Electric Vehicles & Cars - Page 2

Elon Musk made a big bet on the battery technology known as 4680 cylindrical cell technology, making as many as 100 million of them. Unfortunately, these Tesla 4680 cells are supposed to have "five times" more energy capacity than what was announced back in September this year.

A report by The Information revealed Musk set a deadline for Tesla employees to complete the stack of batteries before the end of the year. Notably, these batteries are the bread and butter for Tesla as they are used in some of the company's electric vehicles, such as the Cybertruck. However, Robin Zeng, the founder of the world's biggest EV battery company, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), told Reuters that Musk's big bet on 4680 cylindrical cell technology "is going to fail and never be successful."

CATL batteries are used in some Tesla vehicles and are also used in other branded EVs such as Ford and Mustang. However, the company specializes in a different type of battery technology called lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), which can't provide as much as the cylindrical cell units. Zeng also spoke about meeting with Musk and discussing batteries, to which he said he wasn't impressed with the CEO's knowledge on the subject. Zeng did acknowledge that he was impressed with Musk's knowledge on chips, software, hardware, and "mechanical things".

Ausom is one of the leading manufacturers when it comes to electric scooters and the company is proud to showcase three offerings, the Gallop SR1, and the Leopard DT1 Pro and DT1. If you are interested in these, Ausom is offering $50 off to TweakTown readers when using code Tweak918 at check out.

Starting off with the Gallop SR1, Ausom has equipped this electric scooter with a security system that has set it apart from the competition, with an integrated NFC locking feature that enables riders to unlock their scooter with a tap of their smartphone. Additionally, the Gallop SR1 comes with a lighting system, joystick-controller turn signals for optimized visibility, and hydraulic disc breaks to make stopping a smooth and as safe as possible.

The SR1 features two massive motors capable of delivering 2000W of power, pushing the rider to a top speed of 41 miles per hour. The SR1 will also be able to climb at an angle of 46%, and with its 20.8Ah battery, it has a top range of 54 miles. As for the build of the e-sccooter, Ausom has constructed the SR1 out of an aluminum alloy, making it highly resistant to breakage. Furthermore, the SR1 has 10"x3" knobby tires that are designed for off-road, rugged terrain.

Tesla has just launched its new ASS system for its cars, or Actually Smart Summon, which allows your vehicle to come to you, or to a specific spot you choose, all on its own. Tesla says "it's like magic, but with more tech and less hand-waving".

Tesla's new ASS feature will let you tap the Tesla app and have the car come to you, which is a fantastic feature when you're out at the shops and it's raining (or it's hot) and the car can pre-heat (or pre-cool) and roll right up to the doors (or as close as it can) for you. Out at a friends place and parked down the street? No worries... your Tesla will ride itself into the driveway to pick you up.

In the full details for ASS (Actually Smart Summon), Tesla explains: "Buckle up for the ride of your life, except, surprise! You're not in the car. ASS (Actually Smarrt Summon) allows your vehicle to come to you, or head to a spot that you choose, all on its own. It's like magic, but with more tech and less hand-waving".

Ford has announced it scaling back its EV operations in the US, after it claimed that customers are becoming more price-conscious and range-anxious, so Ford has made some huge adjustments to its future EV roadmap.

The company announced this week that it has adjusted its roadmap for its US vehicles, which will include a wider range of electrification options, and longer ranges. Ford is throwing away its next line of all-electric SUVs, they're gone now, replaced with hybrid models (that have shorter range, but longer overall range when combined with the gas engine).

This move will save the company at least $400 million reports CNN, because Ford will need to write down the manufacturing equipment that it had to install to build the EV SUVs... that it is no longer building. Ford said that the change in plans could cost the company upwards of $1.5 billion.

This is the most insane Tesla Cybertruck upgrade you could even imagine, with the introduction of STING: a groundbreaking series of up-armored, genset-equipped Tesla Cybertruck packages designed for those who want the best performance, best protection, and energy independence. Check it out:

Archimedes Defense and Unplugged Performance collaborated on STING, the upgraded Tesla Cybertruck that is engineered for both government and civilian use, with STING built to thrive in the harshest environments, offering unmatched capabilities for anyone, who needs to be ready for anything.

