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  • Tesla Threatens To Move Operations Out Of California

    Tesla Threatens To Move Operations Out Of California

    Electric vehicle maker, Tesla, has threatened that it will move its operations out of the state of California, where 20,000 of its employees work. This has been a result of local health officials refusing permission to Tesla Motors to re-start operations amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the company will file a lawsuit against the Alameda county immediately and will also move its headquarters and future programs out of California. Currently, Tesla is the only remaining car maker still having manufacturing operations in California

    In a series of Tweets Musk said,”Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant “Interim Health Officer” of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!”

    In a related tweet he mentioned how the US states of Nevada and Texas could be chosen places for Tesla to shift operations. He said,”Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.

    In a blog post put up on the official website Tesla said,”Given the Governor’s recent guidance, which is supported by science and credible health data, the state and federal government’s classification of vehicle manufacturing as national critical infrastructure, and our robust safety plan, Tesla has started the process of resuming operations.” The statement also said that Alameda County is still insisting operations should not be resumed. “Unfortunately, the County Public Health Officer who is making these decisions has not returned our calls or emails.”, the statement added.

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  • Tesla Applies To Become UK’s Electricity Provider

    Tesla Applies To Become UK’s Electricity Provider

    U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc has applied for a license to supply the electricity in the United Kingdom, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.

    The purpose of the license from the energy regulator may be to introduce the company’s Autobidder platform, the report said, citing a company source. The application did not make clear why Tesla has applied for the license, The Telegraph reported.

    Autobidder is a platform for automated energy trading and is currently being operated at Tesla’s Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia.

    Shares of Tesla tumbled on Friday (May 1) after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted that the electric carmaker’s high-flying stock was overly expensive. This report produced by Chris Dignam.

    Having built a significant battery business in recent years, the carmaker is now preparing to enter the British market with its technology, the paper said, citing industry sources.

    The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    In 2017, the carmaker built world’s largest lithium-ion battery to help keep the lights on in South Australia.

    Shares of Tesla fell 9% on Friday after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted that the electric carmaker’s high-flying stock was overly expensive. “Tesla stock price is too high,” Musk said on Twitter.

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  • Tesla Shares Extend Rally After China Registration Surge And Nod From Goldman

    Tesla Shares Extend Rally After China Registration Surge And Nod From Goldman

    Tesla’s stock extended its recent rally on Wednesday following a surge in China car registrations and after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the electric car maker with a “buy” recommendation.

    Shares of the Silicon Valley automaker rose nearly 2%, bringing their gain this week to 26% as traders look beyond the short-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced Tesla to close its California factory, furlough workers and cut salaries.

    Tesla’s China car registrations jumped 450% in March, month on month, data from auto consultancy LMC Automotive showed. Overall auto sales in China plunged 43.4% in March, as a coronavirus pandemic continued to depress demand.

    In a note late on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney started coverage of Tesla with a $864 price target, compared to its latest price of $723.

    Tesla told employees on Tuesday the company will furlough all non-essential workers and implement salary cuts as part of a continued shutdown of the company’s U.S. production facilities.

    “We believe that the combination of Tesla’s product leadership (including its over-the-air updates to continue to improve vehicle performance), brand/early-mover advantage, vertical integration, and the long development cycles in autos (new cars can take 2-4 years to develop) will help Tesla to maintain a strong market position,” Delaney wrote.

    Wall Street has long been divided over Tesla and its chief executive, Elon Musk. Supporters expect Tesla to become a dominant global carmaker, with a fleet of driverless taxis, while many skeptics doubt Tesla can become sustainably profitable.

    Goldman Sachs’ previous Tesla analyst, David Tamberrino, had a “sell” rating and a $158 price target as of last June, the lowest on the street at that time.

    Previously, in 2016, Goldman Sachs attracted attention when it upgraded Tesla to “buy” just hours before the carmaker announced a $2 billion stock offer with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley acting as joint lead bookrunners.

    Tesla’s stock has doubled from its March low and remains down 20% from its record high close in February, before fears about the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy triggered a deep stock market sell-off.

