Tesla founder Elon Musk ruffled some feathers on Twitter by announcing that Tesla is no longer accepting Bitcoin currency. Just hours after the tweet went out, Bitcoin's value plunged 17 percent from around $54,800 to $45,700. It has since regained some of its value, but the cryptocurrency is still down more than 10 percent in 24 hours as investors mull the implications. The announcement comes less than two months after Musk tweeted out, "You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin" in the United States. At the time, Musk said Tesla would also accept Bitcoin from outside the US sometime later this year. And back in January, Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, according to its annual 10-K report...
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Elon Musk might not have done Dogecoin any favors when he hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) over the weekend, but he's still bullish on the hot cryptocurrency. And as it turns out, it's not just Musk that is enamored with Dogecoin; SpaceX customers are also getting in on the action. Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) yesterday announced the "Doge-1 Mission To The Moon" and that it will be paid for entirely using Dogecoin. The mission involves a 40-kilogram CubeSat that will ride aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during a mission planned for Q1 2022. According to GEC, the lunar satellite will be tasked with obtaining "lunar-spatial intelligence" using its onboard cameras and sensors. SpaceX launching...
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