Tesla On A Tear: Model 3 A Wrap, Pickup Planned, Model S Used Value, Semi Coming Soon

[ahojunk]

APR 16, 2017 @ 05:46 AM
Tesla On A Tear: Model 3 A Wrap, Pickup Planned, Model S Used Value, Semi Coming Soon
Brooke Crothers , CONTRIBUTOR
I cover cars, computers, and components.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Tesla Model 3.

This week Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered a few tantalizing tweets about what's in the pipeline as its stock stayed on a tear -- among other news.

The final Model 3 imminent: Musk offered a one word response to a query about the "final unveil" of Model 3: "July." To be sure, the final version of the $35K Model 3 can't arrive too soon. Tesla has ambitious production targets for its first mass-market vehicle, stating in a recent investor letter ('Tesla Fourth Quarter & Full Year 2016 Update") that it is aiming at production levels of 10,000 per week "sometime" in 2018.

Tesla pickup: When you think of Tesla, "pickup truck" doesn't exactly leap to mind. But Musk said this week that the company has plans to unveil one in 18 to 24 months. The EV pickup market is untouched by the big players. Though startups like Via Motors offer electrified pickups (Via sells a plug-in hybrid Chevy Silverado pickup), this isn't happening on the scale to get mindshare, aka, lots of truck buyers' attention. Though the potential is there. The "father" of the Chevy Volt Bob Lutz (who had been promoting the Via Motors pickup), has said that, “We electrified the wrong end of the business. Electrification makes the most sense with vehicles that normally use a lot of fuel.”


@NoahMagel Pickup truck unveil in 18 to 24 months
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017


Tesla Semi: The Tesla semi truck will be "seriously next level," according to Musk. Here's what Musk said in his July 2016 Master Plan, Part Deux. "In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport...We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate."


"Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017


Tesla Roadster convertible: So, what do we know about the next Roadster? "The next generation Roadster will also be the company’s quickest vehicle within its fleet, capable of smashing the 0-60 mph in 2.3 second barrier set by current king of the hill, the Ludicrous+ Model S P100D," said Teslarati, adding "we know this because Musk has confirmed in the past that Tesla’s next-gen Roadster will be equipped with Maximum Plaid mode which takes the existing top-of-the-line Ludicrous+ mode one step further."

A Used Model S sells faster than its peers: There was other good news for Tesla this week. The Model S sells faster than luxury-car rivals, according to Autolist via MarketWatch. That peer group included Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz.


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Best wishes to Tesla.
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[ahojunk]

Tesla patent shows new way to automated high-speed charging with external cooling
Fred Lambert
- Apr. 22nd 2017 12:25 pm ET
@FredericLambert

The next generation of electric vehicle charging stations are coming and while most companies are focusing on getting the highest charge rate possible, Tesla is also looking to automate the charging process to prepare its infrastructure for its fully self-driving update.

A recently released patent application gives a glimpse at a potential solution that Tesla could implement for both high speed charging and automated charging.

First off, a reminder that companies sometimes apply for patents and never end up commercializing the technology. Therefore, we shouldn’t get too excited and instead look at it from a point of view that Tesla worked on this tech and considered it interesting enough to patent it.

In this case, Tesla first applied to patent the technology back in 2014, later updated the application in 2016, and it was finally published earlier this month.

The application is titled ‘Charging station providing thermal conditioning of electric vehicle during charging session’ and depicts a ground-mounted system capable of automatically charging the battery pack with an outside cooling system, which could enable a higher charge rate.

Here are some of the most important sketches and diagrams showing the system in the patent application:

The form factor is similar to some of the wireless induction charging solutions, but it is wired and therefore, it should result in a slighly higher efficiency.

They describe how the thermal conditioning works in the application:

“An initial signal from the vehicle to the charging station is transmitted by wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth), and this serves to couple the vehicle to the charging station. In response, the appropriate vehicle-charger connections can be established, including an electrical connection for the charging (and, in some implementations, a fluid connection for thermally conditioning the vehicle during the charging). Then, a temperature demand signal or any other form of thermal information can be sent to the charging station via a signal wire in the electrical connector.”​

Batteries can get hot when they are being charged by direct current and therefore, a system with a more powerful cooling system outside of the vehicle could enable a much faster charge rate – something CEO Elon Musk hinted could be over 350 kW in the upcoming version 3 of the Tesla Supercharger.

The downside is the fact that it is installed in the ground adds complexity to the system compared to the previously showcased solution of the “robot-snake charger”.

Again, it doesn’t mean that either of those technologies will make it to market, but it is particularly interesting after we reported yesterday that a new building permit at Tesla’s Fremont factory references a “Tesla automated parking Superchargers”.

Especially since they would both enable automated parking, which is part of Tesla’s plan for self-driving vehicles. These solutions are also becoming more likely than the battery swap system, which is making a resurgence in popularity among speculators with the ‘Tesla Semi’.


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[Hamartia Antidote]

APR 16, 2017 @ 05:46 AM
Tesla On A Tear: Model 3 A Wrap, Pickup Planned, Model S Used Value, Semi Coming Soon
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http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-tesla-semi-truck-can-drive-like-sports-car-2017-4

Elon Musk: Tesla's semitruck can be driven around 'like a sports car'

Elon Musk teased an image of Tesla's semitruck during his TED Talk.

In his TED Talk on Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company's semitruck would be able to outperform diesel trucks on the road.

Musk, who revealed a teaser image of the electric truck for the first time, said he had taken a prototype for a spin in Tesla's parking lot.

"This will be a very spry truck," he said. "You can drive this around like a sports car."

The company is expected to reveal the electric semitruck in September. Tesla is also building an electric pickup truck, which it plans to unveil in a year and a half to two years.

Musk says Tesla is looking to prove that an electric truck can outperform a diesel truck when it comes to range and torque, even with the added weight of a battery. He announced the semitruck project in his "Master Plan, Part Deux" in July.

Jerome Guillen, Tesla's vice president of programs, is leading the project. He led Daimler's semitruck program before joining Tesla in 2012.