Tesla Tweets, Tesla Model X Range, LED Tesla Parking Sign… (Clean Transport Highlights)

September 25, 20159 years ago Zachary Shahan 2 Comments

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

Check e’m out:

Tesla Tweets

I went over to the Tesla Motors twitter account last night to see if I had missed anything new over there. While scrolling through the tweets, I saw so many cool things that I wanted to share but didn’t think were each worth a full article that I decided to put together this quick little “Tesla Tweets” roundup. Maybe I’ll make it a regular thing.

Meet the Tesla Generation RT @slcuervo Can I drive, dad? Where is the insane mode? @TeslaMotors pic.twitter.com/KCRvrMdxVz

— Tesla (@Tesla) September 11, 2015

Model X P90D Range Now Up To 250 Miles

Information from Tesla regarding the Tesla Model X has been slowly leaking out via updates from Signature reservation holders who have been asked to configure their orders. Additionally, some of this information has changed in the past few weeks.

Tesla Model X Sold Out Till 2H 2016

A month or so ago, I did the math and estimated that new Model X reservations would theoretically be delivered in June 2016. However, the website said “early 2016.” I figured Tesla just hadn’t updated the text on the Model X page in a while, but given that reservation data is complicated and not fully public, I wondered if I was missing something. So, I posted about this on the Tesla Motors Club forum for feedback.

Tesla Makes Koenigsegg Scratch His Head

In another sign of the ICE apocalypse, Christian Von Koenigsegg, whose eggish noggin has conceived of some fearsome ovoid ICE vehicles, yet whose daily transport is a Model S, and who personally blessed a new Supercharger in Sweden, has invented an entirely novel battery-electric powertrain and married it to a good ol’ V8. The result is the Regera, described in some detail here if you scroll down a bit. Tesla’s sphere of influence is . . . scary.

Model 3 Production Ramp?

I know the production goal for the Gigafactory is 500k cars in 2020. Has anyone seen anything about expected production in 2018–19 with regards to the Model 3? Assuming the preorders are off the charts, it seems possible that the first year of production could be filled within days or even hours of the unveil in March.

LED Tesla Parking Sign

I just wanted to share my LED Parking Sign I made a few weeks ago. A beautiful thing every TESLA garage should have. 🙂

“Holy Cow!!” A P90D Ludicrous Test Drive Report From A P85D Owner

As some of you have been waiting to hear about, as a P85D owner, I’ve been trying to understand and experience (as a driver) what a P90D Ludicrous is really capable of. This is so that I could justify the Ludicrous fuse/contactors upgrade (for $5k + labor) when it becomes officially available. Our own Pete90D generously offered his “grey ghost” P90DL up for a test drive.

Tesla Tops Tennessee Charging Stations

The great state of Tennessee has seen its share of innovation. From Memphis to Oak Ridge to Nashville, the Volunteer State has been the site of much technological and social progress. With that said, the EV movement has taken hold with Tesla leading the way, and that EV company has recently been crowned for offering the most reliable chargers in the state.

Analysis: Evolution of Model X Second Row 2012–2015

Since the second row of Model X has gained so much discussion and notoriety since the silent launch of Model X Signature ordering, I decided to take a look at how the seats have evolved since the original unveiling of Model X — and where they might be headed in the future and why.

When Tesla & Apple Compete To Out-Do Each Other On Electric Cars, The Planet Wins

The future of cars is finally upon us — and it is electrifying. The Wall Street Journal reports Apple is speeding up its efforts to build and ship an electric vehicle by 2019. By that time, there should be at least three or four affordable EVs with a 200+ mile range on the market — along with thousands and thousands more charging stations, many of which can do most of their charging in 20 minutes or so. And thanks to Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the grid will be steadily reducing its carbon intensity, making EVs greener and greener with every passing year.

Tesla P85D Included In JP Kraemer’s “Best of Car P*rn” (Video)

In his “Best Of Car Porn” video, JP Kraemer showcases a Tesla P85D. The P85D is certainly the odd one out in his video, which consists of Ferraris, performance BMW M4s, and a Nissan GTR, among other fast cars. He can be seen showing off the shiny new P85D starting at 4:32 in the video below.

Tesla Motors In Talks With German Government

During his European Tour Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is in Germany this week. German Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Google translate; German abbreviation for the Ministry: BMWi), invited Elon Musk to a talk called “Future Economy.”

Thought of a Interesting Business Model Involving Teslas

Imagine a leasing company purchases a fleet of Tesla vehicles. You then calculate the cost of running each vehicle each year and add on a suitable margin on top. Then you figure out how much it would cost someone to take a lease on an hourly basis (you can very the base cost depending on time of day for peak and off peak). You then approach Uber and come up with a scheme whereby the Uber driver does not need to take out his/her own insurance on a permanent vehicle or purchase one outright and bear the upfront fixed costs. You then charge the Uber driver a fixed amount per hour of usage + a %age of the Uber fare. Say for instance, US$8/hr + 10% of the Uber fare. I am not sure if that is the right number as it would depend on assumptions relating to overall utilization of the vehicle and I am not sure what the average hourly revenue per trip would be.

