Tesla Industry News Cars

Tesla is a hot company with its own, growing community of fanboys that are relentless in sharing their beliefs. In some respect, it’s understandable – some of the world’s largest automakers could learn a thing or two from Tesla. But can the company continue as it has? As reported by pymnts.com, Tesla’s market value just hit $820 billion on January 8, 2021, pushing the company into the top 5. This puts the company under Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet. This means Tesla has seen a 700-percent growth in market value over the last year, and Wedbush analyst – Daniel Ives – saying Tesla could become a $2 trillion company within two years. Is it sustainable and how is it possible?

While Tesla keeps rolling out over-the-air updates frequently, it has never really refreshed the Model S and the Model X. The Model 3 is an exception, but even that didn’t come with any major changes. There have been no real facelifts so far, no new generations; just software updates. It didn’t matter until now because none of its products had real competition, but it looks like times are changing and Tesla is feeling the heat.

According to Electrek, Tesla is planning to refresh the Model S and the Model X after all. The production lines for these two models have been shut down longer than expected, thus hinting at a design refresh. High time!

Tesla’s pricing for its models is going down, but the automaker is making up from those prospective losses by raising the prices for using its Supercharger network. That appears to be the case after a report from the Aussie website CarExpert indicated that charging at any of Tesla’s 35 Supercharger stations in the Land Down Under will now cost AUD0.52 (USD0.37) per kilowatt-hour. That’s an increase from the AUD0.42/kWh (USD0.30) that Tesla was charging as recently as September. Since 2017, the cost of charging a Tesla in Australia has gone up by as much as 23 percent, and with Tesla’s model price cuts continuing, don’t expect the cost of using the Supercharger network to flatten out, either.

The Tesla Model 3 is the undisputed king despite some strong upcoming competition, like the Polestar 2. People may say it’s because of the first-mover advantage or the fact that it has been in the segment the longest, which is true to an extent, but it’s also because of the continuous updates. Tesla has managed to keep the product fresh – even though it looks the same from the beginning – by introducing new packages, constant over-the-air updates, and so on. Now, the automaker has refreshed the Model 3 for the 2020 model year and it comes with quite a few changes that make it an even better product.

When you take the delivery of a new car, there are times when everything is not perfect. You might see the floor mats missing, hear a random rattle from somewhere within the car, or something really minor. But, this is something you wouldn’t ever imagine happening. This brand-new Tesla Model Y’s roof just flew off while cruising on the highway. Has that ever happened before? Not that I can recollect.

The much-hyped and anticipated Tesla Battery Day is now done and dusted, but it brought some news on Tesla’s advancements in the battery tech department. It started with the Annual Shareholders Meeting and then moved on to the Battery Day event.

The event was witnessed by 240 shareholders, each sitting in a Model 3, while the rest of the world watched the live stream on the website. As expected, Tesla announced a cheaper battery, but it is still some time away. There were a few other announcements apart from this, and here’s a rundown of the event:

Volkswagen and Tesla have been having some sort camaraderie for quite some time now that seems a little more than just healthy, mutual respect. Recently, Elon Musk test drove the Volkswagen ID.3, and now, VW’s CEO, Herbert Diess, took a drive in the Tesla Model Y. This leads to speculations if Tesla and Volkswagen are joining forces, but the German automaker’s CEO put an end to the rumors saying there is no deal between the two companies. But, could the two giants tag-team EVs in the future?

At a time when automakers are focused on making electric cars more efficient and working towards eliminating range anxiety, Elon Musk is thinking on a whole different level. The electric czar is thinking about electric airplanes, something that could be viable in half-a-decade. Tesla’s battery research partner, Jeff Dahn, said that the new battery-cell technology offers a tremendous improvement in energy density and could enable ‘electrified urban aviation’.

An article on Business Insider has hit the surface suggesting that when Tesla rolled out the Model S from its Fremont factory back in 2012, it knew about a potential design flaw that could lead to battery packs catching fire.

The author hasn’t provided evidence for the same, but if true, this is a serious issue that could bring Tesla under scrutiny and hurt its credibility to a large extent.

We’ve seen countless videos where new owners complain about the built quality of their new Tesla cars.

Besides the now-fixed Model 3 braking problems acknowledged by Elon Musk back in 2018, there have been recent reports (mostly captured on video, too) of poorly assembled bits and bobs for the Model 3, Model X, and Model Y.

