Tesla finally agrees to close its California plant at least termporarily

(March 31) On March 19th Tesla,Elon Musk's EV company, announced finally that it would temporarily shut down its electric car factory in California.

Local officials claim keeping Tesla factory open was a public health risk

Tesla had argued with local officials as to whether the factory was subject to a country wide set of regulations that would close non-essential businesses that could be a health hazard. The company exchanged emails with local officials in which it argued that Tesla was an essential business and thus need not close. Local officials on the other hand argued that the factory should be closed as keeping it open was a public health risk.

Emails were sent by the local police chief to Dan Chia, Tesla's chief policy advisor. The emails reveal the substance of the calls and virtual meetings between Tesla and county officials. The discussions revolved around the question where Testa should be closed as a public health risk as local officials claimed or whether it was an essential business that should remain open.

Tesla's position

Tesla has maintained that vehicles and commercial ships manufacturing are listed as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in 2015 guidelines. However in the March 28 memorandum about the coronavirus epidemic motor vehicles does not appear in the list of critical manufacturing businesses. Tesla is also alone in that every other major auto manufacturer has ceased operations in compliance with the memorandum.

Valerie Workman, head of human resources at Tesla had thought that Tesla would be considered an essential business as part of the national critical infrastructure. Workman said: " “People need access to transportation and energy, and we are essential to providing it,” she reportedly wrote in the email, adding that Tesla has “been in close communication with the State of California, Alameda County, and the City of Fremont, regarding the federal government’s guidance.” " However, Tesla's viewpoint failed to prevail. The Fremont plant produces Model 3, Model S, Model X and Model Y versions of Tesla's EVs.

At first the company had indicated that it would comply with the March 16 order to shut down. Kimberly Petersen the chief of police had written to Tesla's senior policy advisor Dan Chia: “I would like to reiterate that the City of Fremont highly values Tesla as a partner and appreciates what you do for our economy and our community,” Petersen wrote in her email memorializing the meeting, which was dated March 21st. “We are extremely grateful for your willingness to collaborate in our fight against the spread of COVID-19 by placing public health ahead of all other priorities.”

However later, that same day Chia told the deputy city mayor that Petersen's letter was not fully accurate and that another virtual meeting was scheduled for March the 22nd. Tesla's counsel argued that the shelter-in-place order of the California Governor Gavin Newson superseded the county order suspending production, and the language of his order left room for the plant to remain open. However, police chief Petersen said she felt obliged to enforce the county health's interpretation of the order.

Tesla continues winding down operations

Tesla decided that it would continue winding down its operation in the Fremont factory except for basic operations such as payroll. The company said a few workers would be brought in for what is called "end of work" operations. The Fremont police department has found Tesla to be in compliance with the local order after a post-shutdown inspection of the plant.

Tesla has shut down other operations

Tesla has scaled down operations at its Gigafactory battery and assembly plant in Nevada by more than 75 percent. It has also closed down its solar panel factory in New York. Petersen noted that the Fremont factory could have remained open if it had transitioned to making ventilators or other equipment used in combating the coronavirus pandemic. However CEO Elon Musk said that he intended to manufacture ventilators with the aid of Medtronic in Tesla's New York factory. So perhaps the New York factory will reopen soon.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla to produce an all-electric pickup

(November 21, 2019)Pickups have increased their share of the light vehicle market from under 13 percent in 2012 to 17.5 percent in 2019. They are the fastest growing segment of the market in the United States. Tesla intends to produce an all-electric pickup.

Tesla pickup is Musk's favorite Tesla vehicle

Recently Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, said: "Probably my personal favorite for the next product is the pickup truck, and we are going to just do an amazing pickup truck.” Musk has used hype terms such as "heart-stopping" to describe the new vehicle. Musk has also said that the pickup will combine Porsche-level performance with utility.

Back in June the Tesla CEO said of the pickup at a shareholder meeting: "Musk reiterated that the Tesla pickup will be more functional than a Ford F-150 but also a better sports car than a basic Porsche 911. (He’s also said he wants it to start at less than $50,000.) Also, it’s tough enough to haul a horse.“We’re trying to create something new and it’s, it’s not just basically a copy of the form factor of everything else,” he said. “But you still want it to be great. It’s very hard. This is a very hard thing.”"

The pickup market is booming and profitable

Last year the top 3 selling vehicles in the US were the Ford F-series, Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Ram pickups. They also represent the most profitable vehicles for automakers and are expensive.

The pickup market can use an all-electric entry

With an expanding market and profits to be made the pickup market seems ready for an electric entrant. Ford has a forthcoming F-150 but it is only a hybrid and there are newcomers such as Rivian entering the market. Even so Tesla should be in good shape to take on any existing competition and may very well enter the market before the big automakers.

The vehicle is code-named Cybertruck and Musk says the design was inspired by the Blade Runner. A recent Verge article notes: "On Thursday night at 11PM ET, Elon Musk will appear onstage at the Tesla Design Center in Los Angeles to reveal the product he’s most excited about: Tesla’s first electric pickup truck."

