At the beginning of the year, we asked you to put down your estimates for total electric car sales in the US in 2017, sales by model, and sales by type of EV. With 6 months of sales under our belts, I thought it would be interesting to check in and see how those projections look today. Note that we’re just looking at US sales, FYI. Global sales are impossible to track and I’d rather not play with those estimates today.
With Tesla Model 3 now in production, we’re having a lot of fun. The naysayers have not exactly quieted down (they actually seem louder than ever), but yet another major milestone they said was impossible is already in the rearview camera. New details on the Model 3 are coming out on Friday along with the final unveiling of the production version of the car. There will surely be some fun surprises. However, more or less, we know what the Model 3 is offering.
Elon Musk posted a video on Instagram yesterday showing the first test of the elevator that will be used to raise and lower vehicles to the tunnels created by his Boring Company. Also, Consumer Reports has restored the top ranking of the Tesla Model S.
It’s a common argument — whether worded so directly or not. It’s a reason used to not start a business, to not advocate for better government policies, to not launch a new product. This simple argument stifles many an effort to make the world better.
Tesla will discontinue the Model S 75 soon, leaving only dual-motor cars available. The move raises the price of an entry level Model S to $74,500.
Now that I’ve been driving an electric car (a Tesla Model S) around on a regular basis for a few weeks, I’m getting bored with the most common questions. Over and over again…
The Chinese market had more than 43,000 new EVs zooming the streets last month. With the market growing below expectations, at 16% YoY, this performance from China feels like when LeBron James scores 28 points in an NBA Finals game — it would be a great score for anyone else, but people expect more from the star of the team.
What’s been hot on CleanTechnica this month? You know the model, but check out the stories for details:
I recently used Tesla’s smart navigation system to drive from Wrocław (Poland) to Berlin (Germany) and back, and then I used it again a few days later on a long trip to the Polish boonies. Tesla doesn’t call it “smart navigation” — just sticking to the boring basic term “navigation” instead — but this beast is brilliant and performed much better than I expected. However, I learned something from these drives that I think anyone using this navigation option should know ahead of time. I’ll get to that in a minute.
It’s sweet when you buy a car and it immediately needs service — awesome experience. Seemingly out of pure luck, that’s what happened with the first Tesla Model S we bought for our new Tesla Shuttle service. Days after picking the Model S up from Germany (used, and not through Tesla), “Acceleration Reduced” appeared on the small screen behind the steering wheel, and underneath that in a bit smaller text, “Contact Tesla Service When Convenient.”
