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Tesla adds '2048' and Atari’s 'Super Breakout' to its dashboards
Tesla is adding more free games to the dashboard display on Model S, Model X and Model 3 cars. Super Breakout and 2048 are joining other Atari classics Missile Command, Asteroids, Lunar Lander and Centipede, which Tesla added in August. To date, hundreds of thousands of people have played those games, according to the automaker.
Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot won't need to confirm every lane change
Tesla has long asked you to flick the turn stalk to confirm Autopilot's lane changes, but you won't have to do that for much longer. The EV designer is rolling out an update to Navigate on Autopilot that gives you the option of disabling the turn stalk requirement. Toggle that and the car will change lanes on its own, delivering notifications through a visual prompt as well as an optional chime. If Tesla made your car after August 2017, you can also get a cue through steering wheel vibrations.
Tesla unveils its Model Y crossover
To say Tesla has been busy lately is a bit of an understatement. It finally opened orders for its long-awaited $35,000 Standard Range Model 3, it reversed a decision to shutter some of its showrooms, and it showed off its V3 Supercharging. So why not keep the news coming with the unveil its next car... err SUV, the Model Y
Tesla's change of heart will bring Autopilot prices 'back to normal'
Tesla's partial about-face on vehicle pricing will also have an effect on Autopilot pricing. Elon Musk has confirmed that prices for Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving will "revert to normal" on March 18th. The company shouldn't have dropped prices in the first place, Musk said, and only did so "because some simply couldn't afford it." Some existing owners felt as if they'd been ripped off after paying higher prices for features that still weren't fully unlocked.
Tesla promises to halve charging time with V3 Supercharging
As promised, Tesla has unveiled the third version of Supercharging, the high-powered chargers that it has spread out to top off owners' batteries as they travel the country. The promise is that it will eventually bring down charging times by an average of 50 percent. Peak rates go up to 250kW per car thanks to a new liquid-cooled cable design, and new stations don't have to split energy between multiple cars -- you'll always get the fastest rate available. On the most efficient vehicles, like a Model 3 Long Range, Tesla expects they'll get 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes, and add range at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour. It claims that V3 Supercharging "enables our vehicles to charge faster than any other electric vehicle on the market today." That is, at least until vehicles supporting 350kW charging, like Porsche's Taycan and Audi's E-Tron SUV hit the market.
Tesla's high-end Model S and X just got a lot cheaper
Tesla just made its high-end vehicles more reasonably priced for potential buyers. In addition to launching the long-awaited $35,000 Model 3, the automaker has also slashed the prices of its higher-end Model S and Model X configurations. The long-range Model S and Model X vehicles now cost $83,000 and $88,000, respectively, down from $96,000 before savings. That makes the long-range Model S just $4,000 more expensive than the base version, despite having a range that's 65 miles longer and a top speed that's 15mph faster.
Tesla starts charging $7,000 to add Full Self-Driving features post-delivery
Tesla is splitting its self-driving function into two tiers -- Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability -- and charging a few thousand extra dollars for Navigate on Autopilot, Autopark, Summon and other features coming out later this year.
Tesla's car sales are going online-only
Along with launching its long-awaited $35,000 Model 3, Tesla announced that it is taking car sales to the internet -- exclusively. That shift is apparently a part of why it's going to be able to lower prices by a claimed 6 percent on average, as it winds down "many" store locations. A few spots in high-traffic areas will remain as galleries and showcases, even as it ramps up the service system with a goal of providing same-day or even same-hour appointments where techs come to you. That does mean Tesla will fire some employees. On a call with the media, CEO Elon Musk said "We will be closing some stores and there will be some reduction in head count as a result." For customers, Tesla is hoping that by offering the ability to return their car at no cost within the first 7 days or 1,000 miles is enough to remove the need for a test drive. Musk sent out an internal memo to employees expanding on his statements about layoffs. CNBC posted it in full, as the exec told employees: "Unfortunately, this means that some jobs will be impacted or transitioned to other areas of the business. This is a hard decision, but it necessary to make our cars more affordable...In the coming weeks, we will be evaluating all of our sales and marketing organization to understand where there are operation efficiencies"
Tesla trumps Audi and Jaguar EVs in independent efficiency test
Tesla has had no end of production troubles in recent times. Even the roll-out of the Model 3 in Europe was marred by logistical issues. But there's a reason its EVs are still so widely-lauded despite these challenges: they're efficient. And that efficiency in comparison to Tesla's competitors has now been confirmed in a test conducted by German electric car rental company nextmove.
