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-Growdy
Tesla Model 2 SNAFU
Is Elon At War With Reuters?
Friday, April 5, Reuters posted five charts that show how Tesla is underperforming. reuters.com
Elon tweeted (posted) that “Reuters is dying” a minute later. twitter.com
Tesla Sketches Of Possible Model 2 Design
Then, attention turned to robotaxis and the mythical Tesla Model 2.
For context, Elon and Cathie Wood tweeted (posted) back and forth about the Model 2 on Twitter (X) back in 2020. twitter.com
Rumours and artist renderings of the Tesla Model 2 have been floating around the internet for years. autoweek.com
Tesla Used This Sketch On Job Postings In China
In late 2023, Elon quipped in an interview that the Model 2 “will blow people’s minds. It’s not like any car production line that anyone’s ever seen.” forbes.com, youtube.com
On Friday, April 5th, Reuters broke a story saying that sources told them the lower-cost Model 2 wouldn’t be built. Reporting that the company’s focus shifted to their self-driving robotaxi instead. reuters.com
And the internet responded with articles about the death of the Model 2 pretty much everywhere, instantly. theverge.com, techcrunch.com, arstechnica.com, autocar.co.uk, autonews.com, motor1.com
Musk stepped into the conversation on Twitter (X), saying, "Reuters is lying (again)." But failed to say what they were lying about. twitter.com
He also tweeted (posted) that a robotaxi announcement event would happen on August 8th.
Tesla’s stock did some dancing on Friday, dipping dramatically on the Model 2 news and then only partially recovering by the end of the day. axios.com
Saturday morning, Reuters reported that Tesla’s robotaxi dreams are farther off than they think. reuters.com
Other Electric Vehicle Start-Ups, More Fucked Than You Thought
People forget that most startups don’t survive. It is the nature of the beast.
Canoo has been paying millions of dollars (twice its actual revenue in 2023) to its CEO’s private company, Aquila Family Ventures, over the last three years for the use of its private jet. techcrunch.com
Faraday Future, strapped for cash, marginally escapes eviction. techcrunch.com
Fisker’s doors don’t open. techcrunch.com
Uber Eats Now Delivering In Waymo Self-Driving Vehicles.
Two Waymo autonomous vehicles drive themselves.
Uber Eats orders can now be delivered by a Waymo self-driving car for the first time in Phoenix, Arizona. Customers are notified when the vehicle arrives and prompted to collect their food. cnbc.com
This is the first deployment of the autonomous delivery service that combines the tech of both companies, as announced last year. theverge.com
China’s Automotive Expansion
Xiaomi is letting potential buyers of its SU7 electric sedan know they may have to wait due to interest in their new electric vehicle. reuters.com
Volkswagen's CEO says they can’t keep up with Chinese EV manufacturers. reuters.com
Imports of Chinese EVs spiked in Brazil before new import taxes. reuters.com
Battery maker CATL is negotiating with GM to ink a deal similar to what they already have with Ford for North American LFP battery production. teslarati.com
Nio begins the production of semi-solid state batteries. electrek.co
BYD is working on a pickup truck. cnevpost.com
Must Know Musk News
Tesla sales dropped for the first time since before COVID. theverge.com
Tesla wants to implicate Apple in their Autopilot lawsuit because the driver was playing a game on his iPhone. theverge.com
An increasing number of potential car buyers are not fans of Elon. And Tesla is being hurt by his bad reputation. theverge.com
Tesla blames the drop in sales on their Gigafactory Berlin fire and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. techcrunch.com
Tesla drops its pants on the Model Y. techcrunch.com
Fidelity implies that Twitter (X) Inc.’s value has fallen 73% since being acquired by Elon. fortune.com
Mark Cuban is happy to be a thorn in Elon’s side. businessinsider.com
Energy
Canada's federal government is not interested in subsidizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. reuters.com
Shell appeals 2021 Dutch court’s climate ruling that ordered it to drastically deepen planned greenhouse gas emission cuts. reuters.com
EU carbon emissions fell 15.5% as more renewable energy was adopted in 2023. reuters.com
Robert Howarth, a methane researcher at Cornell University, has a few things he wants to tell the oil and gas industry. wsj.com
This week, The Guardian published a fascinating piece identifying the 57 companies linked to 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. theguardian.com
Water-based thermal batteries provide district-level heating and cooling to city complexes, such as in Toronto’s ‘The Well’ development. cbc.ca
Solar topped coal in Texas for the first time in March. electrek.co
Solar topped coal in Texas for the first time in March.
But Wait, There’s More
Ford has delayed its plans to build its next-generation electric SUV in Oakville, and UNIFOR isn’t happy about it. theverge.com, techcrunch.com, reuters.com, canada.autonews.com
Ford hybrid and electric vehicles had a solid first quarter in 2024. theverge.com
Stellantis showed off 36 new models to dealers in Europe. uk.motor1.com
Production at Stellantis' Italian plants fell 9.8% year over year. reuters.com
Axios wrote an interesting piece about why Kia and Hyundai are taking over North American driveways. axios.com
Mercedes drifts the electric G-Class in snow on a frozen Swedish lake. youtube.com
ICYMI
Apple lays off 600 people due to shutting down their “Project Titan” electric car project. techcrunch.com, cnbc.com, bloomberg.com, theverge.com
Consumers still want to be able to buy and sell vehicles online. autonews.com
As explained in my March 24th newsletter, people want cheaper EVs. Further data from Edmunds supports this claim. edmunds.com
EV shoppers are seeking prices far below current EV costs.
Other Interests
Former Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is now deep into next-generation weapons design. He believes his company can build weapons that would “swiftly” end any conflict. His company showcases their weapons tech on their YouTube Channel, including a reusable missile and something they call a loitering munition. businessinsider.com, youtube.com, youtube.com
OpenAI’s new voice-mimicking tech only needs a few seconds of audio to sound like you. theverge.com
Instagram makes more money than YouTube. businessinsider.com
Three words: Electric Sportscar Hovercraft. electrek.co
Kick Out The Jams
Some entirely unnecessary links to music for your listening pleasure. Enjoy.
New music from The Black Keys. Imagine Dragons and Faderhead
Prince’s ‘United States Of Division’ was reissued on its 20th anniversary.
GQ published an excellent video interview with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. youtube.com
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