One’s a three-row midsize SUV under $60,000; the other’s a compact hatchback that starts in the mid-30s. Now we’ve driven both. Choosing “best of” or “most important” new cars is always dicey, and doubly so with electric vehicles. New entries are announced virtually every month, and picking the 2025 models that will be most important… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Tesla Model 3"
Toyota demonstrates Tesla-inspired gigapress die-casting process
It’s been a long time since auto industry observers have seen Toyota as an innovator, so it was a pleasant surprise when the world’s second-largest automaker demonstrated a version of the die-casting process pioneered by Tesla, using a massive hydraulic press to cast the entire rear third of an auto chassis as a single piece…. Read more »
Tesla alum’s Blue Innovations Group unveils R30 electric boat
St. Petersburg, Florida is known as a boater’s paradise (and of course, the epicenter of EV journalism), so John Vo, the former Global Head of Manufacturing at Tesla, saw it as the perfect site for his new electric boat company, Blue Innovations Group (BIG). Only about a year after setting up shop in the suburb… Read more »
Chinese brands are starting to challenge Tesla’s market share
The Chinese are coming…or have they already arrived? Established EV brands fear (or if they don’t, they should) that Chinese firms will start cutting into their market share. In at least one global market, this may already be happening. The Driven reports that in Australia, EV sales have already hit a milestone in 2023, surpassing… Read more »
How big a deal is Tesla sharing its 48 V architecture with other automakers?
As most of the world focuses on the Tesla Cybertruck’s unorthodox looks, automotive geeks are more interested in its voltage architecture. With Cybertruck, Tesla introduced a 48-volt electrical system, and it has now released its 48 V implementation documentation to other major automakers. Ford CEO Jim Farley publicly thanked his counterpart at Tesla for sharing…. Read more »
GM acquires casting specialist TEI, a key enabler of Tesla’s gigacasting process
Tesla’s gigacasting process, which uses giant casting machines to make car bodies with just a few massive cast parts, allows the company to greatly simplify chassis assemblies, saving loads of time, money and factory space. Other automakers, including Ford, Hyundai and several Chinese brands, have taken a keen interest in the technology. Tesla’s process relies… Read more »
Volvo orders two Tesla-style Giga Presses for Slovakia EV plant
Tesla pioneered megacasting, a technique that uses giant casting machines to make car bodies with just a few massive cast parts (a Matchbox car is said to have provided the inspiration), and other automakers quickly took notice. In 2021, the LK Group reported that it would supply giant casting presses to several Chinese companies. In… Read more »
As 2023 wanes, legacy automakers fall farther behind Tesla and BYD
Ever since Tesla’s 2003 founding, industry observers (and even the company’s own execs) have been predicting that the giant global automakers would respond to the new company’s challenge, produce their own compelling EVs, and surpass (or perhaps even acquire) the upstart. Two decades later, that scenario seems more unlikely than ever. As Tom Randall writes… Read more »
EV charging is changing, Part 4: Behind the scenes as seven automakers counter Tesla’s Superchargers
Part 1: How automakers’ disappointment in Electrify America drove them into Tesla’s arms Part 2: No, NACS is not today’s Tesla connector Part 3: Why Tesla’s NACS is unlikely to kill CCS EV charging is changing, but much remains to be settled A flurry of news over less than a year permanently altered the US landscape… Read more »
EV charging is changing, Part 2: No, NACS is not today’s Tesla connector
Part 1: How automakers’ disappointment in Electrify America drove them into Tesla’s arms Part 3: Why Tesla’s NACS is unlikely to kill CCS Part 4: Behind the scenes as seven automakers counter Tesla’s Superchargers EV charging is changing, but much remains to be settled A flurry of news over less than a year permanently altered… Read more »