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  • Tesla’s China Car Registrations Surge In March As Shanghai Factory Back Up

    Tesla’s China Car Registrations Surge In March As Shanghai Factory Back Up

    U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc’s China car registrations jumped 450% in March, month on month, data from auto consultancy LMC Automotive showed.

    Tesla’s China registrations rose to 12,709 units in March from 2,314 in February.

    Overall auto sales in China plunged 43.4% in March, as a coronavirus pandemic continued to depress demand, industry data showed.

    Tesla told employees on Tuesday the company will furlough all non-essential workers and implement salary cuts as part of a continued shutdown of the company’s U.S. production facilities.

    Tesla, which started delivering cars from its Shanghai factory last year, said last week it has started China sales of two more Model 3 variants built at its Shanghai plant.

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  • Tesla To Supply FDA-Approved Ventilators Free Of Cost In U.S.

    Tesla To Supply FDA-Approved Ventilators Free Of Cost In U.S.

    American electric carmaker Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has said that the company has extra FDA-approved ventilators that can be shipped free of cost to hospitals within the company’s delivery region. Announcing the news on his social media handle, Musk confirmed that the device and shipping cost will be free, but his only requirement is that the ventilators should be immediately used for patients who need it, not stored in a warehouse. Those who need it can contact Musk of Tesla on their respective Twitter pages or other official channels.

    Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many ventilators it has to offer, or how the company will prioritize requests. However, while answering a Twitter user’s question regarding where did the company get the ventilators from, Musk confirmed that Tesla bought 1255 FDA-approved ResMed, Philips & Medtronic ventilators from China, and got it shipped to Los Angeles.

    Yup, China had an oversupply, so we bought 1255 FDA-approved ResMed, Philips & Medtronic ventilators on Friday night & air-shipped them to LA. If you want a free ventilator installed, please let us know!

    Governments across the globe have appealed to automakers and aerospace companies to help procure or make ventilators and other medical equipment amid a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 777,000 people globally and killed over 37,500. In the United States, states hard hit by the pandemic have pleaded with the Trump administration and manufacturers to speed up the production of ventilators to cope with a surge in patients.

    Earlier this week, Ford Motor Co said it will produce 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days at a plant in Michigan in cooperation with General Electric’s healthcare unit, and can then build 30,000 per month as needed to treat patients afflicted with the coronavirus.

  • Tesla Plans To Reopen New York Factory To Make Ventilators

    Tesla Plans To Reopen New York Factory To Make Ventilators

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that Giga New York will reopen for ventilator production as soon as humanly possible. The company is also working with medical device company Medtronic to start the production of ventilators at its Fremont plant.Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has announced that the company plans to reopen its Giga New York factory “as soon as humanly possible” to make ventilators. The head of the California-based electric vehicle manufacturer was among the first carmakers in the US to offer to make ventilators for coronavirus patients, after the United States appealed for donations of respirator masks to combat the shortage. Reportedly, Tesla has started working with medical device company Medtronic Plc and is fast on track to start production of ventilators at its Fremont plant, in San Francisco Bay Area. And New York will be next.

    Other U.S. carmakers, like Ford and General Motors, have also come ahead to make ventilators and respirators needed to help combat the spread of the coronavirus. General Motors has partnered with medical equipment maker Ventec to build ventilators at a GM plant in Kokomo, Indiana. Ford, on the other hand, is partnering with GE Healthcare and will expand the production of GE’s ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing caused by the pathogen. Ford also is evaluating a separate partnership with the British government to make additional ventilators. Furthermore, it will work with 3M as well to increase the manufacturing capacity of its air-purifying respirators.

    Right now, the situation around the world is getting serious every day. With more and more cases of coronavirus being reported each day, there is a major shortage of medical equipment around the world. And automakers from across the world are coming in to help in whatever way possible. Anand Mahindra, the Chairman of Mahindra Group, also announced plans to make ventilators and covert the company’s existing resorts into temporary case centers. We recently also reported how Renault workers in Spain have begun using 3D printers to manufacture medical visors for health workers from home.

