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Tag: tesla

  • Tesla cuts Model 3 part orders to Taiwan supplier Hota

    Tesla cuts Model 3 part orders to Taiwan supplier Hota

    Luxury electric carmaker Tesla plans to slash by 40 percent its orders for parts for the new Model 3 mass-market sedan from Taiwanese auto component maker Hota Industrial Mfg from December, according to a media report.

    Shares of the parts maker dropped nearly 9 percent after the Economic Daily News reported, citing Hota Chairman Shen Kuo-jung, that Tesla had told the firm orders would be cut to 3,000 sets per week from 5,000 sets starting December, due to a “bottleneck” in the production of Model 3.

    Tesla may delay scheduled weekly shipments of 10,000 parts in March by a few weeks until May or June, the report added.

    Hota, which makes gears and axles for vehicles, and Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Earlier this month, Tesla said production bottlenecks had left the company behind its planned ramp-up for the new Model 3 sedan. It began production of the model in July.

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  • Tesla moves closer to deal to build cars in China

    Tesla moves closer to deal to build cars in China

    Electric car maker Tesla Inc said on Sunday it is talking with the Shanghai municipal government to set up a factory in the region and expects to agree on a plan by the end of the year.

    China levies a 25 percent duty on sales of imported vehicles and has not allowed foreign automakers to establish wholly owned factories in the country, the world’s largest automaker. Those are problems for Tesla, which wants to expand its presence in China’s growing electric vehicle market without compromising its independence or intellectual property.

    China’s government has considered allowing foreign automakers to set up wholly owned factories in free trade zones in part to encourage more production of electric and hybrid vehicles – which the government calls “new energy vehicles” – to meet ambitious sales quotas.

    Tesla would still have to pay a 25 percent duty on cars built in a free trade zone, but it could lower its production costs.

    “Tesla is working with the Shanghai Municipal Government to explore the possibility of establishing a manufacturing facility in the region to serve the Chinese market. As we’ve said before, we expect to more clearly define our plans for production in China by the end of the year,” a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

    Tesla said in June it was beginning talks with Shanghai.

    The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla and the Shanghai government have already reached a deal in that city’s free trade zone. Shanghai is China’s de facto automotive capital and a significant market for luxury vehicles of all kinds.

    Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd has a five percent stake in Tesla and is seen as a potential ally for Tesla’s efforts to enter the Chinese market.

    It was unclear if the Chinese government will conclude a deal with Tesla to coincide with U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit next month.

    Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has said the company eventually will need vehicle and battery manufacturing centers in Europe and Asia.

    Tesla is wrestling with production problems at its sole factory, in Fremont, California. It is trying to accelerate output of its new Model 3 sedan, but conceded earlier this month that production bottlenecks had held third-quarter production to just 260 vehicles, well short of the 1,500 previously planned.

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  • Tesla fired hundreds of employees in past week

    Tesla fired hundreds of employees in past week

    It’s about 400 people ranging from associates to team leaders to supervisors. Luxury electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc fired about 400 employees this week, including associates, team leaders and supervisors, a former employee told Friday.

    The dismissals were a result of a company-wide annual review, Tesla said in an emailed statement, without confirming the number of employees leaving the company.

    “It’s about 400 people ranging from associates to team leaders to supervisors. We don’t know how high up it went,” said the former employee, who worked on the assembly line and did not want to be identified.

    Though Tesla cited performance as the reason for the firings, the source told Reuters he was fired in spite of never having been given a bad review.

    The Palo Alto, California-based company said earlier in the month that “production bottlenecks” had left Tesla behind its planned ramp-up for the new Model 3 mass-market sedan.

    The company delivered 220 Model 3 sedans and produced 260 during the third quarter. In July, it began production of the Model 3, which starts at $35,000 – half the starting price of the Model S.

    Mercury News had earlier reported about the firing of hundreds of employees by Tesla in the past week.

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  • Tesla working with AMD to develop chip for self-driving car

    Tesla working with AMD to develop chip for self-driving car

    Electric carmaker Tesla is working with Advanced Micro Devices to develop its own artificial intelligence chip for self-driving cars, citing a source familiar with the matter.

    AMD spin-off GlobalFoundries Inc Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said his company is working directly with Tesla. GlobalFoundries, which fabricates chips, has a wafer supply agreement in place with AMD.

