Tesla Wins Autopilot Trial Related to CA Car Crash

Written by Steven Loveday, InsideEVs
Published April 24, 2023

A jury in California determined Teslawasn't at fault for a crash that involved Autopilot. The jury concluded the safety system didn't fail, and the car's airbags also worked properly. Essentially, the message here was drivers can't blame the car if there's an issue they should have handled.

Tesla has offered Autopilot as a free feature for many years, though it has evolved via different hardware and over-the-air software updates. While its name suggests it may drive the car for you, it's really a suite of advanced driver-assist systems like you'll find in many of today's cars.

Tesla

Tesla Provides Cybertruck Updates, Production Line Images

Written by Steven Loveday, InsideEVs
Published April 24, 2023

While Teslaand CEO Elon Musk have been promising for some time the Cybertruck is finally officially coming to market this year, there are still many missing details. In fact, until the recent Tesla Earnings event and release, the Cybertruck production line hadn't been revealed.

Tesla talked about the Cybertruck briefly at the event, still remaining tight-lipped about most details. However, the company did supply a few images of the Cybertruck's pilot production line from inside Giga Texas.

The Cybertruck was first unveiled in 2019 and has been generating

‘Hertz Electrifies Atlanta’ Launched

PublishedApril 21, 2023

Hertz chair and CEO Stephen Scherr and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens launched Hertz Electrifies Atlanta, a public private partnership aimed at accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and expanding the environmental and economic benefits of electrification throughout Atlanta.

As part of the partnership, Hertz aims to bring up to an additional 4,000 rental EVs to Atlanta---including models from GM, Teslaand Polestar---for availability to leisure and business customers as well as rideshare drivers. In partnership with bp, Hertz will support the installation of up to eight public fast

Green Repairs Driving Next Chapter for Storied WA Collision Business

PublishedApril 21, 2023

When the Murray family patriarch Bj. Bjorneby founded Bjorneby’s Auto Rebuild in the Seattle area some 50 years ago, he never could have envisioned electric vehicles---never mind fixing them.

Today, Bjorneby’s grandson Kyle Murray is focused on just that, with one facility in Des Moines, WA, dedicated solely to Teslaand other EV repairs.

The family has numerous locations throughout Seattle where Kyle’s mother Wendy Murray, father Patrick and uncle Thomasare continuing the family tradition of innovation and

High Demand Halts New Jersey EV Rebate Program

PublishedApril 19, 2023

New Jersey’s state EV rebate program is already running out of funding due to high demand, the Associated Press reported.

The state’s Board of Public Utilities said the Charge Up New Jersey program has handed out $35 million for the fiscal year that ends in July, and enough applications have already been received for the rest of this year’s funds, the program is being paused until the next year begins July 1.

The Charge Up New Jersey program gives state residents $4,000 when

Rove to Build Full-Service EV Charging Centers in Southern California

PublishedApril 19, 2023

Rove, a developer of full-service electric vehicle charging centers, confirms plans to build six locations in Southern California starting in 2023.

Rove will set a new standard in EV charging with a premium, customer-centric experience. Focused on fast, smart and reliable charging, each Rove will host 40 ultra-fast, direct-current fast chargers (DCFC), capable of reaching speeds up to 350 kW---making a full charge possible in as little as 15 minutes.

Unlike other stations, Rove will offer a full-service experience that includes onsite amenities. Centers will feature a market with all-natural and organic

Mercedes-Benz Unveils Its First Pinnacle Luxury EV

Written by William Johnson, Teslarati
Published April 18, 2023

Maybachhas made a name for itself by taking the already well-known premium driving experience of Mercedes-Benz to another level. The brand’s most recognizable vehicle, the Maybach S-Class, challenges the luxury and price tag of Rolls-Royce. Now, Mercedes-Benz has introduced its first ultra-luxury electric vehicle, the Maybach EQS SUV.

If it isn’t apparent from the vehicle’s profile and name, the Maybach EQS SUV is based on the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, already a luxury offering in its own right. However, with an expected price tag north of $200,000, it makes its Mercedes-Benz

Private Investment Gets Head Start on EV Buildout in PA

Written by Anthony Hennen, The Center Square
Published April 18, 2023

As Pennsylvania awaits federal subsidies worth hundreds of millions to build out charging stations for electric vehicles, private investment takes the lead.