    Others like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Kia have announced plans to make face masks at their Asian factories. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers BYD, in fact, recently became the world’s biggest face mask maker, producing over five million face masks a day amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

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  • Tesla Suspends Production At U.S. Vehicle Factory Due To Coronavirus

    Tesla Suspends Production At U.S. Vehicle Factory Due To Coronavirus

    Tesla Inc said on Thursday it will suspend production at its San Francisco Bay Area vehicle factory on March 24, ending a standoff with California authorities concerned about the spread of the coronavirus.

    The company said its New York solar roof tile factory also will temporarily suspend production, while operations at its Nevada battery plant will continue.

    “Despite taking all known health precautions, continued operations in certain locations has caused challenges for our employees, their families and our suppliers,” the company said in a statement.

    Tesla’s shares were down 8% in after-hours trading following the announcement.

    The decision to suspend production at the Fremont, California, plant comes as Tesla ramps up production of its Model Y sport utility vehicle at the factory. Demand for the Model Y is expected to be higher than for all of Tesla’s other models combined, Chief Executive Elon Musk has said.

    The decision to suspend production comes as Tesla ramps up production of its Model Y sport utility vehicle at the factory

    Musk on Thursday tweeted that Tesla’s China operations were running “normally across hundreds of suppliers & all of Tesla Shanghai.” The $2 billion Shanghai factory, which started delivering Model 3 sedans in December, is key to Tesla’s growth strategy and the company plans to expand production capacity there.

    Elon Musk’s expected defense of a $2.2 billion deal in court was postponed on Friday from its expected Monday start, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    A Shanghai-based Tesla representative told Reuters the Chinese factory’s production rate has exceeded pre-coronavirus levels and over 91% of workers have returned to work since March 6.

    Tesla plans to start building Model Y SUVs in Shanghai from 2021 and expand car parts manufacturing capacity, a government document seen by Reuters showed.

    Cui Dongshu, secretary-general at the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) told Reuters Tesla sold around 3,900 vehicles in February, up from 2,620 vehicles in January.

    Tesla’s decision to suspend production at its San Francisco area plant came after several days of discussions with local officials and after the company met on Thursday with the city of Fremont.

    California’s governor on Thursday issued a statewide “stay at home” order to residents, telling them to leave their homes only when necessary during the coronavirus pandemic.

    The highly contagious respiratory illness has infected more than 10,700 in the United States.

    The automaker also said it believed it had enough liquidity to successfully navigate the extended period of uncertainty, with some $6.3 billion in cash at the end of the third quarter, ahead of a recent $2.3 billion capital raise.

    Tesla’s Fremont facility, which is the company’s sole U.S. auto factory, employs more than 10,000 workers

    The city and officials from the surrounding Alameda County did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

    Alameda County is one of six counties covered by an order from regional officials to “shelter in place,” which limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential, and advises people to stay home except for the most crucial reasons.

    The county sheriff’s office said on Tuesday afternoon Tesla was not considered an essential business and cannot continue to operate its factory normally.

    Tesla said on Thursday it would continue basic operations at the Fremont factory in compliance with the order to support vehicle and energy services and charging infrastructure.

    Tesla’s sole U.S. auto factory employs more than 10,000 workers, with annualized production of slightly more than 415,000 units by the end of December 2019.

    In an email to employees on Thursday, Tesla said operations at the Fremont plant will transition to “minimum basic operations” beginning on March 24.

    Employees at the California and New York factories will be provided with paid leave during suspended operations, the email said.

    Tesla’s Giga factory in Nevada, which employs around 7,000 people, produces battery packs for its electric vehicles and stationary storage systems.

    Its Buffalo, New York, plant produces the company’s solar roof tiles as well as some Supercharger and energy storage components. It has more than 1,500 workers in Buffalo, the company said last month.

    U.S. automakers Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, on Wednesday said they were shuttering their U.S. plants, as well as factories in Canada and Mexico, to stop the spread of coronavirus.

