Electric Vehicles & Cars - Page 2

Sir Lanka's energy minister confirmed to the press the nation's power grid was brought down after a monkey came into contact with the grid transformer, resulting in 22 million people being left in temperatures above 86 degrees (30C).

The nationwide power outage was traced back to a power station located south of the capital, Colombo, and according to energy minister Kumara Jayakody, a monkey interacted with the grid transforming, resulting in an imbalance in the power system and the eventual outage. Sri Lankan media and social media users were very quick to start poking fun at the situation, with some pointing out that even just one monkey can cause total chaos across a nation. On a more serious note, some users pointed out the flimsiness of the grid if it can be brought down by one explorative monkey.

Jamila Husain, editor-in-chief of local newspaper the Daily Mirror, wrote: "Sri Lanka's national grid is so outdated that even a monkey can cause an island-wide blackout." How did this happen? According to the Power and Energy Ministry, a group of monkeys made their way into the Pandura Power Station and a fight between the monkey's broke out. During the brawl one of the monkey's hit the transmission line, resulting in an immediate imbalance in the power grid and the outage.

Tesla has reported Q4 2024 results pulling in $25.7 billion in revenue for the three-month period, delivering over 495,000 cars, with Elon Musk saying this will be the "biggest year in Tesla's history".

In a new post on X, the official Tesla account said that the company expects Model Y to become the world's best-selling car of any kind for the 2nd year in a row. Not only that, but it's become even better with the introduction of its new Model Y launching in all markets, with Tesla promising production will begin ramping at all factories with deliveries following all regions later in Q1 2025.

Tesla says that its Semi factory construction continues, with the first Semi truck builds scheduled for the end of 2025, ramping up in early 2026. Cybercab lines are being prepared at Giga Texas with volume production planned for 2026, an exciting glimpse into the future.

Tesla has announced that its vehicles are now autonomously driving from the factory floor, to loading bays, without any humans needed in the process.

The company posted to its Tesla AI account on X, showing it has automated the process that saves dozens of employees, and thousands of hours of time per year. Tesla is using its FSD (Full Self Driving) technology in unsupervised mode inside of their software to drive this (no pun intended).

In the video that Tesla shared, you can see the electric vehicles navigating intersections on their own, finding its way to an available bay, and parking itself. This is achieved by using the AI hardware inside of each Tesla car, as well as the computer vision system, also inside of every EV it makes.

Tesla has just unveiled its new Model Y for 2025 with maximum efficiency, smoother rides, and an all-new interior. Check it out:

The new Tesla Model Y features a redesigned exterior with improved aerodynamics that unlocks improved range, performance, and longevity. The company has updated the wheels on the new Model Y, as well as the tires and brakes, with retuned suspension for a smoother ride in the refreshed 2025 Model Y. Tesla is using a single, cross-car lamp that the company says is the first indirect reflective taillight of its kind in the world, and that's just on the outside.

On the inside, we've got new ambient interior lighting, refined materials, and ventilated first-row seats. In the rear, we've got power-folding second-row seats, as well as a Bluetooth-compatible 8-inch touchscreen in the back. Tesla's new Model Y has a quieter cabin, thanks to acoustic glass all around the vehicle.

A lithium-ion battery facility located in California has caught fire, sparking fear from surrounding residents after the state declared on Friday.

The battery facility, one of several located at the former Moss Landing Power Plant, and is owned and operated by Vistra Energy. Notably, the facility is described as the largest of its kind in the world, with its total capacity reaching a stunning 750 MW / 3,000 MWh. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but according to county officials cited in reports, approximately 75% of the facility has been burned down. For those that don't know, lithium-ion battery fires are extremely difficult to put out due to a chain reaction called "thermal runaway."

