#tesla

I've been in the automotive media since late in 2007, and over the course of all that time, I've seen EV-focused startups come and go. Some went and came back, even.

Tesla might not be the most dominant EV maker in the world, but it’s on top of the market here in the United States. Legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors are in the hunt, but so far, no one has been able to topple Tesla’s top spot. BMW is hoping to take some of the shine off of Tesla’s crown with a new incentive that gives buyers a $1,000 discount to buy one of its new EVs.

We’ve heard of automakers shuttering factories for production issues and parts shortages over the last few years, but Tesla’s recent shutdown is a new one. The automaker said it shut down production at its Gigafactory Berlin due to a potential sabotage attack, which left the facility without power.

Electric vehicles are dominating the industry conversation, so we had a chat with someone who is a bit of an EV evangelist...as well as with a journalist who noted that his outlet elected seven electrified vehicles to its latest Top 10 list.

After a decade-long project that saw changes in approach, multiple delays, staff changes, planning and replanning, and conflicting reports, Apple’s Titan autonomous electric car project is dead. The company made an internal announcement on February 27th, 2024 which leaked to the press immediately via several Apple employees. The project’s cancellation created our most recent Abandoned History subject matter to date. Let’s start at the beginning, in 2014.

Tesla has this awesome habit of announcing a vehicle and then waiting several years to start selling it. The Cybertruck just went on sale in late 2023, four years after its reveal, but it’s not the worst offender on Tesla’s “Is it really coming?” list. That honor goes to the Tesla Roadster.

Announced in late 2017, the car was initially scheduled for release in 2020, but CEO Elon Musk pushed the date back, citing the need to focus on developing other models. Musk first set the date in 2023, but in a post on X this morning, he moved the goalpost again, this time to 2025.

On today's podcast, we ponder if plug-in hybrids are the future, talk Tesla and Ram, and ruminate on our first races attended as fans.

Tesla has the best-selling EV in the world, but that hasn’t made the automaker immune to cost-cutting measures. A recent report describes an internal memo that asked managers to justify their teams’ employment.

Ford was the first company to announce a move to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), explaining that its vehicles would soon be able to seamlessly charge at Supercharger locations across the country. The automaker hadn’t detailed the transition and steps owners need to take to charge until recently, when it confirmed that owners would be able to charge using the FordPass app instead of needing a separate Tesla app.

For a long time, Tesla took criticism for bypassing the recall process in favor of issuing over-the-air software updates. That practice has changed, and the automaker has issued several recalls in recent months, including the most recent one, which covers 2.2 million vehicles for an issue with the size of its warning lights.

The long-rumored affordable, entry-level Tesla is almost here – maybe. Four years after the automaker first said it would build a cheaper EV, it appears things are in motion. Tesla reportedly alerted suppliers that it would start building a mass-market compact crossover in the middle of 2025, which would become one of the most affordable electric models on sale if it becomes a reality.

Companies often tout their green initiatives as a way to drum up new business, but the expensive reality of investing in EVs and other technologies isn’t always clear up front. Hertz found that out the hard way, as it aggressively invested in new EVs for its rental fleet a couple of years ago, only to begin selling them off in 2024.

Marijuana is legal in several states, and you can even order ketamine from a Facebook ad. What you do behind closed doors is, in most cases, your business, but what about if you’re the CEO of several companies with combined values in the hundreds of billions of dollars? That’s a question Tesla’s board members are facing, as CEO Elon Musk’s alleged drug use has been plastered across the internet and news stations everywhere.

Smart home devices and hubs can be awesome or infuriating, depending on how you use them. Even so, Samsung hopes to keep things simple with its newest efforts, which see it partnering with two automakers to integrate EV and other functions with its SmartThings platform.

Tesla has long been accused of being, um, “overly optimistic” about its EVs’ range estimates. Its vehicles often fall further from their EPA estimates than other models, prompting an investigation by the DOJ and owner complaints. Now, the automaker has quietly reduced its advertised range estimates, with some falling by significant amounts.