Items tagged with Tesla
Imagine for a moment that you bought a used car from a dealership, and after doing so, the original manufacturer of the automobile came to your house and began stripping away features that do not come standard with the base model of whichever car you bought. Maybe you call the cops, or perhaps you take matters into your own hands (we don't condone the latter). Either way, it would be an unfathomable situation. Nevertheless, Tesla is under fire for allegedly doing something similar, only instead of physically removing a customer's radio or anything like that, it disabled features on a used car by way of an over-the-air (OTA) software update. These are not minor features, either—Tesla is...
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Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk are well known for using unconventional methods to both hire key employees and improve their electric vehicles. The latest hiring tactic that Musk and company are using to lure in new programmers for AI and Autopilot is to hold a party at Musk's house. Musk tweeted about the event, noting that Tesla is going to hold a Super Fun AI party/hackathon. The "house party" is specifically looking to recruit people for the AI/autopilot team. The tweet says that invites will be going out soon. We assume security will be tight to prevent people from sneaking in or making off with Musk's stuff. Reports indicate that Tesla has been known to frequent AI conferences and throw parties...
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When it comes to electric vehicle range and efficiency, there's Tesla, and then there's everyone else. Tesla first brought the Model S to market nearly a decade ago, and since then has followed up with the Model X, Model 3, and the soon to be released Model Y. Over the years, the company has worked diligently to improve its battery chemistry to improve efficiency, which makes newer rivals like the Porsche Taycan seem almost amateurish in comparison. But Tesla isn't standing still; CEO Elon Musk recently proclaimed that the its flagship Model S will soon be capable of traveling 400 miles per charge. Rather than switching to the newer 2170 format battery cells used in the Model 3 and upcoming...
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Here's a name we haven't though much about in the past decade or so: Hummer. Hummer was once a name synonymous with excess thanks to its big, burly lifted SUVs that were loathed for their immense girth and equally voracious thirst for unleaded gasoline. The brand was eventually shutdown in 2010, making it a victim of General Motors' bankruptcy and the economic downturn. However, Hummer is coming back from the dead in the most unlikely form. It is being resurrected as a fully-electric truck, rather than as a hulking beast powered by a V8 internal combustion engine. The vehicle will make its television debut this weekend in a 30-second Super Bowl commercial starring NBA superstar Lebron James....
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Tesla released its Q4 earnings report this afternoon, and needless to say, the company didn’t disappoint. For starters, it was Tesla’s second straight quarter of profit, coming in at $105 million for Q4 2019. This represented earnings of 56 cents per share for the quarter. However, Tesla posted an annual loss of $862 million, though investors seem unfazed by that figure. Two straight quarters in the black along with a steady increase in EV deliveries has investors rubbing their hands together. Tesla reported deliveries of 112,000 vehicles for Q4 2019, and a total of 367,500 deliveries for all of 2019 (a record for the company). Looking ahead, Tesla says that it will deliver...
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Elon Musk is known to make heavy use of Twitter to keep in contact with his flock. The most recent video that he has shared shows a Tesla car playing sound bytes as it pulls up to someone standing nearby. The video appears to show a Tesla event of some sort as two identical maroon Tesla cars are driving in opposite directions. Musk has promised that eventually, Tesla cars will be able to answer drivers like KITT from Knight Rider. The tweet from Musk, who now apparently goes by "Buff Mage" on Twitter, says Teslas will be able to talk to people if you want. In the video, the Tesla car uses an English accent to say, "Don't just stand there staring, hop in." The car says something else after that...
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The world collectively laughed at the Tesla Cybertruck when Elon Musk unveiled it in California nearly a month ago, but it appears that there is still plenty of interest in the odd-looking electric vehicle. The Cybertruck is billed as being the biggest and baddest half-ton pickup around, and Musk repeatedly compared the truck to the best-selling Ford F-150, and even used a sketchy (and disproven) tug-of-war video to show its skills (see the video further down in this article). Musk just revealed that Cybertruck preorders have ballooned, rising from 146,000 over the weekend to 250,000 as of last night. That means that the potential value of those orders -- if all of those customers...
