Tag Archives: Tesla news

Others May be Coming, But Tesla’s Still King of the EV Mountain in U.S.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E front driving
The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium is a true competitor for the Tesla Model Y.

Much of the talk about electric vehicles lately focuses on the wave of EVs coming in the next 12 to 18 months; however, until then the latest round of electric vehicle registrations shows Tesla’s still king of the EV world, well, at least in the U.S.

According to Experian, which tracks new vehicle registrations in the U.S., sales of electric vehicles are up through the first six months of the year — and up big. There were 255,393 EVs registrations during the time period, equating to an increase of 133% compared to the same period last year. Automotive News first released the registration numbers.

A look at the top 10 EVs registered shows some new names, most notably the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The automaker’s first long-range EV debuted with a splash last fall and, according some analysts, has taken away as much as 10% of Tesla’s sales.

Tesla Model 3

The only electric vehicle that outsells the Tesla Model 3 in the U.S. is the Model Y.

However, the lofty sales number doesn’t appear to be so much Ford conquesting from Tesla, although some of that is happening, the entire market is up, meaning there is plenty to go arounds. In fact, the Tesla Model Y, the vehicle the Mach-E most directly competes with, was up five-fold through July, logging 93,708 registrations.

The reports of my demise …

As the number of options for buyers interested in electric vehicles has grown — slowly — in the last 12 to 18 months, so has the number of predictions about when Tesla will be surpassed as the leading seller of battery-electric vehicles. 

If the latest top 10 list of EV registrations is any indication, it’s going to be awhile. Here is the top 10 list of EV registrations in the U.S., according to Experian:

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV driving

Despite its current recall, the Chevrolet Bolt was the third-best-selling EV in the U.S. through July.
  1. Tesla Model Y: 93,708 units
  2. Tesla Model 3: 68,448 units
  3. Chevy Bolt EV: 21,898 units
  4. Ford Mustang Mach-E: 13,950 units
  5. Nissan Leaf: 9,445 units
  6. VW ID.4: 8,404 units
  7. Porsche Taycan: 6,071 units
  8. Hyundai Kona EV: 6,069 units
  9. Audi e-tron: 5,473 units
  10. Kia Niro EV: 4,091 units

Some of the non-Tesla vehicles have seen substantial sales gains in 2021, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV, which is currently the subject of a massive recall due to battery manufacturing problem that has been pinpointed as the cause of more than 10 vehicle fires. 

The company’s recalled all of them and shut down the Orion, Michigan plant that produces them as it works with its supplier, South Korea’s LG Chem, to fix the problem. Despite all this, its sales were up 138% during the timeframe, according to InsideEVs.com.

Rivian R1T

The Launch Edition of the Rivian R1T will begin production and deliveries later this month.

However, the dominance of Tesla is still strong. It holds the top two spots on the list, accounting for 162,156 units. This is more than two times the rest of the top 10 at 75,401 vehicles. What vehicles occupy the No. 11 and No. 12 spots? The Model S and Model X, respectively.

Overall, the company gives new meaning to the term “California King” as it accounts for more than two-thirds of all EVs sold in the U.S. right now.

Change is inevitable

While Tesla enjoys a substantial lead, it seems it’s only a matter of time when the rest of the world begins flooding the U.S. market with new electric options — and that time essentially starts, well, now.

Starting with newbie Rivian and its Launch Edition R1T electric pickup which will begin deliveries later this month, at least 27 brands accounting for nearly 50 distinct vehicles, which TheDetroitBureau.com chronicled in two part story you can read by clicking here for Part I and here for Part II, are scheduled arrive in the U.S. between now and the end of next year.

Tesla’s not twiddling its thumbs, waiting for the wave to come crashing down on it, expanding its production base in the U.S. with Giga Austin, its massive new plant expected to come online by the end of this year or early next to produce even more of the Model 3 while prepping to for the Cybertruck and possibly a less expensive vehicle in the $25,000 range.

Tesla CEO Musk Says Second-Gen Roadster Delayed Until 2023

Tesla made its splash into the car world with the first Tesla Roadsters more than a decade ago, and now deliveries of the second-generation of the 2+2-seater are likely going to be pushed back to 2023.

Tesla Roadster
CEO Elon Musk said the second-generation Roadster, when it comes out, will be the best sports car in the world.

CEO Elon Musk confirmed the new timeline via Twitter when asked about details of the Roadster, which was supposed to get a push toward production once the Model S Plaid hit the market.

“2021 has been the year of super crazy supply chain shortages, so it wouldn’t matter if we had 17 new products, as none would ship,” he tweeted. “Assuming 2022 is not mega drama, new Roadster should ship in 2023.”

Musk suggested earlier this year the already once-delayed 2+2-seater — it was originally slated to arrive last year — would arrive at the end of next summer. However, it appears the chip issue, which is expected to continue into next year, sunk the 2022 timeline.