Thermal runaway occurs when a battery cell overheats, causing a fire, which causes neighboring battery cells to increase in temperature and catch fire. This process can result in a lasting fire that can even go out and reignite. How can it be stopped? Firefighters have begun dealing with more lithium-ion battery fires since the rise of electric vehicles, and in the instances of EVs catching fire, emergency responders have had to douse burning vehicles for approximately 90 minutes, sometimes wasting as much as 4,500 gallons of water.

Goldman Sachs has just updated its views on Tesla for its 2027 estimates, saying that it assumes Tesla's robotaxi business will "begin commercial operations" in 2H 2026, reaching around $115 million in revenue in 2027.

The analyst firm expects to see Tesla use remote assistance and geofencing to launch its robotaxi service, adding that "directionally similar to the approaches used by robotaxis on the road currently from competitors". Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney says that the company believes the use of remote assistance, and a narrow geographic environment "could help to improve technical performance compared to Tesla's FSD service on consumer vehicles, although limit the rate of scaling for at least the next few years".

Elon Musk recently came out and said that Tesla will be 100x safer than human drivers by 2025, adding that they "just won't crash". Elon also said that Tesla is capable of driving anywhere, "even an alien planet". You can read more about those stories and his comments below:

Elon Musk says that Tesla will be 100x safer than human drivers... this year... the company feels confident that it'll be 10x safer than a human driver, and then 100x safer, until we get to the point where they "really just won't crash".

During the interview, SpaceX, Tesla, and X boss Elon Musk said: "In about three months, basically Q2 of this year, we feel confident of passing, having a probability of an accident that is better than the average experienced driver. And then we'll keep going from there. I think it's going to be 10 times safer than a human driver. And then 100 times safer - like, to the point where it really just won't crash. That's happening this year with Tesla".

Tesla's fleet of vehicles are powered with AI, with Elon saying that AI will be able to do everything -- so what will humans do? He replied, saying: "AI will do anything you want and even suggest things you never even thought of. So, I mean, AI really within the next few years will be able to do any cognitive task. It obviously begs the question, what are we all going to do?"

We caught our first glimpses of the Afeela exactly a year ago at CES 2024. With the Afeela still in its infancy, Sony took to the stage, highlighting the vehicle's design, entertainment capabilities, and, of course - AI integration features. 

The division of labor between the two brands was simple: Honda built the architecture, and Sony took care of the tech. Fast forward a year to CES 2025, and we've taken a closer look at the technical features in Sony's answer to Tesla. What's among them is impressive -  AI-enhanced self driving, screens that span the entire dashboard, Sony's signature noise-cancelling technology, a 'media bar' allowing you to display messages on the front bumper.

But the most important of all: is being able to play Baldur's Gate 3 on your commute through your on-board PlayStation 5. Sony did not specify exactly how, and where the console is accessed. However, one would assume it's through one of the many large screens located on the interior. 

Elon Musk says that Tesla can drive anywhere, even an alien planet... and we're totally not kidding around. Check it out in his own words:

The SpaceX, Tesla, and X boss has said that Tesla vehicles and its massive AI network is so good, that the EVs could drive somewhere it's never been before, where no Tesla has ever been before, and it'll still navigate you around with its advanced self-driving technology.

Elon said: "There already are autonomous in some regions - like Waymo has autonomous vehicles with no one in them - but they're limited to a few cities in the U.S. The Tesla solution, which is a much more difficult path to go, but ultimately much more powerful, is a general solution to self-driving".

In some shocking news, a Tesla Cybertruck that was filled with explosives and fireworks-style mortars has exploded outside of the Trump Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada, in what's being described as a "possible act of terror".

The explosion from the Tesla Cybertruck was the result of very large fireworks and or a bomb, with "all vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of explosion" according to Telsa CEO Elon Musk.

Elon explained "we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion". This was in a reply to his own post on X, which explained:

Tesla is preparing to launch a new Model Q hatchback EV that will cost under $30,000 and launch in the first half of 2025.

