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frojack writes:

"Tesla stock soared today, up over 17% at one point, on solid earnings reports, and also due to achieving the highest recommendation of all cars from Consumer Reports (Note, not linking direct to paywalled CR site). In addition, Tesla Motors Inc. is expected to make a big announcement regarding its 'gigafactory' battery plant this week. Tesla is rumored to be partnering with Japan's Panasonic Corp. or South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The location of the factory is also yet to be determined, although analysts have bet on New Mexico or Arizona. One thing is sure: 'Tesla hopes to reinvent battery production like it already did to other parts of the auto supply chain,' one Wall Street analyst said.

Within the next few weeks, CEO Elon Musk will go to China to deliver the country's first Model S according to CNBC."

Two submissions came in about the BMW i3 electric car. There is also a review over at arstechnica.

carguy writes:

Well known reverse-engineering shop Munro & Associates take apart a BMW i3 and come up very impressed by many aspects of the car.

For example, he points to a section of the frame, where there is an aluminum die casting welded to an extrusion. “Talk to any engineers who knows anything, and they’ll tell you it can’t be done...including me, until I saw that.” (The issue: hydrogen embrittlement). Says Mark Ellis, senior associate at Munro: “When you try to weld the two together, the die casting material tends to crumble. Whatever changes they made to the die casting to allow it to be welded like that is marvelous.”

More past the break:

Phoenix666 writes:

Tesla Motors Inc. fell in extended trading after the electric-car maker backed off its full-year vehicle sales forecast.

Tesla said it now aims to deliver 50,000 to 55,000 vehicles this year, compared with a previous target of 55,000. The company sees third-quarter production and deliveries of just more than 12,000 vehicles including just a few Model X sport utility vehicles.

Reaching the initial target may be a stretch because some interior suppliers might not be able to increase the flow of high-quality parts fast enough to meet the Model X production plan, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on a conference call with analysts. Because the SUV and the existing Model S share the same assembly line, a shortfall by one Model X supplier could slow output of both vehicles.

All is not wine and roses at Tesla, despite the glowing press they receive.

Shares of German auto maker BMW dropped sharply on Thursday after a German newspaper claimed its diesel engines were "significantly" exceeding regulatory limits.

Auto Bild - a publication owned by Axel Springer - said Thursday in an exclusive report that BMW engines were emitting nitrogen oxide levels that were 11 times more than the current limit set by the European Union. However, it later reported that there was no indication of tampering with the vehicles. Citing road tests by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), it said that a model of the BMW X3 was emitting more poisonous gases than the Volkswagen car that is currently at the center of the emissions scandal. "All measured data suggest that this is not a VW-specific issue," Peter Mock, the Europe Managing Director at the ICCT, told the publication.

See: CNBC.

[In trying to track down additional references for this story, I came upon: Kein Indiz für Manipulation bei BMW which, according to my very rusty German, suggests there was no manipulation on the part of BMW. German readers are invited to reply in the comments with translations and/or clarifications. - Ed.]

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

We're almost at the end of the first month of the Volkswagen scandal, which now includes 11 million cars and Leonardo DiCaprio. VW's US boss has testified to Congress, blaming a few rogue software engineers. All the while, questions have raged about VW Group's future: which projects are safe, which ones are on the chopping block, and how exactly will the company recover from this?
...
VW's board has finally started to answer some of those swirling questions. For starters, there's going to be much more emphasis on electrification. Electric vehicles and hybrids have played more of a bit part at VW, compared to Toyota, GM, and domestic rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz. That's going to change with a standard electric architecture that can be used across multiple vehicles and brands.

VW Group isn't devoid of hybrid and EV know-how. Audi's Le Mans program has taught it a lot about high voltage automotive systems, and Porsche has a wealth of experience from the 918 Spyder, Panamera Hybrid, and even the 919 Hybrid racer. VW would be smart to leverage all these programs.

VW is the largest car company in Europe. This is what sudden, disruptive technological change looks like.

Original Submission

Bob Lutz, car-guy-to-the-max, former VP of GM and Chrysler, with time at BMW before that, wrote this recent article --
    http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a26859/bob-lutz-tesla/

The opening paragraph is gloomy:

and the prognosis goes downhill from there mentioning competition from Audi, the lack of enough dealers to attract more buyers and other problems.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Professor Stefan Bratzel of the Center of Automotive Management in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany doesn't think BMW is close to maximizing its growth yet, and will concentrate on electric and autonomous cars to expand the business.

"BMW may be pretty close to capacity, but of course the company is thinking about growing further otherwise they will get into trouble from competitors. I think the new CEO Harald Krueger sees two big pillars of growth; electro-mobility and autonomous driving. The electric car will get more interesting for BMW and it is hoping the German government and others will push this issue further (with subsidies)," Bratzel said.

Car magazines have been full of teaser pictures recently of the BMW i5, an all-electric SUV to match the Tesla Model X. BMW has yet to confirm the vehicle, which would be the third product for the "i" brand after the i3 electric city car, and the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. There is speculation too that BMW will expand its "M" sub-brand of hotted up vehicles.

"The second pillar of growth for BMW will be autonomous driving and this should bring more qualitative growth," Bratzel said.

Bratzel predicted electric car sales will start to accelerate between 2017 and 2018 with global sales reaching perhaps to three per cent by 2020.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Tesla has received 325,000 preorders in the first week for its Model 3 electric car. The starting price of the car is $35,000, and preorders cost $1,000. However, those preorders are refundable, and the company has faced delays for previous vehicles, leading to skepticism about the company's ambitions:

Especially at a time when the automobile seems to be slouching toward commodification, the sight of Tesla fans lining up at stores across the world hoping to put down deposits on a car they had never seen before was nothing short of mind-blowing. But as stunning as this feat of stunt salesmanship was, it was just that: Tesla has not actually sold any Model 3s and there are a wide range of reasons for believing that these pre-order eggs will not hatch into the chickens that Tesla is already counting. In fact, there are reasons to suggest that the entire pre-order play is all a gambit designed to boost the company's stock ahead of a much-needed return to capital markets.