Revised arrival time

Musk Roadster delay tweet

Delayed due dates are nothing new to Musk, who’s cracked several jokes about missing his “overly ambitious” deadlines before. The Semi and the Cybertruck have also been pushed back at least once each, with some observers now expecting the latter to not arrive until 2023, though the official word, according to the configurator, is that it will arrive in 2022.

Part of the issue is that demand for the Model Y and Model 3 — Tesla’s best sellers — require the resources that could be used to bring the others to the market. Ensuring there is cash going into the corporate coffers is what makes the other vehicles possible, Musk has also noted in the past.

Tesla’s also not alone when it comes to supplier issues these days with GM, Ford, Stellantis, Honda, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and more all forced to shut down plants due to the shortage of chips.

Musk debuts Plaid full car

In June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hailed the new Model S Plaid as the fastest and safest car built today.

Happy campers once it arrives

Despite the delay, the Roadster — which at one point Musk said would use rockets borrowed from SpaceX — will be the fastest production car on the road, or so Musk claimed when he revealed the next-gen model.

“The new Tesla Roadster will be the fastest production car ever made. Period,” the South African-born entrepreneur declared in November 2017. “The purpose of this is to give a hardcore smackdown to the gasoline car.”

The title will remain in-house, at least of nothing changes. The Tesla Model S Plaid currently gets there in 1.99 seconds. The Roadster, Musk said, will do it in 1.9 seconds — unless the rockets come into play. He said at the time it will race from 0 to 100 mph in just 4.2 seconds, and top out at more than 250 mph.

Just as importantly, the $200K model will do all of that while getting more than 620 miles on a single charge — the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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Tesla Autopilot Woes Grow with Another Crash into Parked Police Car

Tesla Inc.’s list of problems just got a little longer: another Autopilot-related crash. A Model 3 reportedly using the semi-autonomous technology hit a police car parked on the side of the road while engaged in a traffic stop.

Tesla Florida crash two Aug 2021
A Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot reportedly engaged crashed into a parked police cruiser in Florida on Aug. 28.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently opened an investigation of 11 incidents in which Tesla vehicles allegedly with the Autopilot engaged crashed into emergency response vehicles parked on the side of the road. These events happened while the responders were performing their duties.

The latest incident occurred in Florida where a Model 3 using the technology collided with a Florida Highway Patrol car, according to the Associated Press. The incident happened on an interstate in Orlando while the officer was out of his vehicle attempting to help with a disabled vehicle.

The police officer was not hurt, however, the drivers of the other vehicles sustained minor injuries, according to the report. 

NHTSA’s investigation

The latest investigation will examine 11 crashes that occurred in the U.S. since January 2018, including ones where vehicles allegedly operating on Autopilot struck stationary police cars and fire trucks.

Tesla Florida crash three Aug 2021

The Florida crash over the weekend is the 12th incident involving an emergency vehicle parked on the side of the road.

“Most incidents took place after dark and the crash scenes encountered included scene control measures such as first responder vehicle lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board, and road cones,” NHTSA said in a document prepared by the Office of Defects Investigation. 

“The involved subject vehicles were all confirmed to have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes.”

Autopilot uses on a mix of sensor devices, microprocessors and software. It was first introduced in mid-2014 and has been updated since then. The technology is designed to help keep vehicles like the Tesla Models S, X, 3 and Y in their lane, keep the vehicle safely spaced in traffic and avoid collisions.

Plenty of critics

The first crash involving Autopilot that garnered national attending happened in Florida in 2016. Former Navy SEAL Joshua Brown’s Model S collided with the side of semi-truck trailer, killing him in the process. 

NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board both concluded that former SEAL Joshua Brown was watching a video device, rather than paying attention to the road, when his car struck a truck broadside. Regulators also determined that Autopilot failed to recognize the truck against the backdrop of a bright sky.

Model S fire truck crash California

Tesla’s Autopilot played a role in the collision with this fire truck parked on I-405 in California earlier.

Since then, safety organizations and some politicians have criticized the technology, claiming the name alone suggests it’s capable of driving the vehicle without any assistance. CEO Elon Musk maintains the technology helps make the roads safer and the company goes to great lengths to tell drivers they must remain alert when behind the wheel, even when Autopilot is engaged.

Emergency responders at risk

In at least some of the 11 crashes NHTSA is looking at, Tesla vehicles believed to have been operating in Autopilot struck stationary vehicles operated by emergency responders.

Radar and even camera sensors can have problems recognizing stationary obstacles, several experts told TheDetroitBureau.com. Such situations are even more complex when cones or emergency vehicles are involved, Duke University engineering professor Mary Cummings told the Wall Street Journal.

The problem is each emergency situation presents a different visual target that systems like Autopilot may not have been trained to recognize. “This is why emergency situations are so problematic,” Cummings said. “The visual presentation is never the same.”

