Electric Vehicles & Cars - Page 23

Jeep teased something big during the extended cut of its new Stellantis EV Day promotional video, with an amphibious SUV capable of driving underwater. Check it out:

Right at the end of the video you can see the unannounced Jeep driving underwater with fish swimming around, with the company of course stating: "Fictionalization. Do not attempt". I don't know how Jeep would be able to sell a car that could drive underwater as shown in the video, because what happens if the car malfunctions and you're stuck underwater?

The future EV (electric vehicle) would be watertight obviously, so we can expect an engineering feat from Jeep to be able to pull it off. I'm sure we'll see Tesla talk about underwater EVs soon, it'll come. I can see future Jeep SUVs driving under water to a certain level, but a fully amphibious vehicle? Hmm.

An opinion piece with the headline "Tesla's Cybertruck Will Be Company's First Flop" has got a reply from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The opinion piece was written by Tim Healey on the website "The Truth About Cars" and goes list reasons why Healey believes that the Cybertruck will be Tesla's first "first true flop as a model". The article was then reposted by Tesla Owners Online, which then Musk replied to explaining that he doesn't care if the Cybertruck is a flop because "I love it".

Musk acknowledges that there is always a large risk taken when you are manufacturing a vehicle that is so unique and that even if it does flop, "I don't care. I love it so much even if others don't." Musk goes on to say that other trucks look similar and that Cybertruck stands out from the pack because it looks like it was designed by "aliens from the future".

For a few months now, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been teasing a coming beta for select Tesla owners. This beta ushers in a "feature complete" version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) package.

Currently, Tesla vehicles aren't considered to be fully autonomous vehicles as they require the driver to be responsible for the car and be prepared to take control at any time. However, that may soon come to an end as Tesla is testing the Full Self-Driving Beta v9 that uses Tesla's own camera-based computer vision system instead of the typical radar sensors.

Musk has been hyping the FSD Beta v9 as "mind-blowing", but unfortunately, Tesla has experienced difficulties with hitting the announced release dates., Musk said that the release would be no later than June, and then he said that it's just "two weeks" away after missing the June release date. Musk then later admitted that the self-driving problem was a lot more difficult to solve than he first anticipated, hence the delays in its release.

Russia has been known for how effective its tanks are, and now a newly released video demonstrates that its tanks can defend themselves from incoming missiles.

The video shows how a tank can protect itself from incoming anit-tank fire by using what has been called the Active Protection System (APS). The video comes from state-controlled Russian media outlet One Russia and demonstrates a Russian infantryman firing an RPG-7 anti-tank grenade at a Russian T-72B3 tank. The tank utilizes its Arena-M APS to defend itself from the incoming missile.

So, how does this work? The APS that this tank in the video is equipped with is named Arena-M hard-kill APS, which like other hard-kill active protection systems, uses radars to monitor any incoming missiles or rockets. If the system detects an incoming missile and confirms that the trajectory of the missile lines up with the tank, the APS system will spring deploy its interceptors to destroy the missile before it can make contact with the tank. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that a Boeing 737-200 cargo plane has crashed off the coast of Hawaii.

According to a report from CNBC, the FAA has confirmed that the Transair Flight 810 was forced to make an emergency landing in the ocean near Honolulu at 1:30 a.m. local time on Friday after the pilots reported engine problems. The U.S. Coast Guard has said that both pilots were rescued from the plane and taken to hospital. One survivor was seen on the end of the tail of the aircraft, and the other was found floating on packages in the water. "The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate", said the FAA.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that Transair Flight 810 took off from Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and was on its way to Kahului Airport on Maui. However, shortly after getting airborne engine 1 failed, according to the audio that the air traffic controller received. "Our situation: We lost number 1 engine, and we're coming straight to the airport. There's a chance we're going to lose the other engine. It's running very hot."

A prototype flying car has completed its very first city-to-city trip, paving the way forward for a potential new mode of transportation.

Slovakian engineers designed the Klien Vision AirCar and it features four wheels as a normal car would, but attached to it is propeller to give it propulsion, two retractable wings for stabilization, and a transforming tail that can change the AirCar from a seemingly suitable aircraft to a road-legal vehicle.

The recent test the AirCar cruised an altitude of 8,200 feet and traveled between the international airport in Nitra to the international airport in Bratislava where it then landed and converted into a driveable road-legal car. Engineers have equipped the AirCar with a 160 hp BMW engine that can ran reach a top airspeed of 118 mph, however, the AirCar will soon be getting upgraded to a 300 hp engine that will push the top air speed to 186 mph.

Tesla only just launched their brand new flagship Model S Plaid electric vehicle a couple of weeks ago, and now a Model S Plaid has caught fire and exploded in the US.

On the streets of Haverford, Pennsylvania the new Tesla Model S Plaid electric vehicle caught fire and exploded in front of a house. The Gladwyne fire department responded to the scene, fighting the Tesla Model S Plaid that caught fire and exploded.