    Tesla isn’t completely going it alone in chip development, according to the source, and will build on top of AMD intellectual property.

    More than 50 people are working on the project under Jim Keller, a longtime chip architect and the head of Autopilot hardware and software of Tesla, according to the report.

    AMD shares were up 2.2 percent in extended trading.

    Tesla, AMD, and GlobalFoundries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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  • Tesla begins to deliver model for the masses

    Tesla begins to deliver model for the masses

    Analysts have predicted that Tesla may be reshaping the future of the auto industry, like Apple did with the iPhone. Tesla began delivering on a dream to make an electric car for the masses, rolling out the first of its keenly-awaited “Model 3” cars, aiming to disrupt a world accustomed to automobiles powered by pollution-spewing fossil fuel.

    An initial batch of the ‘Model 3’ cars that rolled out of the Tesla plant in Fremont, California late Friday were given to customers, most of whom were employees of the company.

    Tesla founder and chief Elon Musk proclaimed it a great day for the company, saying the goal was to make a terrific electric car “that everyone can buy.” Musk starred in a ceremony at the plant delivering the first batch to their owners.

    “It’s the best car for its cost, either electric or gasoline,” he said.

    Production of the electric car aimed at the broader market — with a starting price of $35,000 — will ramp up quickly, according to Musk, with 100 in August and 1,500 or more in September.

    Tesla aims to produce 5,000 units of the Model 3 a week this year, and 10,000 units a week in 2018.

    Tesla already sells “S” and “X” model electric cars, but with a starting price of $80,000 they have been seen as wheels for the wealthy.

    The Model 3 silhouette resembles that of the Model S, but the new electric ride is smaller with a simpler design.

    The vehicle’s battery was designed to keep it going for “at least 215 miles” (345 kilometers) before needing to be recharged, according to Tesla. A battery with a longer range is available for more money.

    Musk has mentioned in Tesla earnings calls that while early models were packed with innovative engineering, they caused vexation on the assembly line.

    The Model 3, he said, was designed from the outset with mass production in mind to push down cost and crank cars out quickly.

    ‘Crucial step’

    More than a half-million customers have placed deposits to get on the waiting list for the Model 3, and anyone wanting one will have to wait at least until 2018.

    “Demand is not a challenge there,” Musk said, noting that most of the orders have been in the US.

    A big question for Tesla is whether it can ramp up production to meet demand and whether rivals will cut into the electric vehicle market.

    Like its predecessors, the Model 3 is fully electric and on-board computers can handle some driving tasks.

    Tesla referred to the arrival of the Model 3 as a “crucial step” in the company’s mission to speed the transition to renewable energy.

    Not long after Tesla was founded in 2003, Musk said the plan was to use money from high-end electric vehicles to create more affordable offerings to make the technology the new automotive norm.

    Cars powered by green energy are consistent with a concern for the environment seen in Musk’s other enterprises.

    Musk runs solar energy firm SolarCity, and is building rechargeable batteries to power homes as well as cars.

    His Boring Company is part of a vision for near-supersonic rail travel through low-pressure tubes that he laid out in a Hyperloop white paper he made open to other entrepreneurs.

    Combined sales of Model S and Model X vehicles in the first half of this year were estimated to tally from 47,000 to 50,000.

    With the Model 3, Tesla hopes to start cranking out hundreds of thousands of cars annually.

    The iPhone of cars?

    Success of the Model 3 could put in the rear-view mirror concerns about Tesla’s prospects for growth.

    So far, Musk’s strategy has paid off. Even though most major car makers sell electric vehicles, Tesla practically defines the category.

    The rush of pre-orders allowed Tesla to recently become the biggest US car company in terms of market capitalization, despite the fact that General Motors (GM) and Ford produce millions of cars per year and Tesla has yet to make a profit.

    While Tesla is scrambling to meet Model 3 demand, GM has temporarily halted production of its ‘Bolt’ electric car to eas ease inventories.

    Some analysts say that with the launch, Tesla may be reshaping the future of the auto industry. Gene Munster, analyst with the research firm Loup Ventures, argues that Tesla may do for the auto sector what Apple did for smartphones and electronics.

    “We believe we will eventually look back at the launch of the Model 3 and compare it to the iPhone, which proved to be the catalyst for the shift to mobile computing,” Munster said in a recent research note.