Previously published in the Digital Journal 

Walmart drops suit against Tesla over solar panels

 

 

(November 4, 2019)Walmart has agreed to drop a lawsuit against Tesla filed because of a rash of solar panel fires installed by SolarCIty a subsidiary of Tesla. The suit is dropped in a new filing with the New York State Supreme Court.

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Suit claimed years of gross negligence by Tesla  

 

The negligence was claimed to have caused fires on the roofs of at least seven Walmart stores causing millions of dollars worth of damage and resulting in Walmart deactivating the panels. Walmart's lawyers accused SolarCIty of adopting "an ill-considered business model that required it to install solar panel systems haphazardly and as quickly as possible in order to turn a profit". They also argued that SolarCIty relied on contractors and subcontractors who were not properly trained and supervised. 

 

 Project TItan 

 

Business Insider discovered that Tesla quietly initiated Project Titan to repair the problems with the solar panels. An article by the Business Insider describes the program: "Last summer, Tesla initiated "Project Titan," an attempt to quietly replace defective solar-panel parts across the US, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. Specifically, Tesla was replacing connectors and optimizers, parts that are meant to regulate the amount of energy flowing to a solar panel. Too much energy can cause a fire." 

 

 Lawsuit is withdrawn  

 

The settlement appears to have been in the works for a while. Back in August Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove said that the companies were working toward a resolution. Also, Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk said that he had spoken to the Walmart CEO shortly after the suit was filed and that the two had reached a resolution of issues He claimed that the suit would be withdrawn. In a joint statement the two companies said: “Walmart and Tesla are pleased to have resolved the issues raised by Walmart concerning the Tesla solar installations at Walmart stores. Safety is a top priority for each company and with the concerns being addressed, we both look forward to a safe re-energization of our sustainable energy systems.” The two companies have avoided what could have been a long and costly battle in the courts.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla's Elon Musk announces new solar roof

Elon Musk announced a redesign of Tesla's solar roof tiles named the Solar Glass Roof. The roof will cost around $42,500 for an area of 2,000 square feet of roof with 10kW of solar capacity. There will be a tax credit of about $21.25 per square foot.

The price of the roof will vary not only by size but also location. The roof will come with a 25-year warranty. It will be offered in a dark tempered glass finish at the start but Musk said he hoped to introduce new designs every six to nine months. The roofs are further described with prices at a company website.  

 

This is Tesla's third try a solar roof design The third version of Tesla's solar roof the company claims should be cheaper and easier to install then the second version that Tesla is at present selling. With the second version Musk said that Tesla was basically trying not to lose money on each installation. The second version needed additional work done after arriving at a home. In effect construction was finished at installation. The second version was not worth scaling Musk claimed. In fact Musk more or less admitted that his first two versions of solar roofs didn't gain wide adoption or really work. However, Musk thinks that his third version is worth scaling as the new tiles are larger and more power dense. He said they will help roofs come alive. Musk said: “I think in the future, it will be odd for roofs to not gather energy.” Musk points out that the Solar Roof will make financial sense only for new houses or replacement roofs. If a roof is more than five years from needing to be replaced it would make more sense just to purchase standard solar panel setups Musk said. Nevertheless, Musk pointed out that the new roofs cost less than an average roof costs together with solar panels.

 

 Musk needs a win on the solar side of his business Musk spent $2.6 billion acquiring Solar City in November of 2016. Yet in the second quarter of 2019 Tesla sold fewer panels than in any quarter since it bought Solar City. In the third quarter there was just a marginal increase in sales even though Tesla has slashed prices and begun a rental plan. In August, Tesla was sued by Walmart after several stores had fires allegedly caused by the company's solar panels. Tesla also faces a lawsuit by some of its large investors over the purchase of Solar City: "Newly unsealed court documents show why a number of large Tesla investors, including some pension funds, believe its $2.6 billion acquisition of Solar City in 2016 never should have happened. The documents are an opening brief in a shareholders’ lawsuit against Tesla over the acquisition, but were previously heavily redacted."  

 

Musk optimistic about new roofs Musk noted: “It’s been quite hard to get to this point. This was a quite a difficult product because roofs have to last for a long time. And then when you add electrification to the roof it gets even more difficult." However, Musk says the new roof will be simpler and quicker to install than previous versions. The goal is to install 1,000 roofs per week in the next few months. Musk was optimistic claiming that the global market for his Solar Glass Roof was 100 million homes. He is hiring a lot of installers and outside installation companies hoping he can improve on installation.

Software update by Tesla to prevent battery fires may have reduced battery range

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a software update that e-car manufacturer Tesla shipped earlier this year. The update was intended to solve a potential problem associated with a few reported battery fires.

The software update appears to have decreased range of some vehicles

A few Tesla owners are even suing Tesla over the issue. The NHTSA received a 'defect petition" in September from a lawyer who represents some of the aggrieved Tesla owners.