The firefighters blasted the Model S Plaid with water for almost 90 minutes, as they had to extinguish the fire with two dedicated water sources -- not only does the fire need to be put out, but the now-exploded batteries need to be cooled until the heat and fire is completely extinguished.

Tesla has completely modernized the New Silk Road in China, with the installation of 27 Supercharger stations spread out across 5000 kms between east and west China. Check it out:

The official Tesla China Twitter account posted the video, with the now largest Supercharger route in the world that spans across the Silk Road. The Silk Road came about during the Han Dynasty all the way back between 206 BC and 220 AD -- with Silk Road spanning to the west and building a trade network with Central Asian countries and connected the empire with Europe.

This was integral for China, as they used Silk Road to transport things like jade, silk, and spices for things like glass, gold, and other metals. Silk Road was an ancient trading route that was how China connected itself with Western nations, trading not just items and minerals, but traditions and history, and everything in between.

Tesla has just unveiled its new Model S Plaid high-performance electric vehicle, with Tecknoking of Tesla and the Dogefather himself - Elon Musk - unveiling Tesla's new vehicle at an event last night.

Tesla's new Model S Plaid electric car starts at $122,900 - but for that, you'll get 0-60MPH in 2 seconds... and it'll do that all day long. Musk said that there will be repeatable performance with the new Model S Plaid thanks to its new heat pump and radiator, that's twice as big.

Musk said that "you'll actually be able to do back-to-back-to-60s, go on the track, just hall ass. This car can do it over and over again and it doesn't get winded". Tesla is using a heat pump inside of the new Model S Plaid that pushes 30% more range in cold weather, all the while consuming 50% less energy for heating. Musk adds that we'll see "very little degradation in cold weather" with the new Model S.

Tesla announced its refreshed Model S and Model X electric cars back in January 2021, which would be powered by an unknown new infotainment system capable of pumping out 10 TFLOPs of power.

Well, now we know what is inside of it thanks to AMD's show-stealing Computex 2021 keynote. AMD will be providing Tesla with a custom RDNA 2 GPU for the new Model S and Model X, which is the same GPU technology inside of Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S and Sony's PlayStation 5 next-gen consoles.

AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su herself confirmed the news during the Computex 2021 all-virtual keynote, with the new Tesla's packing new semi-custom APUs with Ryzen + Radeon technologies infused into the infotainment system.

A very ambitious project is being spearheaded by Venus Aerospace Corp, who is planning on constructing a hyper-sonic space that will be used for transportation between countries.

Venus Aerospace Corp plans on constructing a spaceplane that would take off from a runway as a usual plane would, but then fly up to high cruising altitude where it would then engage its rocket booster. The rocket booster would then push the space plane to speeds exceeding 9,000mph, which is approximately 12 times the speed of sound.

The space plane would maintain that ridiculous speed for approximately 15 minutes before it begins to use Earth's atmosphere as a means of slowing down. Venus Aerospace Corp plans on transporting people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in around an hour. The company has said that it isn't close to conducting test flights as the design of the aircraft is still in development. Testing of scale models is scheduled to begin this summer.

It's been quite some time since Tesla revealed the now highly anticipated Cybertruck, and now a new patent has shown off crazy technologies.

The leaked patent has come from Twitter user "AMuchVaccinatedFace" who posted a link to the USPTO website. From looking at the patent, we can see that the Cybertruck's tri-motor could give users as much as 610 miles in range, instead of the originally promised 500+ miles.

Other technologies that were mentioned on the patent were eye-tracking technology and an air conditioning system that adjusts its temperature based on the passengers' body temperature. More potential features of the Cybertruck include; 20,000-pound tow limit, as well as a pull-out stovetop and tent. Patents and renders don't always dictate what the final product will look like, so these images should certainly be taken with a healthy amount of suspicion. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

Eventually, taxi services plan on introducing UFO-like aircraft that would carry people from one city to another.

Two electric vertical takeoff and landing (eTVOL) startup companies are planning on revolutionalizing the taxi service industry with a 2-7 seater aircraft, but now a new startup called Kelekona is planning on building a larger 40-passenger aircraft for city-to-city travel. The proposed aircraft from Kelekona would be able to carry 40 passengers or 10,000 lb of cargo over a 330-mile trip between LA and San Francisco in an hour.

Kelekona explains that "a combination of stereo cameras and radar give Kelekona 100 miles of added environmental awareness for detection and avoidance from unknown aircraft, birdstrike, weather anomalies, and uncharted physical infrastructure." As you can probably imagine, if Kelekona's aircraft manages to reach the skies, there will be a slew of freshly false UFO sightings reported by residents. If you are interested in reading more about Kelekona's upcoming aircraft, check out this link here.

A Russian defense technology firm has said that the United States' Boeing X-37B could carry up to six nuclear warheads.

