Founded in 2003, Tesla is the top manufacturer of electric vehicles in the US. Led by billionaire CEO Elon Musk, the automaker upended the industry with the futuristic designs and technology of the Gigafactory, the Model S sedan, the Model X SUV, the mass-market Model 3, and soon, the Model Y compact SUV and the unconventional, Blade Runner-inspired pickup Cybertruck. The company has also experienced a number of growing pains on the path to that status as a leader, including public clashes with government agencies, and it commonly faces questions about its technology, issues with its manufacturing, and the treatment of its workforce. The Verge covers all of Tesla’s product launches and ambitions, including energy generation and storage, and the push towards autonomous cars.
In the wake of more “absolutely hard core” layoffs at Tesla that were especially hard on the charging division, Elon Musk is saying the company still plans to grow its Supercharger network “at a slower pace.”
Compare that to the message he sent internally, as reported by The Information: “We will continue to build out some new Supercharger locations, where critical, and finish those currently under construction.”
Tesla restrictions set by local authorities have been lifted now that the company’s Chinese-made vehicles have passed their data security requirements, as Musk arrived in Beijing to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday.
According to Reuters, the automaker has also secured a deal to use Baidu’s mapping license to collect data on Chinese roads — a key step for introducing Full Self Driving software to the country.
Hertz said in its first quarter earnings report today that it plans to sell an additional 10,000 Teslas, after committing to off-loading 20,000 of the electric vehicles earlier this year. That means the rental car company plans on selling 15 percent of the initial 200,000 EVs it said it was going to buy from Tesla and Polestar back in the heady days of 2021.
[Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.]
Because this guy apparently was quoted at $30,000 to activate the truck’s bidirectional vehicle-to-home Powershare capabilities. That’s about twice the amount that GM said it would cost to do the same with the Chevy Silverado EV.
Tesla laid off over 10 percent of its workforce this month, but Musk says the cuts were needed for the company’s “next phase of growth:”
A company is kind of like a creature growing, and if you don’t reorganize it for different phases of growth, it will fail. You can’t have the same organizational structure.
Apparently, that next stage of growth also involves a $56 billion pay package for Musk.
That’s what Elon Musk said during Tesla’s earnings call on Tuesday, adding that Tesla will likely be able to sell the humanoid bot “externally by the end of next year.” But don’t get your hopes up just yet — Musk says these timelines “are just guesses.”
Electrek notes Model Y, S, and X prices have dropped by $2,000, and Tesla said its current referral program would end after April 30th, but it will return eventually.
This follows sales numbers reflecting “an unmitigated disaster,” a Cybertruck recall, and the reported cancellation of a $25k “Model 2.” Elon Musk & Co. have much to discuss on Tuesday’s earnings call.
A Tesla delivery center in Virginia reportedly has a way to deal with the now-recalled accelerator pedal on Cybertrucks.
In a Facebook post, Jim McGlone wrote that they installed a temporary rivet to secure the pad that might slip off and get stuck. With that in place, he picked up his new Cybertruck yesterday after it had been in a “containment hold.”
Tesla paid X $280,000 for advertising and other services, according to the company’s proxy statement. X paid Tesla $1.02 million for unspecified work. SpaceX paid Tesla $2.9 million for “certain commercial, licensing and support agreements.” Tesla paid SpaceX $800,000 for use of its corporate jet. And Tesla paid the Boring Company $1.2 million.
No one paid Neuralink anything.
Geneva Long, CEO of RV company Bowlus, wrote on LinkedIn that in the company’s tests, the dual-motor Cybertruck could only tow Bowlus’ 3,250lb Volterra electric RV trailer for 160 miles before its battery gave out. Others have seen similar results.
Long says the Tesla Model X, on the other hand, pulled the same trailer 235 miles.
[insideevs.com]
After a report from Reuters said Tesla’s $25,000 Model 2 project got the ax, Elon Musk quickly scheduled a Tesla Robotaxi launch on August 8th. Other than the curiously selected date, this is a reminder that Elon’s made a lot of unfulfilled statements about robotaxis over the years (and “full self-driving,” and autonomy generally).
Bennett Tomlin checks them out in this video, which you have plenty of time to watch before August.