A defect petition is filed

A recent article reports the filing: "A defect petition submitted to NHTSA by consumer attorney Edward Chen prompted the investigation. Chen filed the petition on behalf of Tesla owners, including his client David Rasmussen, after Tesla pushed over-the-air software updates to some vehicles, which reduced the range the electric cars could travel on a single charge, owners said.The petition complained that the software updates, which started in May 2019, were not an appropriate fix for batteries that could ignite in non-crash scenarios."

Chen claimed that Tesla used its software update to mask and cover-up potentially widespread and dangerous issues with batteries in some of their vehicles. Tesla has not immediately commented on the petition and investigation.

After investigation NHTSA has to issue a recall or publish findings

Another recent article explains how defect petitions are dealt with: "Defect petitions require more information than the typical complaints the NHTSA receives. Crucially, they also force the agency to act more conclusively: following the investigation, the NHTSA has to either issue a recall for cars affected by the alleged defects, or else publish its findings on the federal register explaining the decision not to."

Tesla's explanation of the update

Tesla issued the over-the-air update in May saying it was out of an abundance of caution after two fires in Asia the were highly publicized fires: " In April, an older Model S seemingly spontaneously combusted while sitting unused in a parking structure in Shanghai. The fire was caught by security cameras, and the footage quickly went viral. Tesla sent a team to investigate the fire, but has not released any findings. Just this week, another Model S caught fire in a parking lot in Hong Kong, shortly after the owner had charged the car. "

At the time, Tesla admitted that the update would change some setting in the battery management software governing charging and thermal controls of the cars. However, the company did not note that the changes could negatively effect the range of the cars on a single charge.

Chen wrote to the Department of Transportation and NHTSA: “For most owners, it was shortly discovered after updating their cars that the cars had suffered from a sudden and significant decrease in the amount of rated miles available."

There have been some reports of range drop-off following the update, but they are not widespread. The NHTSA will need to thoroughly investigate exactly what Tesla did in the update and determine how it might effect the battery.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla to retrofit older models with new self-driving chip

(July8) Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims the company will most likely start to retrofit its new, more powerful full self-driving chip into older Tesla vehicles near the end of 2019.

The new FSD chip

The new FSD chip is the first such technology to have been designed in house by Tesla. The automaker claims that the chip provides 21 times the performance of the Nividia chip it replaces, but Nividia disputes that claim. The new chip has already been shipping in Model S, X, and Model 3 vehicles. And, according to Musk, it will soon be offered as an upgrade to half a million owners of older Tesla vehicles.

Musk boasts that the new chip has sufficient power to allow for fully self-driving vehicles once the software is available. The upgraded FSD computer contains two of the chips for redundancy. The company claims that the new chip costs 20 percent less than the Nividia hardware it replaces, yet draws only a bit more power.

Chip upgrade offered free for those who have Full Self-Driving package

The Full Self Driving package costs $6,000. Musk estimates around 500,000 older vehicles are compatible with the new chip, but not all will be eligible for the upgrade. The add-on package gives drivers access to Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot feature which guides the driver to make lane changes, navigate highway interchanges and even proactively exit highways. If vehicles do not have this feature, they are limited to the regular autopilot that provides automatic steering and adaptive cruise control.

Full Self-Driving package name is controversial

Last October, Tesla stopped promoting the Full Self-Driving package claiming that it caused too much confusion for its customers. The Navigate on Autopilot the package it enables is not at all equivalent to full self-driving functionality. However, this February the option returned with the same name despite the fact it is arguably misnamed.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

After some fires, Tesla pushes software updates

Tesla is updating software earlier than planned to all Model S and Model X vehicles after two recent high profile battery files. Tesla says it is doing this out of an abundance of caution.

Changes made to battery thermal and charging controls

The update will alter some of the settings in the battery management software that are related to charging and thermal controls but the company did not release any detail. The Tesla battery manage system is a closely guarded feature.

Recent fires

There were two fires in Asia that received much publicity. In April an older Model S apparently caught fire spontaneously while simply sitting unused in a parking structure in Shanghai. The fire could be seen on security camera and the footage went viral on social media. Tesla sent a team to investigate the fire but has not released any findings. Then this week, another Model S caught fire in a Hong Kong parking lot shortly after the owner had charged it.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has been very much upset by the fires happening in Tesla vehicles. He says that are fires in regular cars are much more common and has claimed that Tesla vehicles are "over 500 percent less likely to catch fire". He does not provide sources for his claims.

Business Insider recently reported on roughly 20 incidents with Tesla vehicles catching fire since 2013. However, what stands out with the recent two mentioned is that the cars were actually parked and not running when they caught fire. Most Tesla fires as with other vehicles happen after a severe crash. These fires appear to have been a result of the batteries spontaneously starting a fire and have resulted in Tesla's quick action.

A company statement said: “As we continue our investigation of the root cause, out of an abundance of caution, we are revising charge and thermal management settings on Model S and Model X vehicles via an over-the-air software update that will begin rolling out today, to help further protect the battery and improve battery longevity"

Tesla has pushed software updates to curb fires before

In 2016 Tesla released an update to provide extra security during charging after a Model S caught fire in Norway. Back in 2013 Tesla raised the Model S traveling speed when it was traveling at highway speeds in order to lessen the risk of debris puncturing the battery pack. This update came after an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated a number of Tesla fires. The investigation closed after Tesla added more physical protection to its battery packs.

