Zachary Shahan is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species) with the power of the typed word. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor, but he's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession, Solar Love, and Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and energy storage expert. Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in.
August 18th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has projected demand of around 700,000 cars a year for the Tesla Model 3. Some of you think that's optimistic. Some of you think it's pessimistic. Some of you probably wouldn't bet one way or the other. Below are a few considerations on each side of the coin
August 17th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
We're in the business of communications here at CleanTechnica. We have to constantly consider how to communicate in a useful, interesting, and clear way. One topic that comes up practically every day is how to balance simple messages with the extra depth, nuance, and details that create a more complete story
August 16th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Much has been written about the Tesla Model 3, its expected sales, and its potential impact on the auto industry and other automakers. However, a comment today from "Dan" struck me and stimulated this article. The title alone is sure to get me slammed as a "Tesla fanboy." Top-selling car in the USA a Tesla? Sacrilege!
August 16th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
This coming weekend, Tomasz Gać, Jakub Stechly, and I are going to attempt to break the world record for miles driven in an electric car on a single charge. This attempt was planned before a group of Italians recently crushed the previous record, so they've certainly made our task more difficult, but we're still hopeful. Weather permitting, the last charge of a Tesla Model S 100D will take place on Saturday evening. The route is basically Poznań–Łódź–Wrocław–Łódź–Wrocław (with some nuance)
August 16th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
It came out yesterday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now considering bans on petrol and diesel cars — cars that use internal combustion engines (ICE). This possibility has been floated in the UK, France, India, Norway, the Netherlands, and certain German cities. However, it is a significant departure from the norm for the country's leader, Merkel, to consider such a strong policy, and I would say that even in recent months I wouldn't have expected it. The auto industry in Germany is just too strong and too interested in a slow transition to electric vehicles, and Merkel is much more a moderate than a revolutionary
August 14th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
The top 20 CleanTechnica stories of the week included a handful of blockbusters. Check out the stories below if you somehow missed them
August 8th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
An alternative title to the above was: "Slow & Steady Is A Recipe For Disruption." But the story is still a little more complicated than that
August 7th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
The top 20 CleanTechnica articles of the week are below, with little surprise that Tesla is again on top. We're not sure why. From the enlightenment we've received from some commenters, Tesla's cars are crap, Kool-Aid powered, and certainly not worth anyone's sustained attention. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
August 6th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Now that we have several official specs for the Tesla Model 3, I wanted to do a thorough update of how the Model 3 competes against comparably priced offerings from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Toyota, Acura, and Jaguar. Last week, I commented at length about subjective features of the Model 3 that I think will make it a much more attractive offer for drivers and passengers — openness, torque, serenity, and 21st century controls. I honestly think these are the core factors (along with the convenience of home charging) that will lead to the Model 3 dominating its market segment. However, I know many people just want to see the numbers and I am sometimes in search of specific numbers for various comparisons, so this article is primarily aimed at providing several key specs across a few variations of the Model 3, the Tesla Model S, and 22 gas-powered competitors
August 5th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Highly regarded battery storage firm sonnen was one of the big winners of the 2017 Zayed Future Energy Prize, winning in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) category. I interviewed sonnen CEO and co-founder Christoph Ostermann in January just after the company won the prize. It was a fun interview because of how futuristic sonnen's vision is and also because of Mr Ostermann's clear propensity for fun
August 4th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Tesla has published a new "commercial." Perhaps some people wouldn't like to call it that, but in today's world of YouTube-obsessed viewers, it's clear that this is the place for cutting-edge companies to put their marketing dollars. Of course, with Tesla's big brand appeal, it can get hundreds of thousands of views on a new YouTube video/commercial for relatively low cost, landing a much better ROI than paying for a TV commercial, but not every company is so lucky
August 4th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
As many of you know, we're trying to get an electric shuttle startup (Tesla Shuttle) off the ground in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We recently held a test ride event to attract customers, perhaps attract investors, and just generally EVangelize. To organize the event, we partnered with a fleet industry magazine, Menadżer Floty. I was surprised to find out that they actually had a Toyota Prius Prime to bring to the event
August 2nd, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Tesla Model 3 is here, and that has pushed me to again incorporate Tesla sales estimates into our monthly US electric car sales reports. Well, that and a repeated request from readers to bring back Tesla's US sales estimates*
August 2nd, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Years ago, I wrote that many people don't realize solar energy and wind energy are so cheap because they have a price or talking point stuck in their head from 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even just 3 years ago. As much as we at CleanTechnica repeat the fact that wind and solar are often the cheapest option for new electricity capacity, people in the general public and even in highly related fields don't realize that renewable energy costs have fallen so much so fast. They don't realize that cleaner electricity options are often the cheapest options
August 1st, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
The carbon bubble is something I've written about at length. See "The Totally Insane Carbon Bubble" for an overview. The basic points are
August 1st, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
July was a momentous month. The Tesla Model 3 — which must have surprised even Elon Musk — arrived. The first 30 production Model 3s were delivered. But there was a lot of other cleantech fun as well. Check out the stories below to see which grabbed the most eyeballs here on CleanTechnica
July 31st, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
For a while, I thought the hottest CleanTechnica article of the past week was going to be an electric bike article, shockingly, but then a Tesla Model 3 story came in and stole the show. A BMW i3 vs Model 3 article also surprised and slipped into the #2 spot. Well, there were a few Model 3 articles on the list
July 30th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
BMW, Audi, and Mercedes should be prepped for this, since they've already been walloped in the large luxury sedan class. Nonetheless, what's coming is like nothing they could truly prep for. These automakers have been trading wins with each other in various monthly and annual races, but Usain Bolt just came to town and is soon joining the track days
July 29th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
Well, Motor Trend's fairly early and outspoken love for the Tesla Model S certainly hasn't hurt its Tesla test drive opportunities. The mainstream auto magazine got yet another super exclusive opportunity to test out the Model 3, this time 36 hours before the final reveal last night
July 29th, 2017 | by Zachary Shahan
As announced a few days ago, this week's #Electrifying webinar is about getting a used Tesla Model S vs a new Tesla Model 3. With various Model 3 details unveiled last night in Fremont, California, and then on the Tesla website, we now have quite a lot to consider in order to make this choice