    Munster says Tesla will play a central role in “paradigm shifts” to electric and autonomous vehicles that could transform the sector.

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  • Tesla climbs as Musk prepares to hand over first Model 3 cars

    Tesla climbs as Musk prepares to hand over first Model 3 cars

    Shares of Tesla rose nearly 1 percent on Friday ahead of a handover to customers of its first Model 3 sedans, the electric cars that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is betting will propel his company into the mass market.

    Tesla is counting on the Model 3 to help turn the cash-losing company into a profitable one, and its event later on Friday at its factory in Fremont, California comes as the car maker’s stock trades down 12 percent from a record high set in June.

    Fueled by expectations that Tesla will become a carbon-free energy and transportation heavyweight, Tesla’s stock remains up 58 percent year to date, but it is also a favorite among short sellers.

    Shorts sellers have about $8.5 billion bet against Tesla, equivalent to about 20 percent of the company’s float, according to Astec Analytics.

    The $35,000 Model 3 is designed for easy production, with output targeted to reach 20,000 per month by December. The Silicon Valley car company aims to quickly ramp up its factory to reach a production target of 500,000 cars per year in 2018.

    Tesla’s last launch was the luxury Model X SUV in 2015, which had a number of production issues.

    Tesla reports its second-quarter results on Wednesday, and investors are keen for an update on how quickly its output is expanding after deliveries for the first half of 2017 came in at the low end of the company’s own forecast.

    “This evening’s event will keep investors focused on the Model 3 ramp, and less on the upcoming quarter,” Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote in a note to clients. Johnson has a an “underweight” rating on Tesla.

    Skeptics believe Tesla’s growth targets are unrealistic and that it is at risk of being overtaken by General Motors , BMW and other deep-pocketed manufacturers that are ramping up their own electric-vehicle offerings.

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  • Tesla steps up auto service as Model 3 debut nears

    Tesla steps up auto service as Model 3 debut nears

    Tesla said it is expanding its auto service centers and adding 350 mobile service vans as it gears up to support its Model 3 sedan, a mass-market car that is expected to drive a 500 percent increase in the electric car company’s sales. A senior executive speaking on behalf of the company told Reuters that Tesla would be able to triple its global service capacity by increasing efficiency, adding to mobile service, and adding 100 service centers to its current total of more than 150.

    Tesla is adding 1,400 technicians this year, and the company plans to continue expanding mobile and service center capacity at a similar pace over then next few years.

    Tesla needs to expand service quickly to be able to handle the increase in sales and as the electric car company transforms itself from a luxury vehicle maker into a competitor with mainstream cars.

    Expectations for a smooth roll out are particularly high among investors. Tesla has been challenging General Motors (GM.N) for the title of biggest U.S. automaker by market capitalization, even though its output is a fraction of GM’s.

    The $35,000 Model 3 is designed for easy production, creating lower service needs, the executive said.

    Tesla’s last launch was the Model X SUV in 2015, which had a number of production issues.

    Model 3 production began in the last few days and is expected to reach 20,000 per month in December. The first deliveries are expected on July 28.

    Tesla had fielded 373,000 Model 3 reservations as of April 2016, the latest date at which it announced a figure.

    The company has learned from previous problems including issues with seatbelt latches, seats and a 53,000-vehicle parking brake recall earlier this year, the executive said.

    Tesla said it has improved service time by automating paperwork, using cars’ wireless connections to diagnose problems, and expanding mobile support.

    Tesla deployed mobile vans to company charging stations to fix the seatbelt latch and cut the procedure to less than 20 minutes.

    About 80 percent of fixes on its vehicles do not require a lift and can be done by one of its mobile technicians, which frequently can handle an appointment in less than an hour.

  • Australian state picks Tesla to provide grid-scale battery

    Australian state picks Tesla to provide grid-scale battery

    South Australia has picked Tesla to install the world’s largest grid-scale battery that would be paired with a wind farm provided by France’s Neoen, as the state battles to keep the lights on.

    South Australia has raced ahead of the rest of the country in turning to wind power, triggering a shutdown of coal-fired plants that has led to outages across the eastern part of the nation, driving up energy prices.