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What Chip Shortage? Tesla Posts Strong Q2 Sales Results

2021 Tesla Model Y blue
Tesla raised the price on its Model Y Long Range by $10,000 due, in part, to supplier issues.

As many automakers struggle to find semiconductor chips for their high tech vehicles, Tesla Inc. clearly has the issue taken care of as its second-quarter sales pass the 200,000-unit mark.

“In the second quarter, we produced and delivered over 200,000 vehicles,” the company said in a statement. “Our teams have done an outstanding job navigating through global supply chain and logistics challenges.”

For many car companies, the second quarter’s been difficult as it relates to keeping a steady supply of the chips. Tesla did have a short shutdown in February due to the problem, but since then has been churning out vehicles steadily, especially during the most recent quarter.

Tesla delivered more than 200,000 Model 3 and Model Ys during the quarter.

The company produced 204,081 Model 3 or Model Ys last quarter, a massive increased when compared with the year-ago period’s 75,946 vehicles. While pushing out its most popular vehicles — Model Y being the company’s biggest seller — it put the freshened 2021 Model S and Model X on the road during the quarter. It moved

Chip problems

The company did have a production hiccup in the first quarter of last year due to chip problems, but has since not had a problem. CEO Elon Musk said the semiconductor problem was causing some companies to behave impulsively.

“Our biggest challenge is supply chain, especially microcontroller chips. Never seen anything like it,” he tweeted June 2. “Fear of running out is causing every company to overorder — like the toilet paper shortage, but at epic scale. That said, it’s obv not a long-term issue.”

However, it doesn’t mean Tesla hasn’t been part of the sales rush. The Financial Times reported Tesla held discussions with chip makers to pay in advance, including offering deposits on high-volume orders. The company reportedly explored the idea of buying a plant to build its own chips.

CEO Musk Cancels New Model S Plaid+, Says “No Need”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the long-awaited Model S Plaid+ has been cancelled.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Model S Plaid+ was cancelled because the “regular” version was so good.

Normally, the sudden elimination of an entire trim level would be cause for alarm, but Musk — who as usual announced the move via Twitter — said the long-range Plaid was given the Ziggy because there was “No need, as Plaid is just so good.”

The new vehicle makes its public debut courtesy of a live stream delivery event at the company’s Fremont, California plant where it’s built June 10 at 10 p.m. EDT. Ever the promoter, Musk offered a little hype for the new model tweeting, “0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.”

Musk introduced the Plaid not long after Lucid Motors began hyping the performance of its soon-to-arrive Air sedan. He wasn’t content to sit on the sidelines after the recent of introduction of the Lucid Air essentially put “Baby in the corner” with a 500-mile-plus range and stunning track times.

Performance beast

In addition to the sub-2-second sprint to 60, the Plaid runs the quarter mile in just 9 seconds — both besting Lucid’s public times for the Air — and with a range of at least 520 miles. Yup. It’s pricey, starting at $134,000, and it can be ordered now with delivery, according to the website in “late 2021.”

Musk also talked about the Plaid’s performance at Laguna Seca, which it scorched in a time of 1:30.3 and it could be about “3 seconds lower,” he noted during the company’s Battery Day last September.

It was rumored last week that Musk was contemplating adding rockets to the Plaid to get the 0 to 60 time down to 1.1 seconds. The tale claims Musk could source a pair of small rockets from SpaceX; however, it was quickly scuttled by experts noting that rocket power is notoriously uneven, which would cause the vehicle to be dangerously difficult to control.

Musk nor Tesla officials never commented on the possibility — for the Model S Plaid. However, the company confirmed in January they remain a possibility for the Roadster. It’s likely the rumor was a conflation of the details of the Roadster, which is also set to race from 0 to 60 in less than 2 seconds.

Competition from Lucid

Prior to the announcement of the Plaid edition, Lucid appeared to have stolen some thunder from Tesla, if only briefly. The sedan races to 60 mph in just 2.5 mph and handles the quarter mile in 9.9 seconds, although CEO Peter Rawlinson said he’s personally bested that time.

The sedan achieved what would be an industry-record 517 miles per charge in an EPA simulation run by the independent EV consulting firm FEV North America. That’s over 100 miles more than the newest and longest-range version of the Tesla Model S — prior to the Plaid — with only a slightly larger, 110 kilowatt-hour battery pack.

Rawlinson has made a big thing about the efficiency of the overall package known as the Lucid Air. Based on what we’ve learned so far, the sedan can muster an impressive 4.58 miles per kWh compared with 4.02 for the most efficient Tesla Model S.How much that efficiency will drop when you’ve got your foot to the floor is uncertain but you’ll certainly feel some neck-snapping performance, the Air claimed to hit 60 in 2.5 seconds, or about 0.2 seconds slower than the highest-rated version of the Tesla sedan.