Trevor with Tesla Owners Online found something interesting and shared it in the forum. He was given evidence by a trusted source that points to a new Model 3 Performance and Model Y Performance in the latest firmware, which includes the following text strings: model3_performance_v2 modely_performance_v2 Trevor’s source is an … [continued]
Tesla is always coming up with innovative solutions to solve problems large or small, and one such example was revealed at the Model S Plaid delivery event last week. Elon Musk spoke about this achievement briefly during the presentation. “Something we’re really proud of is the new carbon-sleeved rotors for … [continued]
The Porsche 912 and 911 are classic cars some people go nuts over — the attachment may seem irrational, but it’s still quite real. (The same is true of a number of different Porsche models.) The fact that a 1968 912 can be converted to all-electric status with a Tesla motor only makes it that much sweeter. The look and feel are still Porsche, but the tech is more powerful and is quieter. Also, since it runs on electricity, polluting fossil fuels can be avoided.
Who says Tesla has no demand? Certainly not the half a million reddit users who subscribe to the Tesla Motors subreddit. Tesla Motors is the top subreddit for a single vehicle brand, and it actually ranks right behind the Cars subreddit. The subreddit is also 38% larger than the subreddit Autos, which has just over 360,000 subscribers.
Tesla’s Model S and Model X have gone through a refresh, but this time around, it’s more of an engineering refresh rather than a design refresh — Tesla engineers were able to optimize the drivetrain design in such a way that these vehicles are able to provide significantly more range than they were able to deliver previously using the same 100 kWh battery pack.
Disclaimer: I have been hesitating whether to write this article for some months now. I am not an engineer. I am an environmental advocate and avid cleantech follower. I had really hoped an engineer would cover this story, but I have not seen an article that covers this aspect of Tesla’s technology. (I could have missed it.)
Tesla is, at its core, an engineering company. The company as we know it today was founded on the building blocks of lithium-ion batteries and electric motors. Having an early interest and exposure to supercapacitors, Elon Musk saw the potential with lithium-ion and electric motors and ultimately found the golden combination he was looking for at AC Propulsion.
The weekly Autoline show from the Detroit area recently invited Sandy Munro back to talk about Tesla in China. Munro was once one of Tesla’s most ardent skeptics, when he famously compared the Model 3 build quality to a “Kia from the ’90s.” After spending some more time tearing down the Model 3 and learning more about it, Sandy warmed to the company and had much more complimentary things to say about the company, including calling the Model 3 electronics “Like a Symphony of Engineering.”
Up until now, automotive enthusiasts have only been able to bolt on new modifications to vehicles to make them better. Whether getting faster speed through a supercharger, more quickly stopping a fast car via better brakes, or body roll improvements from upgrades to the suspension, making cars better and faster has driven gear heads for decades.
Tesla Autopilot is poised to be the self-driving industry leader. That said, many drivers are uneasy about trying Autopilot’s current suite of semi-autonomous features. Lauren Larson writes in GQ that she was “skeptical of Teslas … [because] Teslas have features that nobody has ever needed. They have features that most consumers aren’t even imaginative enough to want.”
