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The SEC is investigating Tesla over defective solar panels
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Tesla following a whistleblower complaint alleging the company failed to disclose a variety of fire risks associated with rooftop solar panels from its SolarCity division.
Tesla's solar panels reportedly caught fire at an Amazon warehouse (updated)
Walmart recently filed a lawsuit against Tesla after its solar panel installations on seven of the retail giant's stores caught fire. The retail corporation accused Elon Musk's company of poor safety practices, such as not grounding electrical systems properly and sending inspectors who "lacked basic solar training and knowledge." Now, Amazon, another massive corporation, has stepped forward to claim that the solar panels installed by Tesla's SolarCity division burst into flames, as well. According to Bloomberg, Tesla's solar panels caught fire on the roof of one of Amazon's warehouses in Redlands, California.
Report: Tesla plans to build a solar roof testing facility in Fremont
Tesla might be putting its solar roof tile technology to the test, based on a building permit it recently secured from the city of Fremont. As CNBC has discovered, the permit will allow it to build "a test structure to evaluate Tesla solar roof product and installation process" at its car plant in Fremont, California. Tesla's solar roof tiles are designed to look like ordinary shingles unlike the solar panels most of us are used to.
Tesla board forms independent group to explore going private
It's been an eventful seven days for Tesla. What started with CEO Elon Musk tweeting he'd like to take the automaker private last Tuesday has only gotten weirder since. In response, the board has formed a special committee to evaluate the business move, as spotted by CNBC.
Tesla closes solar installation centers as part of layoffs
Tesla's recently announced layoffs may hurt its solar panel business particularly hard. Reuters sources and leaked documents have revealed that Tesla is closing roughly a dozen solar installation centers in nine states as part of the job cuts. There will still be about 60 facilities left afterward, but this would also end a Home Depot partnership that was reportedly responsible for half of Tesla's sales in the category.
Elon Musk pulls Tesla and SpaceX pages after #DeleteFacebook challenge
Elon Musk isn't known for kidding around, and he just made that clear in his response to Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal... more or less, at least. The entrepreneur has hidden the official Facebook accounts for Tesla and SpaceX in response to at least one tweet challenging him to scrub them. Apparently, he didn't realize the companies had Facebook presences until now. He's not getting rid of the companies' Instagram accounts, but he believed they were "borderline" as Facebook's influence was "slowly creeping in."
How Elon Musk plays on our science fiction dreams
Elon Musk has said that he wants to die on Mars -- after it's been colonized by his company SpaceX. He may not have the precise details yet, but Musk will figure out the mission in style: The SpaceX space suits are sleek and form-fitting, while his cherry red Tesla sports car will be aboard the maiden flight of the interplanetary Falcon Heavy rocket. Meanwhile, on Earth, he'll work on connecting our brains to computers through tiny electrodes, building underground networks of car sleds that function like a personal subway system, firing passenger trains through a vacuum tube at the speed of sound and replacing air travel with his Big Fucking Rocket (BFR) spaceship that gets passengers anywhere on the planet in under an hour. That's without mentioning his efforts to advance electric cars and solar energy. Or the fact that this week, he made $10 million in four days by selling promotional flamethrowers.
Puerto Rico governor will discuss Tesla solar systems with Elon Musk
Following hurricanes Irma and Maria, millions of Puerto Rico residents were left without electricity and it's expected to take months for power to be restored. Well one person mused on Twitter whether Elon Musk could help out by rebuilding the island's electricity grid with solar and battery systems and Musk responded that it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
Tesla is getting 1,800 Model 3 reservations per day
After narrowly meeting its promise to launch the Model 3 in July, Tesla has released its latest earnings report (PDF). Other than slightly higher than expected revenue, the company says that since the delivery event, it has averaged 1,800 Model 3 pre-orders per day. Of course, if you're getting in line now you could be in for quite a wait. The company expects to build about 1,500 Model 3s during the third quarter, but is maintaining its prediction that it will expand production to reach 5,000 of the cars per week by the end of this year.
IKEA’s selling home storage batteries for its solar panels
A rooftop of solar panels generating clean energy is great and all, but having somewhere to squirrel away that free juice is even better. After stepping into the shade for a good few months, IKEA began selling solar panels again last year with new teammate Solarcentury (a company that specialises in solar stuff). Today, the meatball-mad retailer is adding another piece of the off-grid puzzle to its shelves: A home storage battery.