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  • Tesla Rolls Out Its One Millionth Car

    Tesla Rolls Out Its One Millionth Car

    American electric car maker, Tesla Inc. has rolled out its one-millionth car from its main vehicle manufacturing facility, Tesla Factory, in Fremont, California. The company’s CEO, Elon Musk has posted a photo of the one-millionth car, a red color Tesla Model Y, congratulating his factory team for achieving the new production milestone. The company, which was founded in 2003, started producing cars in 2008 with the Tesla Roadster (discontinued) in 2008, taking 12 years to reach the one million mark.

    Currently, the company offers four models, Model S, Model 3, Model X, and the Model Y. Tesla recently also revealed its fifth pure electric vehicle, the Tesla Cybertruck, which made its debut in November 2019 and is slated to go into production in 2021. Tesla currently operates several production and assembly plants in addition to the Fremont facility, which includes – Giga Nevada near Reno, Giga New York in Buffalo, New York, and the most recently opened Giga Shanghai in Shanghai, China, Tesla’s first plant outside America

    China’s industry ministry urged Tesla to keep its China-made vehicles consistent after some Chinese customers complained the automaker put less advanced chips in their cars.

    The company has already started selling China-made Model 3s and plans to produce the new Model Y at its China plant. Furthermore, the company has started work to build a new Gigafactory near Berlin Germany. Based on the company’s current targets growth rate, Tesla’s next million cars could very well be rolled much sooner. Early this year in January, the company announced that it hopes to ship over 500,000 cars worldwide in 2020.

    Tesla unveiled the Model Y in March 2019, and the prices start at $39,000 (approximately ₹ 27 lakh). The Model Y will be available in a standard range version, and a long-range, Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive, and Performance variants. The company says that the Model Y electric crossover is spacious enough to carry seven adults (gets optional 3rd row) and their gear. The high-efficiency powertrain and ultra-responsive motors will provide 0-98 kmph in as little as 3.5 seconds and a top speed of up to 241 kmph. The Model Y with the Standard Battery will have a range of 370 km while the long-range variant will be able to travel up to 483 km on a single charge.

  • Tesla Wins Approval To Sell Longer-Range China-made Model 3 Vehicles

    Tesla Wins Approval To Sell Longer-Range China-made Model 3 Vehicles

    Tesla Inc has secured Chinese government approval to sell longer-range China-made model 3 vehicles in China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Friday.

    The vehicles will have a driving range of more than 600 kilometers before they need to be recharged, the ministry said in a statement, while the current China-made Model 3 has a standard driving range of more than 400 kilometers.

    Tesla started delivering cars in December from its $2 billion factories in Shanghai.

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  • Tesla Shares Slump As Coronavirus Hits China Car Registrations

    Tesla Shares Slump As Coronavirus Hits China Car Registrations

    Shares of Tesla Inc fell as much as 14% on Thursday on concerns about the impact of the coronavirus on the electric-car maker’s vehicle registrations in China. Data from LMC Automotive showed that 3,563 Tesla vehicles were registered in China in January, up from 853 vehicles a year earlier, but down from the 6,613 vehicles registered in December. Tesla registrations fluctuate significantly from month to month, LMC data showed. The automaker typically delivers many more vehicles in the final month of a quarter than in the first month. In October 2019, Tesla owners registered just 763 vehicles, LMC data showed.

    Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. The selloff in Tesla shares highlights the growing concern about the health of the Chinese auto market as the government and companies contend with the disruption of the coronavirus outbreak.

    China Association of Automobile Manufacturers had earlier said that overall vehicle sales fell by almost a fifth in January, hurt by Lunar New Year holidays that started earlier than last year and by the coronavirus disruptions.

    The electric-car maker said earlier this month that the outbreak would delay deliveries of its Model 3 cars in China.

    While the virus originated in China’s Wuhan province late last year, local governments began imposing travel curbs and warning residents to avoid public spaces in the last two weeks of January. Tesla shares were trading down at $685 and were set for their fourth consecutive session of losses. Tesla’s stock has, however, jumped about 60% so far this year.

