News Opinion (Page 56)

Tesla officially inaugurated Giga Texas a little more than a year ago. However, today, according to leaked data the plant has reached a Model Y production rate of 5000 vehicles a week. This gives Giga Texas an annualized production rate of 250,000 vehicles per year.

We spoke to two electrical inspectors and asked what the most common mistake is that owners and electricians make when installing home EV chargers in a garage. The answer was clear, and the problem easy to avoid.

Toyota trucks and SUVs are among the vehicles most likely to exceed 250,000 miles.

Currently, Tesla is on FSD Beta v11.3 This FSD update has brought vector spaces and the use of all 8 cameras to highway driving. In addition, V11 also replaced most of the manually written codes with neural nets for highway driving. And today, Elon Musk says FSD Beta V12 will be end-to-end AI.

Elon Musk and the BBC haven't been on the best of terms. The contention between the two started when Tesla sued the BBC's Top Gear back in 2011. However, today, Top Gear has come out with a review of the Tesla Model S Plaid track pack and Elon Musk has responded. Although it doesn't appear Musk has seen the entire episode before responding.

Kia confirmed it plans to encourage people interested in its electric vehicles (EVs) to consider leasing instead of purchasing. Why is Kia doing this? It is a way for Kia to effectively offer customers a $7,500 discount on the vehicle (by applying the US federal tax incentive toward lowering the monthly lease payment). It is intended to help Kia’s vehicles be more price competitive with EVs that are eligible for the tax credit as a purchase.

Tesla has started production of a new Model Y variant at Giga Berlin with batteries supplied by BYD. The new Model Y variant's 45,000 euros starting price makes it a great offer. However, there are concerns even amongst die-hard Tesla fans regarding the safety of the BYD batteries which now power the new Model Y.

Tesla supplier IDRA is known for building enormous Giga Presses that are used to build the chassis of Tesla vehicles in one piece. However, today, IDRA has revealed a significantly smaller die-casting machine to be used to build electric motor components in one piece.

The cost of a vehicle goes well beyond the initial purchase price. KBB looked closely at the total cost to own an electric car and has determined that the Chevy Bolt is the most affordable overall.

In an attempt to increase demand, since the start of the year, Tesla has cut vehicle prices several times. However, today Tesla has increased prices for the same reason. The $250 price increase is not meaningful enough to materially affect the company's gross margins, however, is likely targeted at creating FOMO in people waiting for further price cuts.

Since Elon Musk made the announcement that Tesla is targeting the end of Q3 to start Cybertruck deliveries, there has been a palpable uptick in anti-Cybertruck sentiment. And even more bizarrely these negative Cybertruck comments are concentrated on sites where Tesla enthusiasts meet such as Tesla-focused subreddits, comment sections of EV and Tesla-focused YouTube channels, news sites, and Twitter pages.

New data show that the HR-V is succeeding in one very important mission - attracting buyers to the Honda brand.

Does your vehicle only have the smaller single-DIN installation space available? If so, and you still want a large screen, check out this new offering from Boss Audio.

Last year the Tesla Model Y received a leading score of 98% in Euro NCAP's automatic emergency braking test despite the vehicle not being equipped with radar. And now, Elon Musk has said Tesla has made the last 2% of improvements that will allow the company's vehicles to receive a perfect score.

In an attempt to increase demand, since the start of the year, Tesla has cut vehicle prices several times. This has created concern among Tesla community members who have suggested that the EV should start advertising. However, now a Tesla retail investor has taken this task upon himself and has produced the first Model Y commercial.

In the first quarter of 2023, Toyota’s Miria fuel cell electric vehicle managed to outsell a lot of battery-electric vehicles. Here are some highlights.

A new track record has us wondering if there is a faster front-wheel drive track-day car on sale in America today than the 2023 Honda Civic Type R.

According to newly released data, in the first quarter of 2023, the Model Y has become the best-selling vehicle in Europe. And even more impressively, the Model Y was able to beat not only battery-electric vehicles but also internal-combustion vehicles with a significantly lower starting price.

Over the weekend, Joe Rogan revealed that he test-drove a pre-production Cybertrruck at Giga Texas. Rogan was effusive in his praise of the truck stating that he was impressed by the Cybertruck's design, size, and performance. Rogan also predicted the success of the Cybertruck and said Bill Gates was making "a horrible choice" shorting Tesla stock.

Tesla stock has been experiencing wild swings in the last couple of years, with the latest sharp fall coming recently following Q1 2023 earnings results. And now, Elon Musk has advised Tesla investors to focus on the long term by reminding them of the stock's remarkable rise over the years.

You have probably already read about Tesla’s significant price cuts this year, and being the largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. by a large margin, this means the cuts put a lot of pressure on other EV manufacturers to lower their prices too. But like for like price cuts are not the only way (or the most important way) that competing EV makers are responding.

ARK Invest has released a new Tesla research. In this new model, ARK says Tesla can reach $2,000 per share by 2027. However, this is ARK's base case scenario, in the firm's bull case, ARK says Tesla can reach more than $2,400 per share or a $7.9 trillion market cap.

Tesla's unique direct-to-consumer sales approach has been a significant contributor to the company's success. And today, in keeping up with its innovative approach, Tesla has opened a new "Giga Store" in China. The new showroom is designed to look like the inside of Tesla's Gigafactories and is a replica of a vehicle production line.

On April 8, a custom license plate was sold at a charity auction in Dubai for a world record-setting $15 million. At the time, the auction winner and what kind of vehicle would get the license plate were not revealed. However, today, a blacked-out Tesla Model X Plaid has been spotted driving in Dubai with the $15 million number 7 license plate.

Over the weekend Elon Musk officially monetized his Twitter account and has become a creator. As a creator on Twitter, Musk is charging $4.20 a month to subscribe to his Twitter page. For subscribers, Musk has promised to do an Ask-Me-Anything occasionally and that he will hold a subscriber-only Twitter Spaces.

In keeping with Tesla's status as the leader in the EV fast charging world, today, the EV maker has unveiled a brand new movable supercharger station at Coachella. Tesla's mobile Supercharger stations, built on semi-trailers, are self-contained units that include inverters, solar panels, lights, and a Tesla Megapack to power the vehicles.

The Tesla Cbyertruck has recently been spotted undergoing wind tunnel testing at Giga Texas. Video footage of the Cybertruck's test shows the vehicle's single-blade giant windshield wiper "Giga Wiper," in action. We also get our first confirmation that the Cybertruck's frunk will open together with the front grille similar to the Ford F-150 Lightning.

For months now there have been speculations that Tesla is working on a refresh to the Model 3 and has codenamed the project "Highland." And today, thanks to leaked pictures, we see our first image of the refreshed Model 3 with a more angular and larger front facia and headlight that resembles that of the 2nd generation Tesla Roadster.

According to data released by China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), in the month of March, the Model Y has become the highest-produced vehicle in the whole of China. And even more impressively, the Model Y was able to beat not only battery-electric vehicles but also internal-combustion vehicles with a significantly lower starting price.

In a new Twitter Spaces interview with the BBC, Elon Musk admitted that his Twitter acquisition was behind Tesla's more than 60% decline in 2022. Musk said, "Tesla stock sales caused the stock to plummet, which is not good." Musk also added that Twitter is in a healthy financial state and ruled out the chance of further Tesla stock sales.