Tesla is also having problems with its autopilot system

A recent Verge article notes: "Tesla’s advanced driver assist system, Autopilot, was active when a Model 3 driven by a 50-year-old Florida man crashed into the side of a tractor-trailer truck on March 1st, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) states in a report released on Thursday. Investigators reviewed video and preliminary data from the vehicle and found that neither the driver nor Autopilot “executed evasive maneuvers” before striking the truck.The driver, Jeremy Beren Banner, was killed in the crash. It is at least the fourth fatal crash of a Tesla vehicle involving Autopilot."

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla warns employees about leaking information

Tesla warns workers about the consequences of leaking information

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By Ken Hanly     May 4, 2019 in Business

Employees of Tesla, the electric car (EV) maker received an e-mail today from the company's security team, that warns them about leaking information. Leaking information the e-mail claims could lead to firing, felony charges, and lawsuits.

Tesla has already laid charges

One employee had copied confidential business information to his personal account and threatened to disclose it. Tesla has filed felony charges against the individual. The company also has launched lawsuits against two former employees over intellectual property and stealing proprietary information and trade secrets.

The e-mail says in part: "When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they “will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish” any of Tesla’s confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges."

Secrecy is part of Silicon Valley Culture

Tesla is not the only one to warn employees about leaks. Google sent a similar e-mail to its employees in 2016 which described how the company searched for internal leakers. In April last year, an Apple e-mail was leaked that described how the company had arrested 12 employees for leaking information on Apple's future plans. A Facebook internal memo from an official castigated leakers.

Some companies apparently leave "mouse traps" USB memory sticks to see if employees will use them to copy and sneak out information from their computers according to a report last year in the Guardian.

Recent events at Tesla

Tesla has been experiencing both good and bad happenings in the last while.

Among the negative happenings is the failure of the company to secure exemptions from tariffs for the components of the Model 3 that are made in China. There have also been problems again in production at the company's plant in Fremont. The company is also having difficulties with battery cell supplier Panasonic. Customers complain they are having long waits before they can get service or repairs from Tesla.

However, there have been positive developments as well. The company has stimulated enough interest in investment that it has raised its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion. There have been many new openings of service centers and authorized body shops in cities such as Des Moines Iowa and Memphis Tennessee. There has been progress on automated manufacturing and also on the solar roof at the Sparks, Nevada battery plant.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla CEO Musk and SEC reach new agreement on control of his tweets

(April 29)Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally agreed to more specific oversight of his tweets. On Friday an agreement was reached after weeks of negotiations between Musk and the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The two sides filed an agreement to amend the settlement agreement reached last year after Musk made misleading tweets about taking the company private. US District Court Judge Allison Nathan, who presided over the case, still needs to approve the amendment.

The original complaint

The original complaint against Musk is described in WIkipedia: "In September 2018, Musk was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a tweet claiming that funding had been secured for taking Tesla private. The lawsuit characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO on publicly traded companies.[116][117] Two days later, Musk reached a settlement with the SEC. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down as Tesla chairman within 45 days while remaining Tesla's CEO.[118] Musk also proclaimed in several interviews since that he does not regret sending the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation."

In a tweet on August 7th last year Musk announced that he was considering taking Tesla private and he had funding secured to do so. He also later mentioned that Tesla was in talks with the Saudi Arabia wealth fund to potentially fund the effort but eventually abandoned the idea. Prosecutors claimed that in truth and in fact Musk had not even discussed much less confirmed key terms of any deal to take the company private with any funding source. The prosecutors said Musk's "funding secured" tweet was both false and misleading as were subsequent statements by Musk.

The revised agreement

While not all Musk's tweets need to pre-approved the new agreements requires Tesla's security lawyer to approve any Musk written communication that contains information about:

"Tesla’s financial condition, statements, or results, including earnings or guidance potential or proposed mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, tender offers, or joint ventures, production, sales, or delivery numbers (actual or estimated) that haven’t been shared, or ones that differ from Tesla’s official guidance new or proposed lines of business unrelated to Tesla’s existing businesses (defined in the filing as “vehicles, transportation, and sustainable energy products). changes in the status of Tesla’s securities, credit facilities, or financing / lending arrangements, nonpublic legal or regulatory findings or decisions anything that would require the filing of an 8-K form with the SEC, including changes in control of the company, or to its executive officers and directors, any other topic that Tesla — or a majority of its independent members of the company’s board of directors — believe needs pre-approval"

Musk did not obey terms of the earlier settlement

After the earlier settlement Musk issued a sarcastic comment about the SEC describing it as the "Shortsell Enrichment Commission". In a December interview Musk casually mentioned that although he had agreed to his tweets being monitored none had been censored. He also mentioned that he had no respect for the SEC.

The agency discovered in February of this year that none of his tweets had been approved by the Tesla in-house lawyer.