The Level 2 Charging Difference Between A Mercedes B-Class Electric & Smart Electric Drive

Ted Kidd shared some useful insight on the bottom of this long article comparing the charging capabilities of 27 electric car models, but it’s a topic that I thought deserved a little more attention in a separate post. The basic point is that different electric car models have quite different abilities when it comes to Level 2 charging — some, for example, have a maximum charging capability of 3.3 kW, while others have as much as 20 kW — and this is a very important factor in the practicality and convenience of an electric car.

Electric Cars Selling In South Korea That You Don’t Even Know About

When I recently looked at electric car sales data for South Korea that Jose Pontes dug up, I was surprised and excited to see the Samsung SM3 ZE and Kia Ray EV on there. We’ve written about the Samsung SM3 ZE and Kia Ray EV before, but I had almost totally forgotten about these vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Unveils Shape-Changing Concept IAA PHEV

At this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz revealed the Concept IAA, which is a plug-in hybrid car with a 279 HP (205 kW) engine that can take it up to 155 MPH. The “IAA” stands for Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile (but we imagine it’s a pun since the Frankfurt Motor Show is also abbreviated IAA). Just another “intelligent” or “smart” car, right?

Episode Of ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ Features Electric Cars

Fred Rogers covered many topics on his eponymous children’s television show, and it turns out one of them was electric cars. “Mister Rogers” test drove an electric car during an episode that originally aired in 1981.

Volvo: Electric Buses Can Save Millions of Kronor for Society and the Environment

On September 26, 2015, the Volvo Group together with the audit and advisory firm KPMG will present their joint analysis of electric buses. The analysis illustrates the monetary value of an electric bus line given a number of factors that impact society and the environment, and which standard investment appraisals do not take into account.

That BMW Owner Who Got An Electric Car? The BMW’s For Sale

Oh, those dastardly electric cars. Their siren-like allure tempts otherwise innocent drivers to abandon their life-long infatuations with ultimate German driving machines and other fine automotive specimens that deliver driving pleasure via explosions of vaporized hydrocarbons thousands of times a minute. Where will this madness end?

Updated Volkswagen Microbus To Be Electric Production Vehicle?

Volkswagen is currently working on a new Microbus concept vehicle to be debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, according to recent reports.

The Reasonably Priced 200-Mile Electric Car May Exist Soon.

Does it seem like there is an announcement about a game-changing new battery technology every hour these days? Cella Energy in England says it has a system that will make a reasonably priced 200-mile electric car possible. It will be able to travel without ever recharging, theoretically. Instead, all a driver needs to do is drop a small hydrogen pellet into a hopper and motor on for another 200 miles. No wires, no plugs, no hoses, and no fuss. Sound a bit fanciful? Let’s take a closer look.

1917 Detroit Electric Vs 2014 BMW i3: A Century Of Electric Cars

What a difference a century makes, more or less. The 1917 Detroit Electric Model 68 in these photos was painstakingly restored over a period of years by owner Donald Davidson, who is only the car’s third owner in 98 years.

“Das Diesel” Gate

Diesel was a technological dead end even before this case.

Probe Of Emissions Cheating By All Manufacturers Considered

The Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal is like the eggplant that ate Chicago; it just keeps getting bigger all the time. The company now says the software at fault was installed in 11 million cars worldwide, prompting calls from several European nations for a probe of emissions cheating by all manufacturers.

It Gets Worse and Worse: VW Ripped Off US Taxpayers

The bad news is coming so hard and so fast for VW that you can hardly take a bathroom break without missing another scandal or swindle. This latest bit of news comes from LA Times reporter Jerry Hirsch, who did some math and found that the 39,500 Volkswagen Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen TDi models sold in 2009 were eligible for a $1300 “green car” tax credit — which means that VW could be liable for more than $51 million in tax credits and subsidies.

Emissions Cheat Installed in 11 Million VW Diesels, Globally

VW is facing the possibility of more than $18 billion in EPA fines after news broke that the company had used a software “cheat” on its TDi models to pass federally mandated emissions testing. That number was calculated from the 482,000 affected Volkswagen and Audi TDi models sold in the US since 2008, but that’s just in the US. Earlier today, Volkswagen admitted that their emissions testing cheat has been employed in more than 11 million vehicles worldwide.

European Commission Will Begin Requiring “Real World” Vehicle Emissions Testing In 2017

The European Commission will begin requiring that new vehicles be tested under “real world” conditions starting in 2017, according to recent reports. What this means is vehicle emissions testing will now involve mandatory on-road testing via portable emissions measurement systems. This will mark the first time that nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are being measured outside of lab conditions in the region.

Third Date: 2015 Toyota Prius V

With a lot more interior space and cargo capacity than the standard Prius, the 2015 Toyota Prius V is the futuristic wagon for people who demand better.