2025 Jeep Wagoneer S
Electric Wagoneer
The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S is set to become the inaugural electric model from Jeep in the U.S. Until now, the forthcoming electric SUV has been showcased only through concept images. Jeep teased us with new photos. The Wagoneer S will ride on the new STLA Large EV platform when it rears its “squinty headlights” into dealerships later this year. caranddriver.com
But not everyone is happy about it. thedrive.com
Lithium Myth-busting (Liar, Liar, Battery on fire?)
There is a lot of coverage of Electric Vehicle fires (they do happen). However, much of it is, shall we say, overcooked.
Electric Vehicles and their electric motors are 20 times LESS likely to catch fire than the appropriately named Internal Combustion Engine. thedriven.io
The Guardian did a well-researched set of articles covering the EV fire myth, other EV misconceptions and buyer concerns. theguardian.com
A lot of the concern that EVs might have caused cargo shipping fires was disproven in the case of the Fremantle Highway, a Panama-flagged car and truck carrier fire. (We’ll never know what happened to the Felicity Ace.) thedriven.io
Computers Get Super (I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.)
There was an unexpected amount of supercomputer news in the last week.
Jülich Supercomputing Center and French computing provider Eviden signed a deal to build a new data centre to house an exascale-class supercomputer that they say will be capable of performing one quintillion floating-point operations per second, or one exaFLOPS (that’s a lot of fucking flop); the first exascale-class supercomputer in Europe. pcgamer.com
Tesla announced a $500 million project to build a Dojo supercomputer cluster at “Gigafactory New York” in Buffalo. They are investing in all the processing power they can acquire to support their AI programs, like Full Self-Driving and the shirt-folding robot Optimus. electrek.co
Meanwhile, down under, researchers in Australia are building the world's first supercomputer that can simulate networks at the scale of a human brain. The supercomputer, known as DeepSouth, is being developed by Western Sydney University. "If you are trying to understand the brain this will be the hardware to do it on." businessinsider.com
AI researcher and computer science icon Yoshua Bengio urges the Canadian government to build a public supercomputer. At a cost of about a billion loonies, eh. cbc.ca
China Telecom has already built one. tomshardware.com
China’s Automotive Expansion
MotorTrend kicked the tires of the Zeekr (owned by Geely, who also owns Polestar and Volvo) 001 EV sedan and 009 EV van on a track in the US. motortrend.com
CATL and ride-hailing service Didi signed a joint venture for EV battery swapping. cnevpost.com
BYD plans to convert a former Ford plant into an electric vehicle (EV) facility in Brazil. teslarati.com
Chinese automakers have their own new chip issue. reuters.com
Must Know Musk News
Tesla picked the wrong font size and now has to recall 2.2 million vehicles in the US. bbc.com
Elon says his religion is “curiosity.” fortune.com
It pays to be Elon's college ex-girlfriend (or does it?). cbsnews.com
Elon wants trade barriers to protect Tesla (and other US OEMs) from the threat of low-cost Chinese Electric Vehicles. cnbc.com, fortune.com
The low-cost Tesla Model 2 is expected in 2025. forbes.com
SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets within 24 hours of each other, releasing oodles of StarLink satellites. space.com
A Delaware judge made Elon $55 billion poorer. apnews.com
Tesla opens up their first South American showroom in Chile. bnnbloomberg.ca
Tesla is being sued by folk in California over hazardous waste. reuters.com
“X” plans to (re)hire content moderators (too little, too late?). wired.com
Elon put a chip in someone’s brain. “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.” theguardian.com
And if you want a chip in your head, you’re gonna have to ask him directly. reuters.com
Energy
Hawaii shuts down its last coal plant, replacing it with the “most advanced grid-scale battery energy storage system in the world.” yahoo.com
A massive Chinese solar farm, Kubuqi Renewables Base, is larger than 20 central parks and will power nearly 1 million homes. This is just the beginning for these sprawling solar and wind systems. youtube.com,
Researchers at Cornell Engineering have developed a novel lithium battery capable of charging in less than five minutes, ensuring consistent performance through numerous charge and discharge cycles. independent.co.uk, cleantechnica.com
Solaires Entreprises in Canada states that its perovskite solar modules (designed for indoor use) can power various electronic devices, including wireless keyboards, door locks and sensors. pv-magazine.com
But Wait, There’s More
Artist-trained rats to take selfies to make a point about social media
Two words: “rat selfies.” cbc.ca
The world’s largest cruise ship, “Icon of the Seas,” launched from Miami. And it is disturbingly large. bbc.com
The risk of a global shipping collapse that could have crippling impacts on the automotive industry (and pretty much ALL manufacturing) is real. youtube.com
Taylor Swift deepfakes and AI-generated Biden-esque robocalls prompt governments to expedite AI regulations. reuters.com, nbcnews.com, theguardian.com
Volkswagen sets up its own AI lab. cnbc.com
US-based Lithia Auto Group acquired 160 stores in the UK. autonews.com
Ford CEO Jim Farley wants to give you a Tesla charging adapter. twitter.com
The four-seater electric Bugatti is the solution for the ultra-rich who want to address the transportation needs of their growing family. autoevolution.com
Apple exec DJ Novotney leaves to join Rivian. One can only expect that they plan to make an even prettier RT1. fortune.com
Coyote Container drove a Nikola hydrogen truck and its 17.7-ton trailer for 400 miles. electrek.co
I fucking love Unimogs. caranddriver.com