Musk's February 19 tweet

Musk tweeted that Tesla would make around 500,000 Model 3s this year. This figure appeared to clash with those in the company's official guidance which estimated there would be delivery of 360,000 to 400,00 cars total in 2019 and this would include Model S and Model X. Musk actually corrected himself a few hours later but the tweet prompted the SEC to ask Musk for proof that he was complying with the settlement. Musk had not a single tweet approved since the settlement came into effect last December.

The negotiations begin

On February 25th the SEC asked that Musk be held in contempt of court for violating the settlement. After the next few weeks of each side filing scathing responses, Judge Nathan called both Musk and the SEC to court on April 4th and said: “Take a breath [and] come back with your reasonableness pants on.” She ordered the two to work things out and then come back with an agreement. They finally have.

Previously published in the DIgital  Journal

Foirmer Tesla chief engineer for Model 3 becomes CEO of Lucid Motors

The former chief engineer in charge of development of the Tesla Model S sedan, Peter Rawlinson, has now taken over as CEO of the EV startup Lucid Motors as the former CEO has retired.

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Rawlinson was already at Lucid

Rawlinson left Tesla in 2013 and joined Lucid Motors as the chief technology officer. He will retain that post. The announcement said in part: "Since joining Lucid in 2013, Rawlinson has held the position of Chief Technology Officer, being responsible for all design and engineering activities, including Lucid’s first car, the all-electric Lucid Air luxury sedan."

Robertson said: “It is an honor to be appointed CEO of Lucid at such an exciting time for the company and the industry. While the convergence of new technologies is reshaping the automobile, the full potential has yet to be realized, inhibiting the pace at which sustainable mobility and energy are adopted. Lucid has the product vision, the core in-house technology, and the depth of talent to realize this potential. Working collaboratively, our outstanding team will create landmark future products, commencing with Lucid Air in 2020.”

The co-founder and CEO Sam Weng founded the company back in 2007 as "Atieva" and was focused on developing and making batteries for electric vehicles. It began to change its focus on electric cars in 2016 and underwent a name change as well to Lucid Motors. It still uses the name Atieva for some of the battery technology.

Saudi Arabian wealth fund is investing in Lucid

In September of 2018 the company announced that Saudi Arabia's wealth fund would invest more than $1 billion into Lucid.

The announcement came a month before the murder by some Saudis associated with the government of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist. In late October Lucid attended the Saudi Arabia hosted "Davos in the Desert" even though a number firms bowed out after the murder.

The Lucid Air

The EV Lucid is producing is called the Air. It is a luxury all-electric EV. The company promises it will have the long range of 400 miles on a charge. It will be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in jut 2.5 seconds.It will have a huge 1,000 horsepower. It will be very costly with the first units costing over $100,000. The company is hoping to make about 50 Lucid Airs by the end of next year. Rawlinson claims a fleet of test cars are to be built later this year.

Eventually Lucid plans to release cheaper version and it is also developing an all-electric SUV.

Production of Air is behind schedule

Originally, it was announced that the Air would go into production in 2018. It was to build a $700 million factory in Arizona but had problems lining up funding to build it. The Saudi Arabian investment helped the company overcome its problems. The company had two agreements in 2017 where it used it intellectual property as collateral for loans to help deal with its cash crunch. The company now plans to break ground on its Arizona plant within the next two months. Rawlinson said that during its "fallow period" the company was still able to make significant advances in technology especially with respect to the Air's electric motor.

The car is capable of incredible speeds as shown on the appended video. More information on Lucid Motors can be found at Wikipedia.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Tesla gets a restraining order against a Tesla short seller

(April 21) Randeep Hothi a prominent critic on Twitter of Tesla has been hit with a restraining order by the Alameda County Superior Court in California last Friday.

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Tesla's claims against Hothi

Tesla claims that Hothi "stalked, harassed, and endangered" three of its employees who were driving the Model 3 on a Bay Area highway this last week. Tesla claims Hothi "pursued these employees on the public highway for about 35 minutes, variously driving ahead of beside, and behind them, and swerving dangerously close to the vehicle" Tesla even claims that once the swerve was so close to the Model 3 that the car's crash avoidance system was set off.

Tesla also makes claims that this February Hothi struck one of its employees, while trespassing and surveilling Tesla's Fremont California factory. The claim says Hothi did not stop and fled the scene.

Restraints on Hothi

Hothi is required to stay at least 100 yards away from Tesla's factory in Fremont and also from the employees named in the restraining order. He must also stay at least 10 yards away from any Tesla vehicle with manufacturer plates within five miles of the factory. The order is effective up until May 7th when a hearing is scheduled. Neither Tesla nor Hothi have responded when asked for comments on the order.

@skabooshka on Twitter

Hothi posts on Twitter under the username @skabooshka. He published images of the Model 3 on Thursday. He said there were cameras mounted to the rear and inside the car. Hothi believes that photographs were being taken ahead of the April 22 Autonomy Investor Day event.Hothi also claimed that he saw the car violate speed limits. He said the car performed simple tasks such as lane changes implying that Tesla would misrepresent the footage on Monday.