    The drawback to South Australia’s heavy reliance on renewables has been an inability to adequately store that energy, leading to vulnerabilities when the wind doesn’t blow.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Tesla must deliver the 10-battery within 100 days of a contract being signed or it’s free, matching a commitment made by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk in a Twitter post in March.

    There will be a lot of people that will look at this, ‘did they get it done within 100 days? Did it work?’” Musk told reporters in South Australia’s capital city of Adelaide.

    “We are going to make sure it does.”

    Dozens of companies from 10 countries had expressed interest in the South Australian project, which is viewed as a major test for the reliability of large-scale renewable energy use.

    Tesla said in a statement that upon completion by December 2017, the system would be the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world, overtaking an 80 megawatt-hour power station at Mira Loma in Ontario, Calif., also built using Tesla batteries.

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  • Tesla’s Model S fails to ace some tests in IIHS evaluation

    Tesla’s Model S fails to ace some tests in IIHS evaluation

    Tesla Inc’s Model S did not get the top score in certain tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the agency said on Thursday.

    Chevrolet Impala, Ford Motor Co’s Taurus and Tesla’s Model S were the three sedans that got “only an acceptable rating” in a test designed to simulate what happens when the front driver-side corner of a vehicle strikes a tree or another vehicle, the IIHS said.

    Ford’s Lincoln Continental, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Toyota Motor Corp’s Avalon received the highest rating overall, the agency said.

    In the test, the seat belt in Tesla’s Model S was not effective and could lead to the driver’s head striking the steering wheel hard through the air bag, according to the report.

    Tesla’s Model S received the highest rating in IIHS’s crash testing in every category except one, the small overlap front crash test, where it received the second highest rating available, a Tesla spokesperson said in an email.

    “IIHS and dozens of other private industry groups around the world have methods and motivations that suit their own subjective purposes,” the spokesperson said.

    Tesla said the most objective and accurate independent vehicle safety test is done by the U.S. government, which found Model S and Model X to have the lowest probability of injury of any cars that it has ever tested.

    In order to get the top IIHS rating, automakers must have a frontal crash prevention system with automatic braking capabilities to prevent a rear-end collision.

    The vehicles must stop or slow down without driver intervention before hitting a target in tests at 12 or 25 miles per hour among other factors, IIHS said.

    Toyota said in a statement it is committed to developing safe and reliable vehicles.

    General Motors Co declined to comment, while Ford and Mercedes were not immediately available for comment.

    The IIHS is a research arm of the insurance industry, and its crash tests are increasingly influential in guiding vehicle safety design. Automakers strive for top ratings in IIHS tests as they do on federal crash tests.

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  • Tesla’s Musk says Model 3 gets regulatory nod for production

    Tesla’s Musk says Model 3 gets regulatory nod for production

    Tesla’s high-volume Model 3 sedan passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule, Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday night.

    “(Model 3) Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1,500,” Musk said on Twitter. “Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec.”

    “Expecting to complete SN1 on Friday,” Musk added.

    SN1 is the first car off assembly line for sale, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters.

    Musk said in May Tesla was on track to begin production of the $35,000 Model 3 in July.

    Tesla had said earlier, it expected to produce over 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of this year and 10,000 vehicles per week “at some point in 2018”.

    Reuters reported in February that the electric carmaker had shut down production at its California assembly plant for a week for production of the Model 3 sedan, to meet its target of starting production in July.

    Tesla’s previous launches for its Model S sedan and Model X sports utility vehicle were hit by production delays and initial quality issues.

    That track record meant some analysts were skeptical about the model’s July launch.

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  • BMW, competing with Tesla, to introduce electric 3 Series

    BMW, competing with Tesla, to introduce electric 3 Series

    BMW plans to introduce an electric version of its popular 3 Series in September, a move designed to fend off rival Tesla.

    The German carmaker will present the vehicle at the IAA auto show in Frankfurt in September.

    The 3 series, which is a high volume sales model, will have a range of 400 km (248 miles) and is seen as a direct response to the success of Tesla’s Model 3, according to Handelsblatt.

    BMW declined to comment.

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  • Tesla close to agreement on first production plant in China

    Tesla close to agreement on first production plant in China

    Tesla Inc is close to an agreement to produce its electric cars in China for the first time and gain better access to the world’s largest auto market, citing people familiar with the matter.