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  • Panasonic To Exit Solar Production At Tesla’s New York Plant As Partnership Frays

    Panasonic To Exit Solar Production At Tesla’s New York Plant As Partnership Frays

    Panasonic said it would exit solar cell production at Tesla Inc’s New York plant, the latest sign of strain in a partnership where Panasonic’s status as the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker’s exclusive battery supplier is ending. The move increases uncertainty over Tesla’s solar business which is already under scrutiny, having been drastically scaled back since the U.S. firm bought it for $2.6 billion in 2016. Tesla has informed New York that Panasonic’s withdrawal “has no bearing on Tesla’s current operations”, the state said in a statement. The company employs over 1,500 jobs in the city of Buffalo, clearing its 1,460 commitment before April – and thereby avoiding a $41 million penalty – the state said.

    Panasonic said in a statement on Wednesday that it would cease production by the end of May and exit the factory by the end of September.

    The withdrawal comes as Panasonic scrambles to divest of unprofitable businesses as its strategic shift to components from consumer electronics struggles to drive profit growth.

    It is also another sign of a fraying partnership with the U.S. EV maker, which is set to diversify its battery supplies to include South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL).

    Panasonic said it would continue its automotive battery joint venture with Tesla in the U.S. state of Nevada, which just reported its first quarterly profit after years of production problems and delays.

    In the solar business, low demand from Tesla has left Panasonic sending most of the cells it makes in Buffalo to overseas clients, instead of selling them to Tesla for its trademark Solar Roof – cells designed to resemble regular roof tiles – as initially intended.

    When announcing the solar partnership in 2016, Panasonic said it would invest over 30 billion yen ($271.96 million) in the Buffalo plant. Tesla’s long-term purchase commitment was part of the deal.

    Panasonic, which employs about 380 workers at the plant, said that the U.S. partner “hopes to hire as many qualified Panasonic applicants as possible to help fill job openings for its growing operations in Buffalo.”

    The latest decision will have no significant impact on Panasonic’s annual profit forecasts, according to a company spokeswoman.

    Panasonic has already shrunk its own solar business elsewhere as it contends with competition from cheaper Asian rivals, selling its solar panel plant in Malaysia and research arm to China’s GS-Solar for an undisclosed amount last year.

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  • Tesla Gets Court Approval To Clear Forest For German Gigafactory

    Tesla Gets Court Approval To Clear Forest For German Gigafactory

    Tesla got approval from a German court on Thursday to continue to cut down forest near the capital Berlin to build its first European car and battery factory, in a defeat for local environmental activists.

    The court said in a statement it had rejected urgent applications to stop the land being cleared of trees from several environmental groups, adding its ruling was final. It had temporarily halted the tree felling earlier this month.

    The U.S. electric carmaker announced plans last November to build a Gigafactory in Gruenheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg that surrounds Berlin, a decision that was initially lauded as a vote of confidence in Germany.

    However, local and national lawmakers were caught out by the strength of opposition to the Gigafactory, with hundreds of demonstrators protesting over what they say is the threat it poses to local wildlife and water supplies.

    Lawmakers from Germany’s pro-business Christian Democrat and Free Democrat parties had warned that the legal battle waged against the Gigafactory would inflict serious damage on Germany’s image as a place to do business.

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  • Tesla Seeks Approval To Build Longer Range Model 3 Cars In China

    Tesla Seeks Approval To Build Longer Range Model 3 Cars In China

    Tesla Inc is seeking approval from Chinese regulators to offer a new China-made Model 3 variant, a government document shows.

    The variant would have a longer driving range, a source familiar with the matter said.

    Tesla shares overvalued: strategist

    National Securities’ Art Hogan says don’t buy Tesla at current levels because the stock has “gotten ahead of itself.

    Like the current China-made Model 3, which has a standard driving range of more than 400 kilometers, it would be a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, the source said, who was not authorized to talk about the matter and declined to be identified.

    Tesla, which started delivering cars in December from its $2 billion Shanghai factory, also sells longer-range imported Model 3s with an all-wheel-drive in China.