In this regard, J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Initial Quality Study comes to confirm what we already knew.

When Musk announced that the next-gen Roadster will be offered a SpaceX option package that includes rocket thrusters, it took many people by surprise. Although he said that the Roadster pack will “definitely enable it to fly short hops.”, it also meant it will be much faster than the 1.9-second claim. J

Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained worked out the math and concluded that the next-gen Roadster with rocket thrusters will do the sprint in just 1.1 seconds.

Based on this figure, a CGI artist has created a video that depicts what that specific run could look like. Check out the video in the tweet below.

Tesla cars are known not only for their electric powertrains, but also for the amount of technology they offer. You’d expect Tesla to be at the zenith when it comes to offering high-tech features, but surprisingly, that was not the case with a few things.

But, Tesla has finally introduced it. We’re talking about two features here – wireless charging and USB C-ports. The automaker has finally decided to offer it on its entry-level EV. Better late than never, right?

Tesla has reduced the prices of its three most popular models in what seems to be an attempt to revive demand and sales. Riding on the back of a fairly successful quarter, Tesla is looking to repeat the feat at a time when many automakers are even struggling to break even.

The electric automaker has lowered the price of the Model 3 by $2,000, the Model S and Model X by $5,000. The Model Y doesn’t get a price cut, which makes sense considering it’s a newly-launched product.

Even though the Berlin factory is still not ready, Tesla is ready to throw in more funds to build a new factory in the States. According to Electrek, Musk has chosen Austin, Texas as the location for Tesla’s next factory.

Elon Musk is always in the news for some or the other reason, but this one is serious. He announced that Tesla will move its headquarters from California to Texas or Nevada due to California’s response to COVID-19.

The ongoing pandemic has left a big dent on all the businesses worldwide. However, they are slowly trying to get back on track by cautiously starting business activities again. Many automakers across the States are also resuming production activities this month, however, California plans to start from June 1. This led to Musk lashing out at the decision and shocked everyone with the announcement on Twitter. Was this response a little too harsh from the outspoken CEO?

Elon Musk surprised many people by announcing a profitable first quarter amid the pandemic. During this call, he also claimed that the Tesla Model S has achieved an official 400-mile range as per EPA ratings, but it wasn’t made official due to a fault during testing. Currently, the Model S Long Range Plus is rated at 391 miles, but Musk says as soon testing opens, the Model S will be tested again and it will achieve a rating of over 400 miles.

Tesla Model S was fast, and now it’s gotten even faster. The company has quietly updated the Raven-equipped Model S Performance’s 0-60 mph figures on its website from 2.5 seconds to 2.3 seconds.

The automaker makes changes official on its website only once they have updated the product. Electrek reports that Tesla sent out an e-mail to Model S Performance owners intimating them about this update. This means the cars that will be sold from now on – and perhaps even examples from the previous months – will boast faster acceleration.

Peter Rawlinson has worked for many big automotive companies in his career. He has worked as the Principal Engineer at Jaguar, Chief Engineer of Advanced Engineering at Lotus, and most recently, as the Chief Engineer who made the Tesla Model S what it is today. Presently, he’s associated with Lucid where he looks after the same stuff along with looking after the company as the CEO and CTO.

MotorTrend spoke to him recently about his time at Tesla and his current projects, and Rawlinson went on to say that his upcoming sedan, the Lucid Air, is better than the Tesla Model S. Given the man’s stellar reputation and the work he’s done in the past, will the Air dethrone Tesla and be the new premium electric sedan?

Many automakers have stopped car production and shifted to medical supplies to help the battle against the novel coronavirus. But while some brand provide technology to the firms that build the supplies, some automakers are using parts from their current vehicles to built masks and ventilators. Here’s what car parts you could find in medical supplies delivered to your country these days.

Musk had announced last year that the Cybertruck will be Tesla’s last new product in the near future. This year, the automaker will look to work on technologies and other such stuff. Planning for the production of the Cybertruck could’ve also been one of the reasons. That said, Tesla has been proactive in rolling out new features and tech on its cars lately. It recently revealed a new exciting Track Package and Track Mode V2 for the Model 3 Performance. Now, Tesla is working on something called the “Cheetah Stance” that will help the driver get the perfect launch. Will this be rolled out to the existing cars as an update, too?