Electric Cars

Donald Trump livestreamed a Tesla showcase in the White House driveway on Tuesday, apparently reading the notes of a Tesla sales pitch as he performed choosing one of its EVs to purchase from five delivered for the event.

Although there have been an increasing amount of protests against Tesla, “the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) has not yet said whether foul play was suspected as the cause of the fire, which is under investigation,” according to KOMO News.

Rest of World looks at a small-town political fight over whether a planned EV battery plant from Chinese company Gotion was a boon for employment, an environmental disaster-in-the-making, or a “Communist Trojan horse.”

Musk tweeted that in 2022, adding that it could “...cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy.” Today Electrek highlights this incident that occurred Monday morning in Ventura, CA.

At least, that’s what this SEC filing says. He’s one of several insiders who’ve been selling lately, I notice; the chair of Tesla’s board, Elon Musk’s brother, and Tesla’s CFO all dumped tens of millions in shares last month, too. Tesla shares closed today at $222.15, down 41 percent this calendar year. They’re still up about 25 percent from this time last year. It remains unclear whether the continuing Tesla protests have rendered the brand toxic.

With Tesla shares crashing over 50 percent since December, some shareholders are left wondering how much longer they can hold out. Fortunately Reddit is a place where financial masochism thrives, and losses that cross into the six-figure territory are seen as a sign of fortitude. A post from a Tesla shareholder who lost “tens of thousands” of dollars and was looking for coping strategies yielded these absolutely master-class responses:

That’s according to the Aeroht subsidiary of EV carmaker Xpeng, which is planning to start mass production of its “land aircraft carrier” next year, The Straits Times reports, hoping to succeed where other consumer flying car projects have failed.

Six people were arrested Saturday after “several hundred protestors” blocked entrances to a Manhattan Tesla showroom, The New York Times reports. “Tesla Takedown” protests aim to hurt Elon Musk by targeting Tesla, which has seen sales dropping globally since Musk started directing deep cuts in the federal government.

Volkswagen previewed its ultra-low cost €20,000 ID EVERY1 electric vehicle yesterday, but the press material didn’t mention that it’s the first EV to launch with technology developed by Rivian, thanks to their $5.8 billion joint venture.

Users on a Facebook group for Cybertruck owners are posting about public backlash being directed towards their vehicles, showing people flicking them off and lewd or abusive messages they’ve received.

Tesla is currently offering prospective Foundation Series Cybertrucks free Supercharging “during your ownership of the vehicle,” as spotted by automotive journalist Chad Kirchner. Tesla is showing banners advertising the promotion on the Cybertruck website.

Nine people were arrested over the weekend during a “raucous” demonstration outside a Tesla showroom in Manhattan this past weekend, Reuters reports. The protest, which drew hundreds of participants, was part of an escalating “Tesla Takedown” movement opposed to Elon Musk’s takeover of the federal government. The protesters want to hurt Musk by deterring sales of Tesla vehicles and tanking the company’s stock price. Huge crowds turned out for demonstrations in Florida and Arizona as well.

The company’s first premium EV-only just went on sale in China for CN¥529,900 (around $73,000). It can go from 0 to 100 km/h in less than two seconds. It boasts a carbon fiber-heavy design, a 24K gold “Mi” emblem on the front, and a full array of smart features when connected to a Xiaomi phone.

According to the New York Times, Republicans plan on using the Congressional Review Act “that permits lawmakers to reverse recently-adopted regulations with a simple majority vote.” Except California’s ban on gas-car sales isn’t a federal law, it’s a waiver under the Clean Air Act of 1970, and therefore isn’t subject to Congressional review. Yet another legally questionable move from an administration that’s openly hostile to the idea of slashing tailpipe emissions.

The company’s value dropped below $1 trillion for the first time since last November, causing anti-Elon Musk protesters to celebrate on Bluesky. But the losses don’t appear to have much to do with the demonstrations, which only started earlier this month.

After questions were raised earlier this month about the line item proposing $400 million for “Armored Tesla (Production Units),” the State Department said the solicitation stemmed from a Biden-admin request. However, an NPR reporter says a document shows the Biden administration had approved less than $500k to look into armoring electric vehicles, while experts said the new figure would just about account for replacing the department’s entire 3,000-vehicle fleet with Tesla trucks.

The company has been laboring for years to get the permissions in place to launch its Full Self-Driving system in its largest customer market, and now it seems like that work is finally about to pay off. Bloomberg reports that Tesla has a software update ready to push in a couple of days. It’s not clear whether FSD will be as expansive as it is in the US. But Tesla is facing some real competition in China, including from BYD’s recently announced God’s Eye driver assist feature.