Tesla short-sellers are a lively presence on Twitter

Short-sellers are those who in effect bet money on a stock declining in value. They sell stock on loan or that they have and then when the price declines they buy them back but paying a lower price so they can pocket the different. The practice is called selling short. Usually people buy stock in the hope it goes up or go long rather than go short. Naturally Tesla short sellers do everything they can to cast Tesla in a bad light and hope the stock price goes down. Those who think that a stock price will go up are called bulls. Those who think it will go down are called bears. On the appended video a bear is interviewed about Tesla stock.

The Tesla short-sellers on Twitter use the hashtag #TSLAQ, They try to identify fraudulent activity by Tesla and also outspoken Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Hothi and others have often posted photos of Tesla employee parking lots to gauge whether the company is operating at full capacity. They also photographs lots where inventory is held to find out demand. Tesla's crowd-sourced research also often ends up at the website tslaq.org.

Musk responds to short-sellers

Musk seems to enjoy fighting with the short-seller. He has promised to burn them a number of times by ensuring his stock goes up. By filing the restraining order Musk has now outed one of the most prominent of the short sellers. Musk is known for tweets on social media that are outspoken and some of which have gotten him into trouble.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla claims Panasonic needs to supply it with more batteries to increase production

Tesla claimed that a shortage of batteries made by Panasonic is the fundamental constraint on the production of Tesla EVs. Tesla says it is not getting enough batteries from the Nevada Gigafactory to keep up with the number of vehicles it wants to make.

Both companies believe that even with existing equipment more batteries can be produced according to Tesla.

CEO Musk also complained about battery production.

In a January 30th conference Elon Musk told investors that the company was "cell-starved for vehicle production". He claimed that the company had to forgo the manufacture of some of its home energy products so that it would have a sufficient number of Model 3 battery packs. There is still a tension between Tesla's needs for batteries and what Panasonic is able to deliver.

The Tesla deal with Panasonic

The deal was announced in July of 2014 as reported in a Verge article: "Electric car manufacturer Tesla has today announced a partnership with Japanese electronics giant Panasonic to build a large battery manufacturing plant on US soil. Dubbed the "Gigafactory," the facility will produce the lithium-ion cells, modules, and packs that power Tesla's all-electric vehicles. While Panasonic will be doing the actual manufacturing, Tesla will manage the site and assemble the cells into packs and modules."

The deal will enable Tesla to manufacture its batteries in-house at the Gigafactory that opened in 2016, instead of buying the batteries Panasonic makes in Japan and shipping them to the US. Tesla wants to make the batteries in the same building where it plans to build its battery packs for the Model 3.

Problems at the new Gigafactory

Through the vertical integration and large scale production at the Gigafactory, Tesla hoped to reduce costs to a level that could not be previously reached in the production of battery cells and packs the company boasted in a 2014 announcement. However, the first year of Model 3 production hit plenty of snags with the pace of battery packs produced being slow and also there was inconsistent quality of batteries. This led to delays in meeting Tesla's production goals.

Panasonic freezes plans for large investment in two Gigafactories

A pair of reports in the Nikkei Asian review suggested that Panasonic is changing plans for two of Teslas' Gigafactories. The report claimed that Panasonic froze a decision to put another $900 million to $1.35 billion into the Nevada Gigafactory. The report claimed that Panasonic wanted to reduce its dependence on Tesla.

Tesla is Panasonic's biggest customer for EV batteries. Panasonic has suffered millions in losses in the slower than expected ramp-up of Model 3 production.The Model 3 eventually was to be the best-selling EV globally in 2018 in spite of the company's problems. However, in the first quarter of this year there has been a record drop in deliveries. However, Tesla is now changing its focus to markets in Europe and China. However, the decline and then loss of eligibility for the federal tax credit may hurt sales of the Model 3 in the U.S.

Tesla denies that Panasonic plans to freeze investment in Nevada factory

A spokesperson for Tesla denied that Panasonic was planning to freeze investment in the Nevada plant and claimed that both companies were continuing to invest substantial money into the plant. He also said that Tesla thought that there could be far more output produced simply by improving existing equipment than was previously thought.

The existing production lines have been upgraded since the Gigafactory opening in 2016. The Tesla spokesperson said that the improvements had led to greater production with less money spent on new equipment but said Tesla still plans to triple the size of the current Nevada plant.

Panasonic suspends investments plans in Shanghai plant

Nikkei also claims that Panasonic is shifting plans for Tesla's Gigafactory that is being built at present outside of Shanghai. Ground was broken for the plant this January and hopes to have production up and running by the end of this year, as the plant is key to its presence in China. The government allowed Tesla to wholly own the factory rather than form a joint enterprise with a Chinese partner. Neither Tesla nor Panasonic have said that Panasonic would be supplying batteries for the plant.

Indeed, Nikkei reports that Panasonic has suspended plans to invest in Tesla's Shanghai EV plant. Instead it said that it would provide technical support plus a small number of batteries from the Gigafactory. However, no sources for these claimed plans were given in the report.