    An agreement with the city of Shanghai would allow Tesla to build its facilities in Lingang development zone and could come as soon as this week, the report said.

    The electric carmaker, whose revenue from China tripled to more than $1 billion last year, would need to set up a joint venture with at least one local partner under existing rules, Bloomberg reported.

    Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

    In March, Tencent Holdings Ltd, China’s biggest internet company, bought a 5 percent stake in Tesla for $1.8 billion

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  • Tesla Model X electric cars to hit Indonesian roads

    Tesla Model X electric cars to hit Indonesian roads

    Indonesians can now purchase US-made Tesla Model X electronic luxury cars with price tags starting from US$200,000. Prestige Image Motorcars, the sole Tesla motor car distributor in Indonesia, began exhibiting one of the cars at its showroom in Pluit, North Jakarta, on Tuesday.

    Prestige president director Rudy Salim said his company started receiving orders for the car in June with deliveries, beginning in September.

    “Tesla cars have good prospects in the Indonesian market, considering they are not the most expensive among the super cars in the country,” Rudy said.

    Each Telsa cars is equipped with a battery that supports up to 350 kilometers of travel, much more than Indonesians generally needed, Rudy said.

    A director of the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), Jongkie Sugiarto, said that Tesla cars would have their own fans in Indonesia.

    However, he said, luxury cars belonged to a specific and limited market, which did not grow significantly.

    According to Gaikindo, the domestic sales of diesel and petrol cars in the first four months of the year increased by 5.71 percent to 373,407 from 352,072 in the same period of 2016.

    Tesla Inc. of the United States was quoted by Reuters as saying in April 2 that its first-quarter vehicle deliveries jumped by 69 percent to 25,000 vehicles compared to the same period last year.

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  • Tesla must complete brake fix to regain top safety rating

    Tesla must complete brake fix to regain top safety rating

    Tesla needs to complete fixing its Model S sedan emergency braking system to regain Consumer Reports’ top safety rating, the magazine said on Friday, noting that a recent update by the luxury electric car maker was not enough.

    The magazine, which provides an annual rating of vehicles sold in the United States, said on Wednesday the sedan had lost its top ranking in the ultra-luxury car category for failing to install the feature that it had promised to owners as standard equipment.

    The Model S fell to third place in Consumer Reports’ ratings behind the Lexus LS made by Toyota Motor Corp and the BMW 7 Series.

    Consumer Reports said both Tesla models previously came with standard automatic emergency braking (AEB), a feature that helps reduce accidents. The software issue affects more recent vehicles built since late October 2016.

    The magazine said Friday that the Model S sedan it owns had received an automatic emergency braking software update Thursday, but the new version only operates up to 28 miles per hour (45 km).

    That is far less than the current 90 mile per hour limit for the prior Tesla AEB system included on vehicles built before late October.

    The magazine cited a statement from Tesla that “over the next several weeks” the car maker would increase the speed limit “until it is the most capable of any vehicle in the world.”

    The California automaker last week recalled 53,000 Model S and Model X vehicles to fix an unrelated parking brake issue.

    Earlier this month, Tesla briefly edged out General Motors Co to become the most valuable U.S. car maker.

  • Tesla to recall 53,000 cars over parking brake issue

    Tesla to recall 53,000 cars over parking brake issue

    Tesla Inc said on Thursday it would recall 53,000 of its Model S and Model X cars globally to fix a parking brake issue.

    Shares of the U.S. luxury electric car maker were down nearly 1 percent at $302.77 in afternoon trading, following its biggest ever recall. (bit.ly/2ovjTzb)

    Tesla’s total production for 2016 was 83,922 vehicles and included both Model S and Model X.

    “The electric parking brakes installed on Model S and Model X vehicles built between February and October 2016 may contain a small gear that could have been manufactured improperly by our third-party supplier,” Tesla said in a statement on its website.

    The car maker said there had been no accidents or injuries due to the issue.

    Tesla said less than 5 percent of the vehicles being recalled may be affected and it would take less than 45 minutes to replace the brakes.

    The company also said it would send an official recall notice to its customers.

    Tesla, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, had said last year it would recall 2,700 Model X sport utility vehicles in the United States due to a faulty locking hinge in third-row seats.

    The company said on Thursday it was working with Italian supplier Freni Brembo to get the replacement parts.

    Brembo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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