In December 2019, public fast charging network EVgo, in collaboration with Tesla, began installing the automaker’s proprietary connector at its DC fast charging stations around the country (Tesla drivers can use CHAdeMO or CCS plugs, but they need a bulky and pricey adapter, and a CCS adapter only recently became available in the US). Now… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Tesla"
Proposed legislation would restore federal EV tax credit to GM and Tesla
Democrats in the House of Representatives have reintroduced the GREEN Act (Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now), which among many other tax code revisions would once again allow Tesla and GM customers to claim federal EV tax credits. A similar bill failed to pass in 2020, but the prospects for passage seem bright under the… Read more »
Green Tesla embraces carbon-intensive bitcoin
Elon Musk is by nature an iconoclast, a disrupter, an upsetter of applecarts and a slayer of sacred cows, so his long-standing interest in bitcoin, which has been described as “a techno-anarchist project” and “a way to separate money from the state,” is not at all surprising. Now Tesla has purchased $1.5 billion worth of… Read more »
Refreshed Tesla Models S and X to ditch lead-acid for Li-ion 12 V battery
Elon Musk and Sandy Munro covered a lot of ground in their recent video chat, discussing a great number of advances and improvements to Tesla’s vehicles and manufacturing processes. Here’s just one tidbit that many may have overlooked: beginning with the upcoming Model S/X refresh, Tesla plans to abandon the century-old lead-acid battery technology in… Read more »
A sneak peek at Tesla’s new structural battery pack
One of the most significant innovations Tesla introduced with Model Y was the replacement of about 70 parts with two enormous aluminum castings. Now the company says it has plans to take this idea a step further by developing a battery pack that forms part of the structure of the vehicle, linking the front and… Read more »
AEM’s new control board increases Tesla Drive Unit’s power in EV conversions
AEM EV plans to release a comprehensive control system for EV conversions using a Tesla Large Drive Unit (LDU) Base Drive that increases horsepower over the factory output. AEM’s Inverter Control Board was co-developed with Cascadia Motion, a maker of EV propulsion systems, and is intended to be combined with AEM EV’s VCU200 vehicle control… Read more »
Overlooked gems in Tesla’s Q4 earnings call
Tesla’s latest earnings report was loaded with good news: the company’s sixth straight quarter, and first full year, of profitability; increased sales ($31.5 billion in 2020, compared to $24.6 billion in 2019); a healthy cash position ($19.4 billion as of year-end, compared to $6.3 billion at the end of 2019); and plausible plans for steady… Read more »
Engineering director leaves Tesla for medical delivery service Zipline
As an Engineering Director at Tesla, Joe Mardall led the development of a heat pump system that has been lauded as one of the most innovative new features of Model Y. Now Mardall has resigned his position at the California carmaker to become Head of Engineering at Zipline, a drone maker and aerial delivery service… Read more »
Tesla’s Advanced Battery Research group gets new leadership, Jeff Dahn to become advisor for Novonix
Professor Jeff Dahn is a star researcher in the battery field—he has co-authored 730 papers and holds some 73 patents. Professor Dahn and his research group at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia have had an exclusive research partnership with Tesla since 2016. Now Professor Dahn is stepping down from his leadership role at Tesla’s… Read more »
Tesla caps a winning year with record production and delivery numbers
Tesla reached so many milestones in 2020 that it’s impossible to list them all: the first Model Y deliveries; the start of construction on the German Gigafactory; the announcement of Austin, Texas as the site of Cybertruck production; the wonders of Battery Day; Tesla’s coronation as the world’s most valuable automaker and its addition to… Read more »