As expected, a shareholder proposal to remove Elon Musk as Chairman was voted down at the company’s recent shareholders’ meeting, as was an attempt to get rid of three board members that some see as not sufficiently independent. Elon himself made a lengthy speech in which he addressed many of the current criticisms of the… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "DOE "
ARPA-E to award $30 million to develop grid energy storage technologies
The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is wasting no time after its recent near-death experience (the president’s proposed budget would have eliminated the agency, but cooler heads in Congress prevailed): it has announced up to $30 million in funding for a new program called Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS), which has a goal… Read more »
Critical Materials Institute to address lithium and cobalt demand
As the market for plug-in vehicles grows, so does the demand for the materials associated with production, particularly lithium and cobalt, which are used in Li-on batteries. The DOE’s Critical Materials Institute (CMI) is focused on recycling and reducing the demand for rare metals that may experience shortages in the future. The agency is also… Read more »
Tesla hopes to improve Model 3 braking distance to earn a thumbs-up from Consumer Reports
Talk about shortening timelines in the auto industry – when Consumer Reports reported that it had found Model 3’s stopping distance to be unacceptably long, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded within hours, promising to look into the matter and do whatever it takes to improve braking performance. CR announced that it would not award Model… Read more »
As the case for e-buses solidifies, NYC announces plans to go electric by 2040
New York City has announced plans to convert its public bus system to an all-electric fleet by 2040. Details of the planned conversion are expected to be included in a modernization plan for the city’s transit system that the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) will release in May. “It does depend on the maturity of the… Read more »
Bob Lutz laments the end of the automotive era
Quintessential car guy Bob Lutz, the father of the Chevy Volt and one-time Tesla admirer turned harsh critic, had some bad news for an audience of engineers at SAE International’s recent annual meeting in Detroit. Once vehicle autonomy reaches its logical conclusion, humans will be reduced to passengers in standardized, soulless automated vehicles. People who… Read more »
Tesla Autopilot goes mano a mano with Cadillac Super Cruise
Automakers around the world are hustling to develop vehicle autonomy features. Tesla will soon have a crop of competitors for its Autopilot driver assistance system. So far however, Cadillac is the only automaker that’s brought a system to market: Super Cruise, which debuted this year on the CT6 luxury sedan. Dan Edmunds and Jason Kavanagh,… Read more »
A closer look at contactors
Contactors may not be the sexiest component in an EV, but they are critical both for safety and general functioning. Basically a heavier-duty version of the relay, a contactor is used to switch power to any of the loads supplied by the traction battery in an EV. The motor drive, the heating and cooling systems,… Read more »
Auto consultant Munro gives Model 3 thumbs-down for build quality, thumbs-up for electronics and handling
Sandy Munro takes cars apart for a living. Specifically, Munro & Associates, the Detroit consulting firm of which he is the CEO, performs teardowns. Munro and his team dismantle cars and analyze each part in minute detail (what’s it made of, what supplier made it, and how much did it cost?) and write up their… Read more »
A look at Lucid Motors: Q&A with CTO Peter Rawlinson
The legacy automakers are slowly and methodically developing new EVs, with various levels of enthusiasm, but the most ambitious plans for new vehicles are coming from a handful of EV startups. Most of these pioneers of the new auto industry share a formula: deep-pocketed investors (many from China), former Tesla employees on staff, and plans… Read more »