The article goes on to point out Tesla's troubles in China, where speculators placed huge amounts of orders and inflated the actual demand.

Phoenix666 writes:

When we [Ars Technica] reviewed the BMW i3 back in 2014, the little rear-wheel drive city car left us quite impressed. However, the i3 has always had a couple of flaws in comparison with other electric vehicles out there; it costs too much and the range isn't very good, even if you go for the optional two-cylinder range-extending engine. It appears BMW has decided to address the latter issue, because from this summer the i3 will now come with a 33kWh battery in place of the current 22kWh unit.

[...] The new battery is 50 percent bigger, so more than 100 miles (160km) should be possible on a full charge. The gas tank for the range extender engine will also grow by 25 percent; expect to stop for gas every 75 miles if you try road-tripping. These range tweaks should help boost the i3's appeal, but before long the Bolt and Model 3 are going to make people expect 200+ miles from their EV as a bare minimum.

Happily for existing (and even potential) i3 owners, BMW says that current i3s can have the new battery retrofitted as part of a special program, although no one is saying anything about how much that might cost yet. Again, this kind of thinking is a promising sign for an industry that's never really considered upgrades as important. Tesla has excelled at pushing out new functionality to owners across the world on a regular basis, with both software upgrades and hardware retrofits, offering a better battery pack for Roadster owners in the past and underbody "armor" for the Model S fleet.

Tesla has shaken up the car industry with its award-winning electric vehicles (EVs) and supercharger network. Nearly every major brand now offers EVs or is seriously planning to offer them. A couple like Nissan and BMW have begun to build out their own charging networks. But this article highlights another way in which Tesla has re-invented the car: it gets better after you've bought it, through over-the-air software updates and battery retrofits that dramatically improve your EV's range. Will this upgradeability prove to be the "killer app" of the EV?

Original Submission

n1 writes:

Company founder and CEO Elon Musk may not mention Tesla Motors Inc's (TSLA.O) stock price when his electric car company gives its latest financial update on Wednesday, but it will be front and center for investors divided over its seemingly rich valuation.

After a rally that ended in April, Tesla's market capitalization is currently about $31 billion - equivalent to $620,000 for every car it delivered last year, or $63,000 for every car it hopes to produce in 2020.

By comparison, General Motors Co's (GM.N) $48 billion market value is equivalent to about $4,800 for every vehicle it sold last year.

Tesla's heady valuation - about 125 times the next 12 months of expected earnings - and the implication that shareholders may be overpaying for Musk's small but fast-growing luxury car company have made the stock a favorite of short sellers.

Source: Reuters

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Another data point in the conversion of our transportation fleet from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to Electric Vehicles (EVs):

Electric vehicles are making up an ever-increasing percentage of BMW's sales, both here in the US and worldwide, according to a statement released by the company on Friday. In April in the US, the BMW i3, i8, and X5 xDrive 40e accounted for just under 15 percent of all BMW passenger vehicle sales—a combined 2,572 cars out of a total of 17,786 cars sold last month.

More than half of BMW's EVs have been sold here in the US, which, along with Scandinavia and the UK, is the company's best market for hybrids and EVs. BMW's electrification strategy is a two-fold affair. There's the i sub-brand, which currently features the i3 city car and i8 sports car (two of our favorites here at Ars), and it's believed that a third i model is in the works, a crossover called the i6.

The company is also building hybrid versions of some of its regular vehicles, including the 330e, X5 xDrive40e, and now a 740e as well.

In recent news BMW also announced a joint fast-charger network with Nissan.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Investors and finanical analysts have been baffled by a $2.86 billion bid by electric car manufacturer Tesla to acquire SolarCity:

Musk, the largest shareholder of both companies, said he and Antonio Gracias, who is also a member of both boards, will recuse themselves from voting on the takeover offer. The all-stock deal is worth $26.50 to $28.50 for each SolarCity share, Tesla said. That calculates to a premium of as much as 35 percent from Tuesday's closing price. The average 12-month price target among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg is $29.82. "In my personal opinion, this is obviously something that should happen," Musk, who is chief executive officer of Tesla and chairman of SolarCity, said in a conference call. "It's a no-brainer." With 100.2 million SolarCity shares outstanding, the offer is worth as much as $2.86 billion.

[...] Tesla fell as much as 12 percent in extended trading while SolarCity rose as much as 29 percent.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Yes, the phrase used in the headline is a direct quote. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is teasing new details about the company's future, set to be announced later this week. The news may be in reaction to slipping stock prices and troubles with regulators following a recent crash:

While offering no other details, the master plan is likely a follow-up to a 2006 blog post titled "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)," in which Musk laid out his vision for Tesla, including eventual plans for the Tesla Roadster, the Model S sedan and the upcoming (and more affordable) Model 3 sedan.

It may not be a bad idea for Musk to roll out some optimistic news. In recent weeks, the electric car company has become the subject of a federal safety investigation following at least two crashes — one fatal — possibly related to its highly touted autopilot feature; Tesla has announced a drop in Model S shipments; and Musk himself has come under fire after proposing that Tesla purchase SolarCity, which he is also the chairman of, much to the chagrin of shareholders.

[...] Tesla shares are down almost 10% year-to-date, and down more than 16% in the past 12 months.

You may also be interested in this NYT editorial about "Lessons From the Tesla Crash".

Original Submission