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VW will build its US electric cars in Tennessee
Volkswagen just made a major commitment to electric car production in the US. The company has revealed that it will open its first dedicated EV factory for North America at its existing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Production won't start until 2022, but VW claimed the new plant will create 1,000 jobs. The first vehicle out of the gate will be the ID Crozz SUV, which will go on sale in the country in 2020 -- in other words, those initial models will likely come from outside the country.
Tile partners with chip makers to bring stuff-finding power to everything
Tile's Bluetooth trackers have been a godsend for forgetful types. Many a lost wallet or set of keys have been located using the Tile Platform, which last year expanded beyond a mobile app to voice and video controls. The company had also previously announced partnerships with a number of companies, including Bose and Samsonite, to help you keep tabs on other things, too. Now, the company has revealed it's teaming up with major BLE (Bluetooth low energy) chip companies, so Tile's stuff-finding power could feasibly be integrated into almost anything.
A Chinese startup may have cracked solid-state batteries
Solid-state batteries have long been heralded as The Next Big Thing after lithium-ion, with companies from all quarters racing to get them into high-volume production. Dyson, BMW and car manufacturer Fisker are just a few names that have been working on the tech for the last few years, but now, reports suggest a Chinese start-up might be the first to have cracked it.
Harley-Davidson shows off its road-ready LiveWire electric bike
Harley-Davidson's LiveWire electric motorcycle, which has been in the works for four years now, is nearly ready for eco-conscious bikers. At the EICMA motorcylcle show in Milan, the company unveiled the production version and some specs, though not the all-important range yet. We do know that you'll be able to juice it at home via a Level 1 charger, or do so more quickly with Level 2 or 3 models or DC fast chargers. All Harley dealers that carry the bike will have Level 2 DC fast chargers on site.
SEC subpoenas Tesla over Model 3 production claims
The investigation into Tesla's Model 3 production forecasts appears to be intensifying. Tesla has confirmed receiving an SEC subpoena requesting data for "certain projections" the automaker made for Model 3 manufacturing in 2017, as well as additional public statements on production and Musk's statements on taking the company private. The company stressed that there hadn't been any conclusion of "wrongdoing" in ongoing government investigations, but the subpoena suggested that financial regulators were concerned enough to look into the matter.
Tesla reportedly made its 100,000th Model 3
Tesla may have just hit a symbolic milestone in its quest to speed up Model 3 production: according to an Electrek source, the company has produced its 100,000th Model 3. It technically reached the mark earlier in the week if you count engineering and release candidate cars, according to the tipster, but regular manufacturing also reached the figure on October 13th. Tesla declined to comment, although it typically only provides production numbers after every quarter (like it did on October 2nd).
Tesla reportedly met its ambitious quarterly Model 3 production goal
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is having a lousy week, but the company might have something to crow about. A source speaking to Electrek (historically accurate with these rumors) has reported that Tesla met its lofty target of building at least 50,000 Model 3 cars over its summer quarter, producing about 51,000 examples of the 'entry-level' EV by September 28th. The company had been struggling with manufacturing earlier in the period, but apparently ramped back up to 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of the quarter.
Intel admits 'tight' supply for cheap PC chips, focuses on high-end
In an open letter, interim Intel CEO Bob Swan admitted the company's supply of CPUs for the "entry level" PC market is "undoubtedly tight," so if you have trouble finding a cheap laptop for the holiday season then you know why. Between consumers upgrading their PCs, gaming and commercial systems he said Intel expects "modest" growth in PC shipments, while it will focus on delivering higher-end Xeon and Core CPUs. We'll see if this creates an opportunity for competitors like AMD and Qualcomm, especially as they bring laptops to market with longer-than-ever battery life. To help improve supply, Intel is investing $1 billion on current 14nm production lines in in Oregon, Arizona, Ireland and Israel. As far as its repeatedly-delayed "Cannon Lake" 10nm CPU technology that saw a limited debut earlier this year, the CEO said "yields are improving" and that the company expects to have volume production at some point in 2019.
Tesla's production problems extend to its solar roof business, too
The production problems Tesla has faced with its Model 3 have been well documented. Now, sources say the company is facing similar issues with its solar roof tile initiative. According to Reuters, former and current employees have revealed that assembly line problems, plus CEO Elon Musk's exacting aesthetic demands, has delayed production, causing tension with partner Panasonic, and rattling officials that are keen to see a return on significant state investment.
VW will build its electric microbus and crossover in the US
Volkswagen is pushing its EV strategy hard in Europe and China, and now intends to continue its momentum in the US, where it plans to produce its upcoming all-electric microbus and crossover SUV. Confirmed to Autocar this week, VW says it'll produce the I.D. BUZZ electric microbus and I.D. CROZZ Concept in the States, ready for launch in 2022. According to Hinrich Woebcken, head of VW in North America, "For strong product momentum, they need to be produced in the USA. It's not possible to come into a high-volume scenario with imported cars. We want to localize electric mobility in the US."