Tesla pushes Sentry Mode, Dog Mode updates to its EVs
Less than a month after Elon Musk said Sentry Mode for Teslas would be "coming soon" the update has started to roll out, along with a couple of other tweaks. In a blog post detailing Sentry Mode, Tesla explained it uses the car's external cameras to watch for potential threats. If it's in standby, the cameras are watching, ready to go into an "Alert" state if someone does something like leaning against the car that pops up a message on its touchscreen saying that the cameras are recording. If someone breaks a window or something then it goes directly into Alert, which activates the alarm, plays music at loud volume and turns up the brightness on the interior screen. It also sends an alert to the owner via their Tesla app and if they've plugged in a formatted USB drive prior to enabling Sentry Mode, then it will save a recording of everything starting ten minutes before the Alert was triggered. You'll have to turn on Sentry Mode each time you want to use it -- with its recordings that's probably for the best -- by going into the Safety & Security menu. Sentry Mode Sentry Mode continuously monitors your car's surroundings while it's locked and parked. When a potential threat is detected, the cameras on your car will begin recording, and the alarm system will activate. You will receive an alert from your Tesla app notifying you that an incident has occurred. To enable Sentry Mode, go to Controls > Safety & Security > Sentry Mode. You must re-enable this feature with every use. Sentry Mode is designed to add another layer of protection to your car, but it will not prevent against all possible threats.
Tesla Model X P90D first drive
Driving a Tesla - driving any EV, really - is an experience. If you've never done it before, the first time is a revelation. I'm lucky enough to be able to say that my first time in an EV was at the Tesla Roadster launch event in 2006. During my first time behind the wheel of an EV, again in a Roadster, this time a few years later, I couldn't believe how easy it was to just will the car go where you wanted it to. Instant torque is real, people, and it'll change your life.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: artificial leaves and green roofs
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Silicon Valley is a hotbed for technology, but it will soon be known for green building as well. Last week architects unveiled plans to build the world's largest green roof just down the street from Apple's spaceship campus. In other architecture and design news, Sky Greens has developed a hydraulic vertical farm that can grow 10 times more produce than a traditional farm, and Caltrans proposed the largest wildlife overpass in the US for Los Angeles' 101 freeway. As much as we love to celebrate good examples of architecture, there's also fun to be had in panning bad ones -- this past week, London's "death ray" "walkie talkie" skyscraper was crowned the worst building in Britain. Summer is winding down, but there's still time for one last road trip -- and this tiny camper that telescopes to three times its size is the coolest RV we've ever seen.
Tesla's long-delayed Model X SUV is testing in California
It may look like a Prius that's been vomited on by Mad Max, but the vehicle you see in the clip below is probably Tesla's long-delayed Model X SUV. You see, when companies begin stress-testing vehicles, they dress them down with a dodgy paint job and go riding out a deserted airfield, like the one at the old naval base in Alameda. No amount of weird paint, however, could disguise the latest all-electric vehicle to roll off the production line, especially one as long-awaited as the X.
Tesla's Q4 2012 earnings: $90 million net loss, but forecasts a profit for Q1 2013
If you're one Elon Musk, you're probably ready for just about anything to take the place of the only story dominating the Tesla tagline for the past few weeks. Of course, a $90 million net loss isn't the ideal story to overtake the Model S kerfuffle, but hey -- at least the company's aiming to pull in a profit next quarter. In a bid to keep investors focused on the positive, the automaker's Q4 2012 shareholder letter notes that Tesla is officially predicting its first quarterly profit in Q1 2013, sliding up from "late 2013." For the quarter that just wrapped, the firm saw revenues of $306 million (a 500 percent increase sequentially from the $50.1 million seen in Q3 2012), and it ended the year with $221 million in total cash after having made the first quarterly principal payment of $12.7 million to repay the loan to the U.S. Department of Energy. Tesla also plans to deliver some 20,000 Model S vehicles in 2013, with around 4,500 of those happening in Q1. Europeans and Asians can expect their deliveries in "summer" / "late this year" (respectively), with the first Model X deliveries to occur in early 2014. Musk also told investors that it plans to "spend significantly less on capital expenditures" in 2013 compared to 2012, helping to (hopefully) generate "slightly positive net income on a non-GAAP basis" in Q1 2013.