    The electric vehicle maker restarted production in Shanghai on Monday after the government ended an extended holiday that had been put in place due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

  • U.S. Senator Slams Tesla’s ‘Misleading’ Name For Autopilot Driver Assistance System

    U.S. Senator Slams Tesla’s ‘Misleading’ Name For Autopilot Driver Assistance System

    A U.S. senator on Friday urged Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) to rebrand its driver-assistance system Autopilot, saying it has “an inherently misleading name” and is subject to potentially dangerous misuse.

    But Tesla said in a letter that it had taken steps to ensure driver engagement with the system and enhance its safety features.

    The electric automaker introduced new warnings for red lights and stop signs last year “to minimize the potential risk of red light- or stop sign-running as a result of temporary driver inattention,” Tesla said in the letter.

    Senator Edward Markey said he believed the potential dangers of Autopilot can be overcome. But he called for “rebranding and remarketing the system to reduce misuse, as well as building back up driver monitoring tools that will make sure no one falls asleep at the wheel.”

    Markey’s comments came in a press release, with a copy of a Dec. 20 from Tesla addressing some of the Democratic senator’s concerns attached.

    Autopilot has been engaged in at least three Tesla vehicles involved in fatal U.S. crashes since 2016.

    Crashes involving Autopilot have raised questions about the driver-assistance system’s ability to detect hazards, especially stationary objects.

    There are mounting safety concerns globally about systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches of time with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers.

    Markey cited videos of Tesla drivers who appeared to fall asleep behind the wheel while using Autopilot and others in which drivers said they could defeat safeguards by sticking a banana or water bottle in the steering wheel to make it appear they were in control of the vehicle.

    Tesla, in its letter, said its revisions to steering wheel monitoring meant that in most situations “a limp hand on the wheel from a sleepy driver will not work, nor will the coarse hand pressure of a person with impaired motor controls, such as a drunk driver.”

    It added that devices “marketed to trick Autopilot, may be able to trick the system for a short time, but generally not for an entire trip before Autopilot disengages.”

    Tesla also wrote that while videos like those cited by Markey showed “a few bad actors who are grossly abusing Autopilot” they represented only “a very small percentage of our customer base.”

    Earlier this month, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was launching an investigation into a 14th crash involving Tesla in which it suspects Autopilot or other advanced driver assistance system was in use.

    NHTSA is probing a Dec. 29 fatal crash of a Model S Tesla in Gardena, California. In that incident, the vehicle exited the 91 Freeway, ran a red light and struck a 2006 Honda Civic, killing its two occupants.

    The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a Feb. 25 hearing to determine the probable cause of a 2018 fatal Tesla Autopilot crash in Mountain View, California.

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  • Tesla Moves A Step Closer To Opening First European Factory With German Property deal

    Tesla Moves A Step Closer To Opening First European Factory With German Property deal

    U.S. electric car pioneer Tesla has agreed to buy a property on the outskirts of Berlin, bringing it a step closer to opening its first European factory, local authorities said on Sunday. The U.S. carmaker last November announced plans to build a giant factory in Gruenheide, in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, giving it the coveted “Made in Germany” label just as local rivals prepare to launch competing models.

    Tesla’s board of directors approved a purchase agreement with the state of Brandenburg on Saturday to acquire a 300-hectare property, Brandenburg government spokesman Florian Engels said in a statement. The state parliament’s finance committee had already approved the sale on January 9.

    A Tesla spokeswoman confirmed the deal. The agreement states a preliminary property price of 40.91 million euros ($45.36 million) which can be amended if an external review provides a different value, Engels said.

    The property is in a designated industrial area and is being checked for weapons from World War II as there are most likely unexploded U.S. bombs still in the ground, he added.

    Politicians, unions and industry groups have welcomed Tesla’s move which is expected to create up to 7,000 jobs in Brandenburg.

    But some 250 locals took to the streets to protest on Saturday, fearing the factory could endanger the water supply and wildlife in the surrounding forest.

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