In a new report from The Wall Street Journal, which has a copy of Deutsche Bank's report, we can expect the new Tesla Model Q in 1H 2025 at under $30,000. WSJ reporter Becky Peterson writes: "I got a copy of the Deutsche Bank report. Here's what it does say: 1. Travis Axelrod met with DB for its Autonomous Driving Day on December 5 in NYC. 2".

"DB describes"the new Tesla model"which it calls"Model Q". 3. DB says it will launch in the first half of 2025, and will cost less than $30k with subsidies, or $37,499 if Trump cancels the IRA tax credit. 4. DB says it will be built on Tesla's existing lines".

Anker has taken to its website to announce the recall of thousands of its Soundcore and PowerConf Bluetooth speakers, with the company citing a fault in the manufacturing process that has led to incidents related to affected devices batteries.

Anker wrote in a new announcement that a "small number" number of the affected speakers were manufactured between March and April 2023 and that Anker will be reaching out to customers who purchased one of the affected products between March 1, 2023, and June 6, 2024. According to reports, the affected products could be as many as 69,000 across the US, with an additional 9,764 sold in Canada. As for what products are affected, Anker highlights the following models as potentially being faulty: A3102016, A3302011, and A3302031.

So far 33 reports of problems with the aforementioned models have surfaced, with some of the reports claiming the device began smoking, started a small fire, and even one report cited a minor burn. It's advised to try to find the serial number on your speaker and then navigate to Anker's website to check if it is included in the recall. If you own an affected device, you are advised to immediately turn it off and contact Anker customer support, who will instruct you on how to dispose of it correctly.

NVIDIA is moving into the automotive market in 2025, with the AI and GPU giant reportedly working with high-end Chinese EV companies to use its new Drive Thor chip.

In a new report from the Commercial Times and picked up by TrendForce, we're learning that NVIDIA's new Drive Thor chip will be used by high-end smart EV brands including BYD, SAIC Motors, Li Auto, and more. These companies plan to fully transition to NVIDIA's new Thor platform by the end of 2025, or by early 2026.

NVIDIA's new Thor platform is reportedly available in 5 versions depending on how much computing power the EV companies need, with the GPU side handled by the Blackwell architecture, boosting TOPS performance over the current Orin platform.

Hyundai has a "secret weapon" that it will be unleashing onto the Chinese EV market next year, where in collaboration with Chinese partner Haomo, Hyundai will release its first Chinese-market-dedicated electric vehicle (EV) that will feature generative AI technology built-in.

In a new report from the Korea Herald who spoke with a Hyundai Motor official who said: "We are working to load the software of Haomo, a local autonomous driving software firm, onto the EV, which will be released in the Chinese market next year. The level of autonomous driving is somewhere between 2 and 2.5".

The scale of autonomous driving ranges between 0-5, with Level 2 referring to partial driving automation as the vehicle is capable of controlling both the steering, accelerating and decelerating. Tesla's in-house Autopilot falls under the Level 2 autonomous driving, with Level 3 self-driving cars required to detect circumstances and make AI-powered informed decisions for themselves, including accelerating past a slow-moving vehicle, and more. Level 2 and Level 3 both require human override functionality.

Tesla has just announced its new V4 Cabinet, an even faster version of its Supercharger, capable of d elivering up to 500kW for cars, and up to 1.2MW for the Tesla Semi truck.

In a new article posted by X, the Elon Musk electric vehicle leader announced its new V4 Cabinet, with faster charging through support for 400V-1000V vehicle architectures, with 30% faster charging for the Cybertruck. S3XY vehicles will enjoy 250kW charge rates that they already experienced on the V3 Cabinet, charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.

Tesla explains that there will be faster deployments, with the V4 Cabinet powering 8 posts, 2x the stalls per cabinet. There's a lower footprint and less complexity, which means more Supercharger sites will come online faster. Inside, the new V4 Cabinet features next-generation hardware with cutting-edge power electronics that Tesla has designed to be the "most reliable on the planet" with 3x power density enabling higher throughput with lower costs.

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.