The upcoming season of the award-winning podcast series is all about Tesla this time around, so you know you have to tune in. The first episode drops July 26th. Find it wherever you get your podcasts.
No, not either of these lawsuits (although a decision on Elon’s $56 billion pay package is expected soon, you can relive his testimony in text form here), but in the case of The Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit v. Elon Musk.
The retirement fund challenged stock options granted to directors starting in 2017, according to Reuters, and it appears the proposed settlement (linked below) has been accepted, so they’ll return 3.1 million options to the company.
[DocumentCloud]
The Cybertruck debuted in 2019 and was originally scheduled to launch in 2021. But after some delays, it looks on track with Elon’s schedule for limited production this summer, a delivery event in Q3, and mass production in 2024.
Tesla tweeted out this picture saying “First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas! 🤠,” And while we can’t see details like a rounder front end, nothing can hide that huge windshield wiper.
And yes, Tesla is still accepting preorders for the low-poly pickup if you put $100 down.
Tesla’s latest iOS app release seems to include references to Apple’s AirPlay feature that lets iPhone users stream media and screen-share content to compatible displays. Tesla vehicles already have entertainment apps built-in, including YouTube, Netflix, and more (no Max, though).
But with AirPlay, you might be able to use services Tesla lacks or, at least, stream better-than-Bluetooth-quality audio.
[Not a Tesla App]
That’s what Car Charts’ author Glenn Mercer delves into with this well-reasoned essay that looks at why the auto industry is so obsessed with product diversity, and what Tesla’s success with radical simplicity could mean for the future of trims and variants.
Silicon Valley denizens have always asserted the former: a car is a phone on wheels, you just have to get the styling right once, and then crank out millions of physically-nearly-identical units, only upgrading the electronics and software along the way.
But if a car is more like a house, complexity re-enters the picture. House buyers like to specify square footage, number of rooms, flooring, countertops, appliances, window treatments… and we haven’t even gotten to the furniture yet.
A car is somewhere in between. History says customers like choice, Tesla says they don’t, really … and they haven’t been wrong, so far.
[glennmercer.substack.com]
Last month, the Society of Automotive Engineers, a worldwide standards organization, announced its support for Tesla’s North American Charging Standard — a connector that’s garnered support and adoption from almost every charging network and major automaker including Ford, GM, and most recently Mercedes-Benz. According to Electrek, NACS will get an official engineering name too: J3400.
Unfortunately this Wall Street Journal piece detailing Tesla’s secretive “Project 42” for its headquarters in Austin doesn’t include any of the actual renderings. Just descriptions of “a dramatic glass-walled building,” “a structure in the shape of a twisted hexagon on waterfront land,” and “an expansive glass box, reminiscent of Apple’s store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.” It’s not enough. Send me these drawings! I want to see the dumb box!
New documents from California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal / OSHA) show that Tesla underreported injuries at its Fremont, California plant from 2015 to 2019, according to Bloomberg. And during an October 2018 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk misrepresented OSHA’s findings:
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said... Cal/OSHA had investigated the company and concluded it had not been underreporting injuries. Last month, Tesla said a review by the agency showed its record-keeping was 99% accurate.
But Cal/OSHA wasn’t focused on verifying the overall accuracy of Tesla’s injury record-keeping when it inspected the company in 2018, according to Frank Polizzi, a spokesman.
It’s not the first time Tesla has misrepresented a regulator’s position.
Cal / OSHA reportedly issued Tesla a $400 (yes, four hundred) citation in December over 14 injuries or illnesses the company hadn’t logged. Tesla is appealing the citation.