Apparently Tesla is also exploring the possibility of having Chinese companies provide batteries for the Shanghai plant. As a recent article reports: "Tesla Inc is in discussions with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) for ordering rechargeable batteries to power its Model 3 cars, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter."

Previously published in Digital Journal

Fiat pays Tesla in deal for Fiat to meet EU emission standards

Automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will pay Tesla for the right to count Tesla electric vehicles as part of its fleet of cars. By pooling vehicles with Tesla, Fiat hopes its fleet will have average emissions low enough to meet new EU standards.

Tesla has yet to confirm the deal and it is not clear how much it will be worth. However, the Financial Times claims that the deal is worth hundreds of millions of euros.

New tougher emissions rules for EU next year

The new rules impose an average emissions limit of 95g per kilometer. However automakers can pool models within their own company including electric vehicles to arrive at an average emissions figure per vehicle. For example, Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel vehicles are all made by the PSA Group which can pool all models. However, firms may also form open pools with other carmakers.

A recent article notes: "Beginning next year, new European Commission rules begin to phase in that require a car maker's fleet-wide emissions to average no higher than 95g/CO2/km—a figure that works out at roughly 57mpg for gasoline vehicles, or 76mpg for diesel-powered vehicles. From 2020, 95 percent of an automaker's new cars sold in the EU have to meet this target, with the remaining 5 percent falling under the law in 2021. And the penalties for failing are draconian: a €95 ($107) "excess emissions premium" per gram of CO2 over the target, for every single car registered in the EU that year. "

Fiat applied to form an emissions pool with Tesla that makes only electric vehicles (EVs) in February. FCA is the first manufacturer to take up the open pool option. Given that Tesla only has EVs it will reduce the average emissions of FCA substantially. Tesla has made over $1 billion over the last three years selling emission credits to other manufacturers in the US.

FCA to reduce emissions from its cars

While FCA claims it was committed to reducing emissions from its vehicles it said that the pooling arrangement created flexibility for the company to produce products its customers wanted to buy and would manage compliance with the law at the lowest cost.

FCA to develop more EVs

FCA has been lagging behind rivals in the manufacture of EVs. However, it claimed that it would spend 9 billion euros or about $10.1 billion during the next four years to develop EV's.

The one electric car FCA sells in the EU is the FIat 500e. It is not often that a company CEO recommends not buying one of their cars but Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said:"If you are considering buying a 500e, I hope you don't buy it, because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000."

nt/fiat-to-pay-tesla-in-a-deal-to-meet-eu-emission-standards/article/547174#ixzz5nMQ9FBjB

Tesla needs to find new customers for its Model 3 EVs

After Tesla had a year first of "production hell" and then "delivery hell" as far as Model 3 production was concerned the question now arises how many more customers are there for the vehicle especially the higher priced models.

As noted in a recent Digital Journal article Tesla ended up the year with surplus stock of the Model 3 after earlier being in a huge rush to up production which it did.

Demand for higher priced Model 3s may be dropping

This is especially true in the US. However, in other parts of the world Tesla there may still be an opportunity for Tesla to keep on selling them. Tesla still has not started production of the cheaper $35,000 version even though it was originally promised back in 2016. The situation is worrisome for some as auto manufacturers are warning that 2019 will be a rough year for auto sales in the US. Tesla will also face less of a government tax credit on its EVs.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said that Tesla's problems were shifting from production to demand. He said Tesla has a hard job ahead.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Elon Musk remained optimistic: “The demand for Model 3 is insanely high. The inhibitor is affordability. It’s just, like, people literally don’t have the money to buy the car. It’s got nothing to do with desire. They just don’t have enough money in the bank account. If the car can be made more affordable, they will... the demand is extraordinary.” Musk sold about 140,000 of the higher priced Model 3s in 2018 which was its first year of production,

If the problem is pricing when will prices decline?

It is not clear when Tesla will solve the pricing problem. Musk admits that the company has not yet figured out how to make any money on a lower priced $35,000 Model 3 a model originally promised. The models available have cost thousands more than the base model some tens of thousands more.

Tesla has made some headway in lowering the price of the Model 3. The cheapest model is now at $42,900 after it was lowered by $2,000 in January. This is still around $6,000 more than the average selling price of a car in the US which was about $37,149 in January according to the Kelley Blue Book. However, a top version of the Model 3 can cost up to $70,000, so expensive that Tesla has removed base versions of the Model S and Model X to avoid overlap,

The situation is complicated by the fact that Tesla EVs are no longer eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles. Tesla's own website says production of the $35,000 version of the Model 3 is 4 to 6 months away. By that time there will be only a few months during which the cars are eligible even for a reduced tax credit.

The end of the EV tax credit

After Tesla sold its 200,000th EV in the US last summer the federal tax was reduced by half to $3,750 on January 1st this year. Some dealerships kept open until midnight on New Year's Eve to take advantage of the tax credit and clear inventory. The credit will drop again on July 1st of this year to $1,875. At the end of the year it will expire completely. Unless Tesla can convince the US Congress to better the incentives the situation looks bleak. Trump does not seem the type to push for better incentives to purchase EV's. Some state incentives can still take up to $2,500 off the price of an EV but that still leaves the price about $2,500 above what was hoped to be an under $30,000 price tag after the federal tax credit.

