Tesla’s Strengths & Struggles, Kia EV9 Review, Solar Boom in South America — Top CleanTechnica Stories of the Week

Let’s stroll through some of the top stories of the past week and a half here on CleanTechnica. It’s been a bit of a wild week, particularly because of the happenings at a certain cleantech company, but there’s a lot more going on than that as well. Enjoy the roundup!

First of all, we’ve got the beginnings of a big Kia EV9 review series, and the first impressions are that people love it. (The EV9 is also now offering some NBA flair to go along with the NBA playoffs — maybe Jennifer can ask about getting a sample for her review.)

Looking at US EV sales in the first quarter, the Tesla Model Y outsold the Model 3 by more than 3:1 in the 1st quarter. Meanwhile, the Ford Mustang Mach-E became the third best selling electric car in the US. Notably, the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 now cost about $10,000 less than the average selling price of a new car, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E just got some updates and a cut in price. We’ve also got separate reports on surging sales from Ford, Cadillac, Hyundai, Kia, and Rivian.

Meanwhile, a comparison of Elon Musk and the Wizard of Oz may not be what you were expecting this week, but it’s something you’ve got to read. At the very least, it includes interesting history on The Wizard of Oz. On a similar topic, I wrote a piece on how we have to “get real” about the supply–demand situation at Tesla, and I wrote a piece earlier on the fact that Tesla’s Master Plan, Part Deux is far from realization. Overall, the story is that there are big questions on whether Tesla has lost its way a bit.

I also pointed out that Tesla still has a market cap greater than Toyota, Porsche, Mercedes, and Hyundai combined, and also more than Ford, GM, Stellantis, Honda, Volkswagen, BMW, BYD, Hyundai, and Kia combined. Does that really make sense at this point?

One more Tesla theme this week was Full Self Driving (FSD). I posted a video of using FSD for more than 20 minutes, explored where Tesla FSD 12.3.3 is still failing, and I also ran across a statement from a few years ago where Elon Musk said Tesla (TSLA) was basically worth $0 if FSD robotaxis don’t arrive. Additionally, Fritz Hasler provided his perspective on using FSD for years in light of the new, lower $99/month price for it.

Governments of Europe continue to throw money away on hydrogen transport, and Mike Barnard just torched them for it.

If you really have some time, though, read Mike Barnard’s long piece on why we should electrify everything all at once, or watch the video. The article is a transcript of his presentation for the India Smart Grid Forum.

Great solar news from Brazil, Colombia, and Chile is always good to hear, and it seems this is an especially good time for the industry down there. Thanks to Juan Diego Celemín Mojica for bringing us a thorough update on this.

We’ve got some fun electric motorcycle progress in Ghana and Nigeria.

We also have the great news that EVs have been helping to lower electricity prices, and the important news that air pollution from cars creates Alzheimer’s. Add them to the long list of electric car benefits.

Controversially, Mexico is supporting the US in keeping Chinese EV factories out of North America. Not cool? Or only fair and necessary? This is the debate.

Who will produce an alternative to the Tesla Model C/Model 2? … Perhaps Kia/Hyundai, readers suggest. Or is the answer simply no one? And perhaps Tesla’s lower-cost car project is really just on hold as part of the company’s cost-cutting efforts.

We’ve also got EV sales reports from Spain and from Germany — always fun.

And I’ll wrap up with a great point and plea from Jennifer Sensiba. She explains that EV owners complain a little too carelessly on social media (and elsewhere) — often not providing the appropriate context by explaining that they do love their EVs and the EV life, and wouldn’t go back to gas.

Any other favorite stories from the past week?

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