Walmartsaid it will build an “EV fast-charging network" at thousands of locations, including Sam's stores, by 2030. This, as the state divvies up the first installment of more than $172 million in federal infrastructure funding to create a charging corridor across Pennsylvania.

Vishal Kapadia, Walmart's senior vice president of energy transformation, said the company is "uniquely positioned"

Reuters: Panasonic Considering New EV Battery Plant in Oklahoma

Written by Joey Klender, Teslarati
Published April 18, 2023

Panasonicmay build a new battery production facility in the U.S. to help address the increasing demand for electric vehicles.

The new plant could be built in Oklahoma, Panasonic said in a statement to Reuters.

The battery maker has already entered into an agreement with the state, outlining both eligibility and terms of potential incentives the Japanese company could receive as a part of the state’s Large-scale Economic Activity and Development (LEAD) Act. This would give Panasonic access to nearly $700 million in capital investment rebates.

Nothing else

Lucid Air Deliveries Almost Quadrupled in Q1 2023

Written by Mark Kane, InsideEVs
PublishedApril 18, 2023

Lucid Group revealed its vehicle production and deliveries significantly increased year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023.

Production in Q1 2023 amounted to 2,314 Lucid Air cars---235% more than a year ago. Customer deliveries amounted to 1,406, up 290% year-over-year.

While quadrupling deliveries is a very positive outcome, it's from a relatively low base. More importantly, both results are lower than during the fourth quarter of 2022 and marginally higher than in Q3 2022.

Let's also note the difference between production and deliveries---in Q1 2023, the difference was more

Tesla Sudden Unintended Acceleration Causes Federal Petition

Written by David A. Wood, CarComplaints.com
PublishedApril 17, 2023

Teslasudden unintended acceleration events have caused a Greek resident to file a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to the petition, the automaker should recall more than 1.6 million vehicles built since 2013.

The Tesla petition was submitted by Greek resident Costas Lakafossis, who describes himself as a mechanical and aeronautical engineer as well as an accident investigator.

The petitioner alleged all Tesla vehicles should be equipped with an "interlock that requires a brake application by the

Critics Claim EPA New Emission Standards Will End Gas Vehicles

Written by Tom Gantert, The Center Square
PublishedApril 13, 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 12 announced new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards critics claim will “effectively ban gasoline and diesel vehicles” while making the U.S. dependent on China.

The EPA proposal of light and heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards is for model years 2027-2032. The EPA projects its proposal could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 56% by 2032 and help increase

Hyundai's Ioniq 6 Takes Home 3 Awards at 2023 World Car of the Year

Written by Can Emir, Interesting Engineering
Published April 12, 2023

The automotive industry’s most important and prestigious awards ceremony, the World Car of the Year Awards Powered by Brembo, was held at the New York International Auto Show.

Hyundai's Ioniq 6 electric sedan was the show's star, taking home three of the six categories, including the World Electric Vehicle of the Year and the overall Car of the Year.

Hyundai's sister company, Kia, also won the World Performance Car of the Year award with the EV6 GT. The LucidAir won the World Luxury Car, and the CitroënC3 was

Tesla U.S. Sales Trajectory Confuses Analysts

Written by William Johnson, Teslarati
Published April 12, 2023

New data on Teslaregistrations from the year’s first quarter is splitting and confusing analysts.

Tesla is by far the top EV seller in the U.S. According to new data from Experian, Tesla still controls more market share than all 23 of its competitors combined. However, many of the indicators from the new data are setting off alarms for some analysts, creating divided opinions and confusion.

A couple of warning signs were found in the new batch of data on vehicle registrations in the U.S. Foremost is the concern about weakening demand for Tesla vehicles. As noted by an

Self-Driving Fleet Causes Traffic Disruption on Foggy Morning in SF

Written by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati
Published April 12, 2023

A group of five Waymoself-driving vehicles baffled some residents in San Francisco’s Balboa Terrace neighborhood after they stopped in the middle of a residential street early April 11. Waymo later explained the event. 

The incident occurred shortly before 6 a.m. on San Aleso Avenue. At the time, visibility was not optimal due to fog in the area. Other motorists were forced to cautiously navigate around the self-driving cars, one of which was reportedly straddling the center lane. 

Gene Valla, a Balboa Terrace resident, described his

GM Leads $50 Million Funding in U.S.-Based Lithium Supply Company

PublishedApril 12, 2023

Energy Exploration Technologies Inc. (EnergyX) and General Motors Co. on April 11 announced GM Ventures is leading a $50 million financing round in the lithium supply company, and has entered into a strategic agreement to develop its extraction and refinery technology.