Tesla ends SolarCity's door-to-door sales pitches
Tesla is used to selling cars online, but that's not how the recently acquired SolarCity liked to roll -- it preferred door-to-door sales pitches to get panels on your roof. Thankfully, you won't have anyone interrupting dinner going forward. Tesla has revealed that its solar energy division will stop those door-to-door sales in favor of internet and retail operations. It's what "most of our prospective customers prefer," the company says, and the other sales channels should more than make up for the loss. That will shake up jobs, but the roughly 1,000 people affected will either be moved to other sales methods or get a chance to interview for other positions at Tesla.
Tesla's app now reflects the company's move beyond cars
By merging Tesla and Solarcity, Elon Musk has sought about creating an "end-to-end clean energy" solution that starts in the home and extends onto the road. The idea is simple: harness solar energy via photovoltaic cell-embedded rooftop panels, store it in giant batteries and then pipe it into the home or an electric vehicle. As it stands, Musk's goal is on its way to being realized, but Tesla first needs to combine those individual components into one, and it's starting with software.
Tesla's new solar energy station will power Hawaii at night
Renewable energy supplies are great because they produce power without filling the air with pollution. Yet, once the sun goes down solar panels become pretty useless. But Tesla and Hawaii have a solution that'll use the sun's rays both day and night using Powerpacks built at the Gigafactory.
Tesla drops 'Motors' from its name
In a move designed to cement the company as more than just a car maker, Tesla has dropped the "Motors" from its name. The firm posted the necessary SEC paperwork this morning and comes as Elon Musk moves his business well beyond its original mission. After all, with the purchase of Solar City, launch of Powerwall and the solar roof, Tesla is as much of an energy company as it is a car maker.
Tesla's Powerpacks are now lighting up California's grid
"Batteries are boring when they are successful." That's Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, speaking on Monday to an audience of reporters, employees and government officials sitting in the middle of the new 20-megawatt Mira Loma energy storage station in Ontario, California. Behind him, row upon row of Tesla Powerpacks and industrial inverters filled the fenced-in 1.5-acre lot. Those gleaming white battery boxes, though boring looking, are capable of powering up to 15,000 homes for four hours during peak times, or roughly 2,500 homes for an entire day. This is an important development indeed, because it means utilities won't have to fire up fossil fuel-powered stations to fill the energy gaps.
The world's fastest electric car, and more in the week that was
Tesla finally sealed the deal on its acquisition of SolarCity this week, and the merger is already producing incredible results. The two companies just completed a project to power an entire island on solar power. In other energy news, researchers in Israel developed found a way to make solar panels 70 percent more efficient. Two Chinese companies are building a massive solar plant in the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. And Sweden announced plans to cut its tax on solar energy by 98 percent.
ICYMI: Genetically-modified mosquitoes are coming
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Voters in the Florida Keys may have passed a measure to use bioengineered mosquitoes to combat the Zika virus and Dengue fever, but it's still a battle to get a community to accept the insects. The FDA has approved use of altered bugs that are designed to mate, which would then result in offspring that would quickly die. You can get caught up on the back-and-forth, here.
ICYMI: The internet-connected chessboard of your dreams
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A Kickstarter campaign for a chessboard that uses a robotic arm underneath to magically move magnetic game pieces has surpassed its funding goal -- and let's be real, that's probably mostly Harry Potter fans. Meanwhile, an Autodesk robotic arm is 3D printing with a stainless steel welder and some great software, that video is here. If you need some Thanksgiving motivation, the dog chopping veggies video is here and the drone is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Tesla runs an entire island on solar power
Now that Tesla has officially acquired SolarCity, it's not wasting any time showing what the combined entity can do. Tesla has revealed that it's running the island of Ta'u (in American Samoa) on a solar energy microgrid that, at 1.4 megawatts, can cover "nearly 100 percent" of electrical needs. It's not just the 5,328 solar panels that are key -- it's the 60 Tesla Powerpacks that offer 6 megawatt-hours of energy storage. While Ta'u is normally very sunny, the packs can keep it running for three days without sunlight. They don't have to worry about a cloudy day leading to blackouts.
Tesla's SolarCity acquisition is a done deal
When compared to most major business mergers, the union of Tesla and SolarCity happened about as fast as a Tesla launching to 60MPH in Ludicrous Mode. The two companies announced their intent to merge back in August and got shareholder approval last week. This morning, they confirmed that the deal is complete, TechCrunch reports. The news comes just a few weeks after Tesla unveiled its solar roof and PowerWall 2 home battery.