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk definitely turned heads when he unveiled the long-awaited Cybertruck on Thursday evening. And it wasn't the fact that people were turning their heads to do a longing double take in amazement -- many were turning their heads to look for a puke bag. The controversial, angular styling of the Cybertruck looking nothing like mid-size or full-size trucks currently on the market, and many were just left mouth agape wondering if this was some sort of setup for the "real" truck that would be unveiled at a later date. Despite the talk of the Cybertruck's styling -- and the on-stage "fail" with the supposedly armored glass -- Musk is crowing about strong preorders...
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Well, this is definitely... interesting. Tesla CEO Elon Musk finally pulled the wraps off the highly anticipated Cybertruck EV, and it's definitely a different look for the pickup segment. While the Rivian R1T takes a [mostly] conventional approach with its looks, the Cybertruck looks like no other truck on the road with its wedge shape. Elon Musk said that inspiration came from the classic Lotus Esprit mid-engine sports car, and we definitely get that vibe. The looks are definitely polarizing and owe nothing to the more organically-shaped Model S, Model X, and Model 3 that came before it. Despite its looks, the Cybertruck is roughly the same size as the best-selling Ford F-150 and can seat up...
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Elon Musk has been teasing the release of a Tesla pickup truck for over two years. According to a tweet by Musk this morning, the so-called "Cybertruck" will be first shown to the public on November 21st. According to Musk, this will be a pickup like no one has ever seen before, and it will look like something straight out of the movie Blade Runner. In fact, the November 2019 unveil is even a thinly veiled reference to that cult classic Ridley Scott film starring Harrison Ford. Cybertruck unveil on Nov 21 in LA near SpaceX rocket factory — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2019 As is usually the case for a new Tesla introduction, some lofty claims are being made for the Cybertruck. Musk...
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Is Tesla’s new Autopilot software all it is cracked up to be? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has learned (after many social media posts) that several Teslas with the “Smart Summon” feature have been in accidents. The NHTSA is currently investigating the claims and is in communication with Tesla. Tesla’s latest software update includes the Smart Summon feature. The feature is available to customers who paid an extra $6,000 for the “Full Self Driving” package. Users can “summon” their vehicle with a phone app as long as it is within 200 feet of their location and in their line of site. The vehicles will then navigate to...
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Tesla released V10 of its software recently and with that update came an enhanced Smart Summon feature. The idea behind Smart Summon is that drivers can press a button and have their car come to them rather than having to walk to their vehicle. It's not exactly a feature that we'd call "necessary", but it's definitely a cool trick to impress friends. The feature reportedly uses the smartphone GPS location of the owner as its target location. However, video of some users testing the new feature has surfaced, and it looks as if Smart Summon is not quite ready for the public. One video from David F. Guajardo shows the man hit the button in the Tesla app to summon his car, and shortly after...
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The EV wars are heating up, with both the Tesla Model S and the Porsche Taycan duking it out in the center ring. It all started late last month when the new Porsche Taycan set a Nürburgring lap record for a 4-door electric vehicle with a time of 7:42. Tesla CEO Elon Musk got a bit chippy at the Taycan record and declared that he would be sending a Model S to the Nürburgring to set a new EV record. Since that time, Tesla has captured a new course record for a four-door EV at Laguna Seca and has been seen zipping around the Nürburgring at a furious pace. According to people who were at the famed circuit and timed the vehicle (by hand), the new Model S with its...
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Tesla took to the track at Laguna Seca Raceway (or WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, if you prefer) and set new lap record (unofficial) for a four-door sedan, with a pre-production Model S built around a new "Plaid" powertrain. The prototype vehicle is even faster goes even faster than what current Model S vehicles can achieve in "Ludicrous" mode. "Some personal news. We lapped Laguna Seca in 1:36.555 during advanced R&D testing our Model S Plaid powertrain and chassis prototype. That's a second faster than the record for a four-door sedan," Tesla stated on Twitter. Electric vehicles (EVs) have grown up fast in the past several years. Earlier this month, for example, Porsche debuted its Taycan...
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