The collaboration is focused on unlocking the North American supply of lithium, a critical material for EV batteries, by using EnergyX’s innovative process to maximize efficiency while improving sustainability for GM’s rapidly scaling EV production.

EnergyX’s direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology portfolio can make lithium metal

EPA's Strongest Emissions Standards Ever May Boost EV Sales

Written by Steven Loveday, InsideEVs
Published April 12, 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan on April 12 announced proposed key gas car regulations that could promote EV adoption and save Americans money.

The new standards aim to be some of the most stringent ever, to further limit tailpipe pollution. These proposed changes are not final, which means there will likely be many modifications over the coming weeks and months before heading to a final approval stage.

As proposed, the emissions regulations would be phased in from 2027 through 2032. The EPA expects such measures to reduce

Tesla Cybertruck Sighted with Apparent Wheel Precision Measuring Equipment

Written by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati
PublishedApril 11, 2023

TeslaCEO Elon Musk has said the Cybertruck may start initial production this summer, so it is no surprise to see Tesla testing the Cybertruck with what appears to be wheel calibrating equipment.

This was hinted at in a recent sighting of the Tesla Cybertruck in Fremont, CA. Images showed the vehicle equipped with what appeared to be a series of sensors. Its wheels were also particularly eye-catching.

As noted by members of the Cybertruck Owners Forum, mounted on the steel wheels were what appear to be wheel force transducers, designed

EPA Expected to Drop Bombshell ICE Vehicle Regulation

Written by William Johnson, Teslarati
Published April 10, 2023

A new report from the EPA indicates the agency may release a set of dramatic new ICE vehicle regulations as soon as April 12.

Outside of the EV production ramp taken on by some of the most notable automakers on the planet, national governments worldwide are instituting ever-tightening regulations on gas-powered vehicles currently sold. Recently, the EU released its Euro 7 emissions standards, and now, the U.S. EPA is poised to do the same, according to a new report from The New York Times.

As unearthed by the NYT, the EPA’s newest regulations on ICE vehicles could be some of the

High Electrification Costs are ‘Elephant in the Room’: Stellantis

By Dan Mihalascu, InsideEVs
Published April 10, 2023

Stellantisis getting ready to electrify its lineup but warns that doing so will cost a lot of money, with one possible effect being that EVs will become too expensive for the middle class.

While the automaker sees the electric Ram1500 REV pickup as its future, it says bringing it to market in late 2024 will be costly.

Company executives at the New York International Auto Show underlined the need to boost profitability and cut costs in order to fund the shift to EVs. Speaking with Automotive News, Ram CEO Mike Koval

EVgo Gets $6.6M Grant from CA to Deploy Fast Charging Stalls

PublishedApril 7, 2023

EVgo Inc. on April 4 announced it has been selected for proposed awards of $6.6 million from the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP) 2.0 program.

The funding is designed to aid the deployment of fast charging infrastructure in the central and eastern regions of California through the Golden State Priority Project (GSPP), which provides rebates for the installation of DC fast chargers capable of at least 150kW, focusing exclusively on disadvantaged community or low-income community census tracts.

With the rebate, EVgo will be deploying high-power 350kW

Following the delivery of Lucid Motors’ first customer vehicle model in late 2021---the Lucid Air---the luxury electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer has ramped up production. By year-end 2022, Jake Rodenroth, Lucid’s North American body repair program operations manager, said it was “all hands on deck.” This allowed Rodenroth to work with the service and sales teams, onboard customers and deliver vehicles.

Rodenroth shared information about Lucid Motors’ vehicles during an AkzoNobel North American Performance Group event in February. 

Founded in 2007, Lucid is headquartered in Newark, CA. The company’s debut product, the Lucid Air, was named 2022 MotorTrendCar of the Year, the first time any vehicle manufacturer received

Tesla Delivers 422K, Produces 440K Vehicles in Q1

Written by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati
Published April 3, 2023

Teslareleased its vehicle delivery and production report for the first quarter of 2023, showing it produced more than 440,000 vehicles and delivered more than 422,000 in Q1 2023.

