Items tagged with model x
Ever since the original Model S launched back in 2012, one of the bedrocks of Tesla's forward-looking mission was the inclusion of integrated (and free) in-car internet. This cellular internet connection powers everything from vehicle navigation enhancements, to music streaming, to over-the-air updates that continually provide new functionality to the Tesla EV family. However, it looks as though Tesla has grown tired of giving away its full-fledged internet service to customers and will begin making some changes starting July 1st. We should come right out and clarify that the new policy that takes...
Read more...
BMW has been experimenting with alternative powertrains for quite some time, and has offered vehicle like i8 sports carand the funky i3 whatchamacallit(which is available in fully-electric and range-extending variants). Now, the company is looking to bring an electrified version of its hot-selling X3 crossover to market, and it will be called the iX3. The vehicle debuted in concept for today, and it retains the same basic shape as its gasoline-engined sibling. Most of the changes occur upfront where the twin kidney grille gives way to a version that sort of merges the two together....
Read more...
On March 23, a Tesla Model X driver died after his vehicle drifted from its intended driving path and plowed into a concrete highway barrier. A subsequent investigation by Tesla determined that Autopilot was engaged during the time of the crash, and that that driver had not touched the steering wheel for six seconds prior to the collision. As is usually the case with these kinds of incidents, Tesla is off course trying to shift blame away from itself, and in this case is placing it on the deceased driver. This became even more apparent this week as the family of the deceased driver, Walter...
Read more...
Tragedy struck last week for a man and his family in California. The man was driving in his Tesla Model X when the vehicle struck a concrete barrier on Highway 101 near Mountain View -- he died as a result of the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been investigating to determine if the Autopilot feature was engaged, and now Tesla has now confirmed that it was in fact turned on at the time of the accident. Tesla wrote, "In the moments before the collision, which occurred at 9:27 a.m. on Friday, March 23rd, Autopilot was engaged with the adaptive cruise control follow-distance...
Read more...
Tesla is gaining yet another competitor in the electric crossover vehicle realm, and it’s from a well-known brand. Jaguar first revealed its I-PACE concept in late 2016, and today it pulled the wraps off the production version of the vehicle. Unlike most concept-to-production transformations, not much has been lost here with respect to styling on the I-PACE. The vehicle advances Jaguar's current design language and applies it to a lifted four-door "coupe" profile (even though we hate the coupe term when used for anything but a two-door). It's a forward-looking design, without looking...
Read more...
Tesla seems to have a lot on its plate these days; the company is humming along with production of the Model S and Model X, while it is struggling to meet production targets for the entry-level Model 3. In addition, the company is taking deposits for its long-haul Semi, while its kickass second-generation Roadster is far along in development. For a relatively small auto manufacturer like Tesla, that would be more than enough to keep busy for the foreseeable future. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants more. The overachieving Musk took to Twitter yesterday to inform fans that a Tesla pickup truck is on...
Read more...
If you are the lucky owner of a Hardware 2.0 (HW2) Tesla Model X or Model S, a new software update is beaming down to your vehicle that enables some new functionality. The Tesla 8.1 software update brings with it a number of updates for the Autopilot 2.0 system and adds some UI improvement for the vehicles’ massive display screens. With respect to Autopilot 2.0, many of the features simply bring functionality to parity with the first-generation Autopilot system. Tesla has improved Autosteer, which now allows the vehicle to steer on the highway at speeds up to 80 mph (previously, the limit was 45...
Read more...
Tesla recently brought some New Year’s joy to owners of recently-delivered Model S and Model X EVs. CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to announce that brand new Autopilot software for HW2 vehicles has been pushed out to roughly 1,000 vehicles. In case you were wondering, HW2 stands for Hardware 2.0, which includes all the necessary hardware for full self-driving capabilities. All vehicles made since October are HW2-compliant. Tesla described HW2 in October, writing: Eight surround cameras provide 360-degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement...
Read more...
We often hear about everything that goes wrong when it comes to Tesla’s Autopilot system that is featured on the Model S and Model X (and soon, the Model 3). But what about when it gets everything right and helps to avoid an accident? Avoiding an accident might be a common occurrence for Autopilot, but what about when it predicts an imminent crash — two cars ahead of you? That is exactly what happened in The Netherlands. You can see a Tesla Model X cruising along in the left lane, while the vehicle directly in front of it is speeding along seemingly oblivious to what is taking place ahead. However,...
Read more...
If you’re the current owner of a Tesla Model S or Model X electric vehicle (EV), consider yourself lucky. If you manage to take delivery before the end of the year, you will have also dodged a bullet — you still have free lifetime access to Tesla’s Supercharger Network. But in a rather disappointing turn of events for future Tesla owners, the global Supercharger Network will no longer be completely free to use for new EV purchases made after January 1st, 2017. Tesla is hoping to make this bitter pill a little easier to swallow by giving new buyers 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits annually....
Read more...
Tesla has announced updates to its autonomous driving capabilities, with the company stating that all of its new vehicles produced from this point forward have the necessary hardware for “full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.” This puts the scope of this system even beyond current implementations of Autopilot and is fully complaint with Level 5 autonomy. The new hardware included to help drive these capabilities includes new forward-facing radar (which can see through rain and fog) and 8 cameras that provide a full 360-degree view of the...
Read more...
Tesla is running into more roadblocks with its Autopilot functionality, which is found on its Model S and Model X EVs. The use of Autopilot, which allows a vehicle to operate semi-autonomously with minimal driver interaction, has come under increasing scrutiny ever since a driver was killed on a Florida highway over the summer. Now the German government is stepping in by asking Tesla to stop using the term Autopilot. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt sent the request in a letter to the American automaker on Friday. In the letter, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) stated, "In...
Read more...
Mobileye parted ways with Tesla not long after the first death was reported of a driver using Tesla’s Autopilot system. At the time, Mobileye didn’t exactly explain its reasoning (although it was pretty obvious) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that Mobileye simply couldn’t keep up with this company’s rapid advancements in technology for its vehicles and that “our parting ways was inevitable.” This week, Mobileye chief technology officer Amnon Shashua has shed additional light on why it decided to leave Tesla at the altar. Shashua accused Tesla of “pushing the envelope in terms of safety” and that...
Read more...
Let’s face it; no one was calling the Tesla Model S P90D a slow car — especially with Ludicrous Mode engaged. The vehicle is already fast enough to slay Porsches and most Ferraris in a straight line. However, being “good” isn’t enough. Tesla wants to be the “best”. Hence, the company has finally introduced the long-rumored 100 kWh battery for both the Model S sedan and the Model X crossover. This is the largest capacity battery ever offer in a Tesla vehicle, besting the 90 kWh option that was introduced last year. When affixed to the Model S, the vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in...
Read more...