Tesla needs to sell higher priced models in the EU and China

Jeffrey Osborne of Cowen's said that despite the company's focus on expanding supply said he thought that demand for the higher priced versions of the Model 3 had largely been exhausted in the US. Growth rates in US sales appear to be rapidly dwindling. Cuts to Tesla's work force has added to worries that investors have. Osborne said that Tesla would have to rely on sales of these higher priced variants of the Model S in Europe and China at least for the short term.

CEO Musk said that leasing Model 3s would be another way of dealing with the situation.

Musk said that success in new world markets such as the EU and China could see the company sell 700,000 to 800,000 model 3s annually. If there is a recession he said this could decline to about 500,000.

As of now Tesla cannot make that many cars in a year. For 2019 the company expects to sell only 360,000 to 400,000 EVs world wide. About 100,000 of those will be model S and Model X rather than Model 3s.

The GIgafactory in China needs to come into production

The Tesla factory in Fremont California is already maxed out as far as production is concerned with Model 3s being made in a tent outside the factory. Last month Tesla broke ground for a Gigafactory in China but production will not be started until the end of 2019 at the earliest. Recently Musk said that the Shanghai Gigafactory is the largest variable in reaching the production of 500 thousand plus Model 3s each year. Tesla estimates the factory will be able to make 7,000 model 3s each week by the end of this year.

Tesla has not provided data about the number of reservations in China or Europe. Tesla has had problems with early deliveries in Europe. In China, Musk wants the Gigafactory up and running before there are any more trade barriers.

Tesla's profits

A recent article in the Verge notes: "Tesla made a $139 million profit in the fourth quarter of 2018, the first time the electric automaker has ever posted back-to-back profitable quarters in its 15-year history. It was also Tesla’s fourth profitable quarter ever, according to an investor letter published on Wednesday. Tesla generated $7.2 billion in revenue in the quarter, a record for the company.

Total revenue for 2018 was $21.4 billion — another record for the company — though Tesla still posted a $1 billion loss across the year. Tesla remains short of CEO Elon Musk’s ultimate goal of generating a full-year profit, but it has been clawing back its losses and finished the year with $3.7 billion in cash. Last year, the company lost $2 billion. Musk and CFO Deepak Ahuja wrote in the letter that 2018 was the “most pivotal year in Tesla’s history.”

Tesla will need to improve its deliveries in Europe and make sure that its Gigafactory is up and running by the end of the year if it is to have any hope of having a profit for this year. It appears it cannot rely on a large increase in sales in the US to bring its first yearly profit. The appended video provides an interesting history of Tesla's financial results.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla rolls out Sentry and Dog modes

here are often news reports of dogs, and even young children, being left in cars that overheat in the sun with harmful or even fatal results. Tesla's new Dog Mode would solve that problem by keeping the car inside at around room temperature.

Dog Mode and Sentry Mode

Originally Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla announced that Dog Mode was in the works last October.

A Twitter user asked when the Sentry Mode, designed to use the car's cameras to record incidents that take place when the car is empty will be rolled out. In his reply, Musk said that both the Sentry Mode and Dog Mode would be arriving this week.

A recent article notes: "Tesla already has Cabin Overheat Protection, which engages the climate control to keep the interior at a safe temperature, but "Dog Mode" will likely one-up it by allowing the climate control to run like it normally would, providing a room-temperature environment for animals left in the car briefly. The mode might also let the screen display a message that the dog is in a safe environment and that the owner will be right back."

It still not a good idea to leave animals in a car for any lengthy period of time, even with the climate control running, but for people who need to do so, Dog Mode will provide them with peace of mind.

So far neither mode has appeared as yet but Tesla has put out an update to other safety and convenience features.

Tesla software updates

Electrek reports on new developments: "Tesla is starting to release a new software update to add a few new features to its vehicles including blind spot warning and auto-folding mirrors."

Blind Spot Warning Chime

When making a lane change, you can turn on an audible chime that will warn you when there could be a possible collision with a vehicle or obstacle when you change lanes. This will be very helpful to avoid collisions caused by a blind spot or simply a failure to see a vehicle or object. The Autopilot system has the capacity to detect vehicles in blind spots. It had been suggested that Tesla display more blind spot alerts and Tesla accepted that suggestion. Now the warning can be activated even when not on Autopilot.

Auto-folding mirrors

People who park in tight location often find that their mirrors can be broken while parking or by someone else while parked. The self-folding mirrors help solve that problem. You might do this manually with some mirrors but the auto-folding mirrors do it automatically. You activate the system and it saves locations where you want to fold your mirrors when you are at that location. When you leave the location the mirrors will automatically unfold.

If your car has Homlink you can integrate the folding mirror feature with your garage so you hit your mirrors while parking in the garage.

It may take a while to get these updates as Tesla typically releases them in batches so that it could take some while before the updates reach all vehicles.

Previously published in Digital Journal