Specifically, Tesla produced a total of 421,371 Model 3/Y and 19,437 Model S/Model X from January to March, totaling 440,808 vehicles. Tesla also delivered a total of 412,180 Model 3/Y and 10,695 Model S/X in the first quarter, for a total of 422,875 units.

Tesla said it is continuing its transition towards a more regional mix of vehicle builds. These include Model S/X vehicles in transit to the EMEA and APAC

Amazon Has Tripled Its Fleet of Rivian EDVs to 3,000 Across the U.S.

Written by Dan Mihalascu, InsideEVs
Published April 3, 2023

Amazoncontinues to expand its all-electric delivery fleet, and the online retailer claims the rollout of RivianEDV vans is the fastest of an electric delivery fleet at this scale in the U.S.

Since launching last year, Amazon claims it has more than 3,000 custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian making deliveries in more than 500 cities and regions across the U.S. That's triple the number of Rivian EDVs reported by Amazon in November 2022.

To date, more than 75 million packages have been delivered using the zero-emission vehicles, Amazon said. That's a

Tesla Cybertruck Production Line Almost Ready

Written by Iulian Dnistran, InsideEVs
Published April 3, 2023

TeslaCEO Elon Musksaid in a recent tweet he walked the Cybertruck production line in Texas for hours---another way of saying there’s an actual assembly line in place for the soon-to-be-made all-electric pickup truck.

Musk added it’s “gonna be awesome” and “feels like the future,” without going into details, but if he had something to see for several hours, it’s safe to say there’s a lot of machinery put in place, ready to make the Cybertruck---revealed back in 2019---a mass-produced reality after several delays and setbacks.

This isn’t really a surprise, since Musk

Tesla Reportedly Mulling U.S. Battery Plant with Chinese Supplier CATL

Written by Joey Klender, Teslarati
Published March 31, 2023

Teslais said to be considering a potential U.S.-based battery plant with one of its suppliers, CATL, according to a March 30 report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Tesla has not confirmed these reports, and Rohan Patel, the automaker’s senior global director of public policy, did not respond to Teslarati's request for comment.

The report indicated Tesla discussed the rumored plans with the White House, aiming to gain clarification on rules relating to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA

Tesla Proposes Dealership and Service Center in Chicopee, MA

Written by Maria Merano, Teslarati
Published March 31, 2023

Tesla’s dealership and service center proposal in Chicopee, MA, received mixed reviews from the community. 

City officials said the proposed Tesla facility would be built on a 7.1-acre parcel of land. It would include a 50,000-square-foot dealership with a showroom and a 48-vehicle service area. Tesla’s proposal also included the installation of a charging station. According to local reports, the dealership is expected to create approximately 30 jobs and generate additional tax revenue for the city.

Some residents welcome the idea of having a Tesla dealership and service

Tesla Recalls 35 Semis to Fix Parking Brake Valve Module

Written by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati
Published March 31, 2023

Teslahas initiated a recall for its Class 8 all-electric Semi truck, per a notice posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The recall is due to faulty parking brake valve modules manufactured by one of Tesla's suppliers.

A total of 35 Tesla Semi units are affected, which likely comprises a substantial number of trucks the company has delivered to customers.

Tesla described the defect that triggered the recall: “Certain Tesla Semi trucks are equipped with a supplier-provided electronically controlled parking brake valve module that may intermittently

Ford F-150 Lightning Prices Increase After Production Restart

Written by Joey Klender, Teslarati
Published March 30, 2023

FordF-150 Lightning prices are increasing once again after the automaker restarted production of the all-electric pickup.

Ford is hiking the F-150 Lightning Pro trim level to $59,974, up $4,000. The Lariat Standard Range F-150 Lightning will go up $1,500, from $74,474 to $75,974. The Platinum trim level is going up to $98,074 from $96,874.

The price changes were first reported by Automotive News.

A Ford spokesperson told Teslarati the price increases are in response to current material costs, market factors and supply chain

Ford Secures Nickel Supplies with $4.5 Billion Investment

Written by William Johnson, Teslarati
Published March 30, 2023

Fordannounced it has partnered with two entities to construct a nickel processing facility in Indonesia.

Primarily focusing on lithium, cobalt and nickel, automakers around the globe are looking to establish affordable and dependable sources of materials as they look to ramp up their EV production in the coming years. Ford has done just that by signing on to the $4.5 billion facility.

The upcoming nickel processing facility, to be built with funds from Ford, Chinese material processor Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, and mining company PT Vale Indonesia, has already