Tesla reportedly met its Model 3 production goal (updated)
After months of delays, round-the-clock manufacturing and other drastic measures, Tesla appears to have met its long-sought 5,000-per-week Model 3 production target -- if only just. An employee briefly posted a photo on Twitter showing fellow staffers signing a "Model 3 5K Club" poster with the question "why would you doubt us," suggesting that Tesla had hit the elusive goal and was celebrating its achievement. Electrek reported other workers apparently cheering the achievement on social networks, while Reuters cited two workers who said the last car of the batch officially rolled off the Fremont line at 5AM local time on July 1st -- a little late, but close enough.
Microsoft might still be working on a pocket-sized Surface
Microsoft has been evidently working on a foldable tablet, code-named Andromeda, for a while now. It's supposed to focus on pen input and was rumored to hit the market as early as this year. Now, according to a leaked Microsoft document acquired by The Verge, it will likely be a pocket Surface device.
Tesla built Model 3 assembly 'tents' to meet production goals
Remember how Elon Musk casually mentioned that Tesla had built a new assembly line in just three weeks to help it meet its lofty Model 3 production goals? It was more audacious than you might have thought. A combination of follow-up tweets from Musk, first-hand observations and Fremont's own approval process has made clear that Tesla built new manufacturing inside a group of several giant tents (or rather, tent-like Sprung structures) to boost output of its high-volume EV. If you think that sounds audacious, you'd be right. Ars Technica learned that each 'tent' is 150 feet long and 53 feet high, and there's no known instance of other car manufacturers doing this before.
Four 'Star Trek' series are in the works from 'Discovery' showrunner
Get ready for more Trek than you can shake a phaser at. According to a report at Variety, CBS has signed a five-year deal with current Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman's production company to expand the television franchise to new live action series, mini-series and possible animation.
Tesla denies exaggerating Model 3 production prowess
Tesla has asked a federal court in San Francisco to dismiss a securities fraud lawsuit filed by shareholders, which accuses the automaker of lying about its ability to mass produce the Model 3 sedan. The lawsuit, filed in October, alleges that Tesla released false statements when it announced that the vehicle's production was on track in May and August last year. Its says those statements and the lack of disclosure that Tesla was "woefully unprepared" to mass produce the vehicle misled investors into snapping up "artificially inflated" shares. In a court filing asking for the dismissal, Tesla has denied that it intended to mislead anyone and said that it used frank and plain language to discuss the production nightmare it went through.
FL Studio's music-making software comes to the Mac
Image-Line has released the latest version of its music production software, and it's seen a big jump since its last offering of FL Studio 12. First up, the name: FL Studio 20. No, you haven't somehow missed eight releases -- it simply honors the 20 years the software has been in existence, including its former FruityLoop days. The other big leap is that FL Studio is shaking off its Windows exclusivity and is now available on as a native 64-bit application for Mac.
Tesla's latest prediction for Model Y's arrival is 2020
Tesla has largely kept its forthcoming Model Y shrouded in mystery. We know it's a crossover EV, and we know it might not have mirrors, and that's about it. But CEO Elon Musk has now revealed that the company aims to bring the new vehicle to production in 2020, adding in its conference call that doing so will spark a "manufacturing revolution". Although he didn't expound on what that revolution will look like.
Tesla pauses Model 3 production again
As Tesla attempts to meet its own projections for Model 3 production, Buzzfeed reports that it is temporarily shutting down the car's Fremont, CA assembly line -- where a report earlier today claimed it's undercounting injuries -- for four to five days. This follows a similar pause in March, and the company gave the same response now as it did then, saying "These periods are used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates. This is not unusual and is in fact common in production ramps like this." Last year Tesla projected it would manufacture 5,000 of the mass-market aimed EVs per week by the end of Q1 2018, but its production report a couple of weeks ago showed the number at 2,020. CEO Elon Musk has recently pointed out an over-reliance on robots and battery module production at its Gigafactory in Nevada as limiting factors. Now Musk has pointed out July as a potential target, saying that production of AWD models is likely to begin after it hits the 5,000 per week number.
Elon Musk agrees robot glut slowed Model 3 production
Tesla's affordable Model 3 has been trapped in development hell for what seems like ages now, and in an interview with CBS's Gayle King, CEO Elon Musk offered a little more insight into how the production process has fallen short. While escorting King through the company's Fremont, California-based factory, Musk conceded that Tesla might've had too many robots involved in its car production process and that the company would benefit from having more humans on the line. And when King opined out loud that in some cases, said robots probably slowed down production, Musk responded with a terse "yes, they did."
Honda unveils the 2019 Insight, its new upscale hybrid sedan
Honda has debuted the 2019 Insight, an all-new hybrid sedan positioned in price between the Civic and Accord hybrids. Unlike the Clarity EV and plug-in hybrid, it's a so-called "series hybrid," with the 1.5 liter Atkinson-cycle gas motor acting as a generator to produce power for the propulsion motor and 60-cell lithium-ion battery pack. At higher speeds, a lock-up clutch engages the gas engine for more efficient highway and freeway driving.