A recognized leader in high-power solutions for government and defense applications, Archimedes Defense, partnered with Unplugged Performance and its specialized division, UP.FIT, to develop STING. This collaboration leverages Archimedes Defense's expertise in power technology with Unplugged Performance's renowned Tesla upgrades, resulting in a product that pushes the boundaries of what a Tesla Cybertruck can achieve.

One parking lot in San Francisco is becoming the breeding ground for seemingly confused self-driving cars gathering at night and honking at each other.

Nearby resident Randol White captured footage of the Waymo self-driving vehicles taking over the parking lot and seemingly becoming stuck, and resulting in consistent honking at each other. The noise has kept residents in the area up at night, with reports stating several people in the nearby buildings have also complained about the noise. "Over the past two weeks, I've been woken up more times overnight than I have combined over 20 years," said Russell Pofsky, who lives in a building adjacent to White.

Notably, Pofsky said the honking incidents have happened during the day and night, and have started to affect his mood throughout the day. ABC7 News reached out to Waymo for comment on the strange scenario, and the company replied by acknowledging its vehicles "may briefly honk while navigating our parking lots" and that it "identified the cause and is in the process of implementing a fix." Despite the self-driving vehicles interrupting his sleep White says he still is a fan of Waymo cars and uses them quite regularly.

Intel has just launched the A760A, a discrete GPU made for cars, something the company announced today at its AI Cockpit Innovation Experience event.

The new A760A GPU isn't quite new, as it's a rebrand of a GPU already on the market, but now aimed at the automotive market. Intel says its new A760A GPU will deliver "next-level, high-fidelity experiences' for vehicles.

The A760A has higher performance compared to integrated graphics on other Intel processors that were made for vehicles, called SDV SoCs. Intel says its new A760A is an easy drop-in upgrade for car manufacturers that already have vehicles powered by SDV processors, allowing for performance upgrades without a platform change.

Spotify had a brief go at being a hardware company with the release of its Car Thing gadget, a device that served as a remote control for Spotify and could be attached to the vents in a car.

Car Thing wasn't a success, as the $90 product was only available for five months after going through an invite-only test in April 2021 and then a public waitlist to purchase one. General sales for Car Thing began in February 2022, and less than five months later, the product was stopped.

While initially seemingly like a good idea, Car Thing ended up being a remote control for Spotify that was playing on a smartphone, which significantly reduced the number of users interested in it. However, it still got into the hands of a very niche audience.

Tesla has just unveiled its new Model 3 Performance electric vehicle, with the company teasing a highly differentiated performance trip that uses Tesla's latest manufacturing and engineering capabilities to create what the company considers to be a "perfect, high-performance daily driver". Check it out:

The new Model 3 Perf ormance features Tesla's very latest Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) and comfort improvements of the new Model 3, as well as the bespoke chassis hardware the increases performance and stiffness while reducing mass, including adaptive dampers with hollow damper piston rods, multi-sectioned stabilizer bar, ultra-high strength steel springs, and stiffer suspension top mounts.

Tesla bakes in its latest-generation performance drive unit -- the Performance 4DU -- which unlocks even more torque, power, and improved efficiency of the new Model 3 Performance. Compared to the previous Model 3 Performance drive unit, the new Performance 4DU can delivery over 22% more continuous power, over 32% more peak power, and over 16% more peak torque delivery.

Elon Musk said that Tesla will unveil its self-driving Robotaxi product on August 8, in an official post from SpaceX and Tesla's CEO on X, the platform he also owns.

Musk tweeted out with a simple: "Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8," and that's it. The Tesla CEO talked about self-driving Robotaxis back in 2019 and did originally say -- and we reported on it, with the link below -- that he'd have them out on the road in 2024, and here we are in 2024 with Robotaxis to be unveiled on August 8, 2024.

Reuters published a report before Elon posted on X about the Tesla Robotaxi, with a story that said Tesla had scrapped plans to build a more affordable electric vehicle, somewhere in the $25,000 or so range. Elon accused Reuters of "lying" after their story went out about Tesla reportedly scrapping low-cost EVs, with Musk posting on X: "Reuters is lying (again)".