The Weekly Roundup for 01.14.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Tesla gets $10 million grant from California to help with Model X production
Tesla's outspoken CEO, Elon Musk, said last week that he expects his company's financials to be somewhat satisfactory in the very near future, but that's not to say a $10 million grant wouldn't be welcomed with open arms. Thanks to the California Energy Commission, Tesla will have some extra cash to work with during the production phase of its upcoming electric SUV, otherwise more formally known as the Model X. According to Forbes, Tesla will match California's gesture with $50 million of its own -- the total, naturally, will be used to ramp up production at its Fremont plant and to snag the necessary machinery and components to build that sleek Model X. There's still a good amount of time before this EV hits the masses, so it looks like watching those select demos will have to suffice for now.
Tesla CEO teases crossover and sports car EVs for 2016
Tesla founder Elon Musk would like to remind you that the Model X isn't the terminus of his company's electric car ambitions. Far from it: Musk tells Wired that Tesla's 2016 plans include both a crossover SUV akin to the BMW X3 as well as a pure sports car that goes beyond just a Roadster redux. The racier vehicle will have speed, but "not supercar pricing," the CEO says. He also elaborated on already-known plans for an 'entry' sedan in 2015, which should resemble a 20 to 25 percent smaller Model S and cost about $30,000 if all goes well. There's a wide gap between promises and reality in all those statements, but Musk has a reputation for largely delivering on target -- which gives us hope that there will finally be Tesla EVs within range of everyday budgets.
Tesla's Model X struts its stuff on video, gets serenaded by Elon Musk
We may have attended the Model X premiere, but despite us pleading for a ride-along, Tesla PR insisted only those who'd plunked cash for a pre-order that evening would get the chauffeur treatment. Thankfully there's YouTube user TheSpeedRead, who either threw down enough cash or was swift enough to evade security, slipping into a Model X and gratuitously posting it for all to see. In the video above you'll catch a glimpse of the interior, which features the same 17-inch touchscreen as in the Model S. In addition, a Tesla employee muses about the advantages of its dual motor AWD system and low center of gravity as he sashays the crossover through a slalom course outside Tesla's design HQ. Our friends at Autoblog Green also culled a video from SmartPlanet featuring the company's CEO, Elon Musk, reflecting on the advantages of the Model X's unique "Falcon Wing" rear doors and touting the advantages of not having a space-hogging combustion engine in its front -- enabling the front trunk, or Frunk, to serve as a crumple zone "two to three times longer" than in competing vehicles. Get the full sales pitch from the entrepreneur extraordinaire after the break.
Tesla unveils Model X SUV, wants to be your all-electric crossover
We're here at the Tesla Design Studio in Los Angeles, where Elon Musk just unveiled his startup's third vehicle: an SUV it calls the Model X. It's party piece is a pair of double-hinged "Falcon Wing" rear doors which apparently make loading people and things easier, as you reach into the car not over it. According to Musk they'll open in tighter spots than a traditional door, and swivel high enough to fit a standing human. Powered by an AWD variant of the Model S' drivetrain, it'll do 0-60MPH in 4.4 seconds in its most performant guise, a figure that matches the most brawny variant of Tesla's sedan, despite being a much larger vehicle. And because it's devoid of a space-hogging ICE, that front portion is a trunk, Musk lovingly calls the "Frunk." Per GigaOm, the seven-seater will cost in the $50,000 to $70,000 range, with first deliveries of the "Signature Series" arriving in late 2013 before mass production starts in 2014. If that sounds like your kind of beat, those interested can begin reservations on Tesla's website tomorrow at noon. Update: Want to see the unveiling for yourself? Check out the video posted by Tesla, embedded after the break.
Tesla's Model X SUV reportedly pushed to February, first deliveries coming in 'late 2013'
So much for December, eh? While Tesla's been talking up an electric sport utility vehicle for months on end, it's evidently harder than expected to actually deliver it. Shocking, we know. The latest hit in the saga comes via GigaOM, who has confirmed with Tesla CEO Elon Musk that the Model X will finally -- finally -- see a public unveiling on February 9th. Details beyond that aren't yet known, but Musk seems adamant that the first paying customers will see theirs in "late 2013," with 15,000 units per year being pushed out starting in 2014. We'll let you know if get an invite, deal?