A new report from Sputnik News has revealed that Yan Novikov of the Russian defense technology firm Almaz-Antey recently said at the New Knowledge educational event on Saturday, May 22 that the US's X-37B may not just be for "scientific purposes", but also military.

According to Novikov, "The official story is that these platforms were developed for scientific purposes and, well, surveillance. But we understand that having these capacities and possibilities, the smaller spacecraft can carry up to three nuclear warheads, the large one up to six." For those that don't know, the Boeing X-37B was created to operate in low-Earth orbit, and is the most advanced re-entry spacecraft that is designed to carry out experiments in low-Earth orbit and return back to Earth.

Twice within the last month, US military vessels have had to fire warning shots at Iranian war vessels for "unsafe and unprofessional" maneuvers.

According to TheGuardian, a US coast guard ship had to fire thirty warning shots at thirteen Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCN) warships that were fast-approaching US navy vessels. According to John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson, the warning shots were fired at the Iranian ships after they came as close as 150 yards to US ships. Kirby said, "It's significant ... and they were acting very aggressively."

Kirby also stated, "After the second round of warning shots, the 13 fast attack craft from the IRGCN broke contact." As previously mentioned, this is the second time within a month that US ships have had to result in firing warning shots at approaching Iranian ships. In April, another US ship had to fire warning shots after three IRGCN vessels came close to an American patrol boat in the Gulf.

On April 29, 2021, the world's largest plane officially completed its flight test over California's Mojave Desert.

Developed by Stratolaunch, the "Roc" plane now holds the crown for the world's largest plane as it has a wingspan of 385-feet, and a length of 250 feet, which is slightly bigger than the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380. The Roc has six engines in total and 28 wheels to stabilize it when it lands on the runway.

On Thursday, April 29, Stratolaunch took the Roc out to Mojave Air and Space Port, which is about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. This test flight marked the first time Roc has flown in two years, and during the flight, the massive plane climbed to an altitude of 14,000 feet. Roc stayed in the air for 3 hours and 14 minutes, and the team behind the craft deemed the entire test flight a success. See the above videos to watch the bird in action!

If you've got a Lamborghini Huracan EVO sitting in the driveway then you might want to check out the latest update the company has to offer, using its partnership with Amazon and infusing Alexa features into the Huracan EVO exotic car.

Amazon Alexa features inside of the Lamborghini Huracan EVO allow you to tweak controls of the vehicle with just your voice, with Lamborghini explaining you can control "climate and comfort settings including air conditioning, heater, fan speed, temperature, seat heaters, defroster and air flow direction, as well as lighting".

You can simply tell your Lamborghini Huracan EVO "Alexa, I am hot" and the car will start the air conditioning and get the car cooler, which is something the company wants you to use more often -- using your voice instead of taking your eyes off the road to see where your hand is moving to tweak the AC knobs and other controls in your car.

Apple was in the headlines for all the right reasons last year when it comes to its Apple Car project, reportedly teaming with Hyundai to make its car happen in 2024 -- and now, Apple has just secured ex-Porsche Vice President of Chassis Development Manfred Harrer.

Harrer comes with a lot of expertise from Porsche where he was for over 10 years, where he worked on the Cayenne series recently and has been leading the chassis division since 2016. The news is coming from Business Insider Deutschland, which said that Apple, Porsche, and Dr. Harrer declined to comment on the news.

Business Insider did report that a former top Volkswagen manager said that Dr. Harrer was a "hidden champion" and the "measure of all things in his field".

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has announced that it will be making automobile processors at a much faster rate, as governments across the wrold struggle getting their hands-on those chips for new cars.

The global shortage of automobile chips is causing enough of an issue economically that governments have requested authorities in Taiwan to push TSMC to increase production of the much-needed automotive processors. Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Ms. Mei-Hua Wang requested a meeting with representatives from Germany, TSMC, dean of Taiwan's Economic Research Institute and other semiconductor companies.

In this meeting they talked about shortage of automotive chips, and how Germany along with other countries in the world could assist Taiwan -- where Taiwan (through TSMC) would make automotive chips at a rate that no other company in the world can do right now -- in exchange for COVID-19 vaccines.

Tesla announced its refreshed 2021 Model S electric vehicle teasing that it had 10 TFLOPs of compute performance, but now we know it is a custom AMD RDNA 2-based Navi 23 GPU and its GPU block diagram. Check it out:

The AMD Navi 23 GPU should be used inside of the 2021 Tesla Model S for its entertainment and navigation systems, with GDDR6 memory (Samsung 16Gb chips) with 8GB in total. The Navi 23 GPU has 10 TFLOPs of performance, which is virtually identical to that of the Sony PlayStation 5 console and its semi-custom AMD chip.

Navi 23 has 32 Compute Units (2048 Stream Processors) with GPU clocks of at least 2.44GHz, while the 8GB of GDDR6 finds itself on a 128-bit memory bus -- making the memory bus of Tesla's new 2021 infotainment system similar to Microsoft's slower Xbox Series S console.