Posts Tagged: Tesla’s

Tesla’s long-awaited Cybertruck will start at $60,990 before rebates

After years of production delays, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to a dimly-lit stage on Thursday to hand-deliver the first batch of Cybertruck EVs to their new owners. The company has also, finally announced pricing for the luxury electric truck. Prospective buyers can expect to pay anywhere from $ 60,990 to $ 100,000 MSRP (and potentially $ 11,000 less after rebates and tax credits). The company has launched an online configurator tool for those interested in placing an order of their own.   

Tesla also officially revealed the vehicle's performance specs and model options at the event. The Cybertruck's entry-level version is the $ 60,990 single-motor rear-wheel drive ($ 49,890 after "incentives" and an "est. 3-year gas savings," per the configurator). It will offer an estimated 250 miles of range and a pokey 6.5 second zero-to-60. Who knew steel sheeting would be so heavy?. It won't be released until the 2025 model year. 

The mid-level model is the $ 79,990 all-wheel drive version and sports e-motors on each axle. It weighs just over 6,600 pounds — 1,900 less than the Rivian R1S and nearly 2,500 less than the Hummer EV. It will offer 340 miles of range, a more respectable 4.1-second zero-to-60 and 600 HP with 7435 lb-ft of torque. Its 11,000-pound towing capacity is a touch more than the Ford Lighting XLT's 10,000-pound maximum.

For $ 99,990, you can buy the top of the line Cyberbeast — yes, you will have to refer to it as that in public. The Cyberbeast comes equipped with a trio of e-motors that will provide AWD handling, a 320 mile range, 2.6-second sero-to-60, a 130 MPH top speed, 845 horses and 10,296 lb-ft of torque. Despite those impressive specs, the Cyberbeast is stuck with the same 11,000 pound tow limit as the base model. 

Both the Cyberbeast and the AWD iteration will be able to carry 121 cubic feet of cargo and accommodate five adult passengers. The Cybertruck line is compatible with Tesla's supercharger network and can accept up to 250W maximum, enough to add 128 miles of range for every 15 minutes of charge time. The AWD and Cyberbeast are both currently available to order on Tesla's website, though prospective buyers will need to put down a fully-refundable $ 250 deposit upon ordering. 

Developing

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-long-awaited-cybertruck-will-start-at-60990-before-rebates-211751127.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Tesla’s Autopilot was not to blame for fatal 2019 Model 3 crash, jury finds

A California jury has found that Tesla was not at fault for a fatal 2019 crash that allegedly involved its Autopilot system, in the first US trial yet for a case claiming its software directly caused a death. The lawsuit alleged Tesla knowingly shipped out cars with a defective Autopilot system, leading to a crash that killed a Model 3 owner and severely injured two passengers, Reuters reports.

Per the lawsuit, 37-year-old Micah Lee was driving his Tesla Model 3 on a highway outside of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour when it turned sharply off the road and slammed into a palm tree before catching fire. Lee died in the crash. The company was sued for $ 400 million plus punitive damages by Lee’s estate and the two surviving victims, including a boy who was 8 years old at the time and was disemboweled in the accident, according to an earlier report from Reuters.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Tesla sold Lee defective, “experimental” software when he bought a Model 3 in 2019 that was billed to have full self-driving capability. The FSD system was and still is in beta. In his opening statement, their attorney Jonathan Michaels also said that the “excessive steering command is a known issue at Tesla.”

Tesla’s defense argued that there was no such defect, and that an analysis cited by the plaintiffs’ lawyers identifying a steering issue was actually looking for problems that were theoretically possible. A fix to prevent it from ever happening was engineered as a result of that analysis, according to the company. Tesla blamed human error for the crash, pointing to tests that showed Lee had consumed alcohol before getting in the car, and argued that there’s no certainty Autopilot was in use at the time.

The jury ultimately found there was no defect, and Tesla was cleared on Tuesday. Tesla has faced lawsuits over its Autopilot system in the past, but this is the first involving a fatality. It’s scheduled to go on trial for several others in the coming months, and today's ruling is likely to set the tone for those ahead.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teslas-autopilot-was-not-to-blame-for-fatal-2019-model-3-crash-jury-finds-210643301.html?src=rss

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Jury reduces Tesla’s $137 million racism lawsuit penalty to $3.2 million

Back in 2021, a San Francisco court ordered Tesla to pay Owen Diaz, a former Black contract worker who accused the company of enabling a racist workplace, $ 137 million in damages. It was one of the highest amounts awarded to an individual suing on the basis of discrimination, but the appeals that followed had lowered it significantly. While US District Judge William Orrick affirmed the jury's original verdict, he found the original damages awarded to Diaz "excessive" and lowered the total to $ 15 million. Now, a San Francisco federal jury has reduced the amount even further and has ordered Tesla to pay Diaz $ 3.2 million only. 

The former elevator operator at Tesla’s Fremont assembly plant rejected the $ 15 million award Orrick had proposed and instead sought for a retrial. In the latest hearing, Diaz again recounted his experiences working for Tesla, where he said he and his fellow Black workers were subjected to racial slurs. He also said that he was made to feel unsafe at work and that other workers left drawings of swastika and racist graffiti, such as Inki the Caveman, in his workspace and the company restrooms. 

Diaz's lawyers urged the jury to penalize Tesla, a company currently worth over $ 600 billion, an amount that will get its attention. But Tesla's lawyer Alex Spiro reportedly argued that Diaz should only be awarded half his salary. He apparently characterized Diaz as a liar in court, who misstated how long he worked at the automaker and who exaggerated his testimonies and the abuse he suffered to gain a bigger payout. 

We may not be seeing the end to this case, though. According to the Los Angeles Times, Diaz's lawyer believes the jury decided on awarding him only $ 3 million in punitive damages and $ 175,000 in non-economic damages because he was wrongly attacked by the defense. He said Tesla's strategy to "minimize and sanitize" worked and that he has already filed a request for a new trial due to "misconduct."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/jury-reduces-teslas-137-million-racism-lawsuit-penalty-to-32-million-060414307.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

DOJ reportedly investigating Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving claims after crashes

The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating whether Tesla has misled customers and investors by claiming that its Autopilot technology enables full-fledged self-driving capabilities. According to Reuters, the DOJ launched the probe last year following over a dozen crashes, including fatal ones, in which Autopilot was activated. Prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining if Tesla had made unsupported full self-driving claims about the technology, and they could ultimately pursue criminal charges or seek sanctions. But they could also shut the probe down without doing anything if they determine that Tesla hasn’t done anything wrong. 

Back in August, reports came out that the California DMV had filed complaints against the automaker with the California Office of Administrative Hearings. The state’s DMV had accused Tesla of using advertising language on its website for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving products that aren’t based on facts and made it seem like its vehicles are capable of fully driverless trips. One example is part of the Autopilot page on Tesla’s website that says “All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go.” In the same page, there’s a video that starts with a note that reads “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He isn’t doing anything. The car is driving itself.”

But at the same time, Tesla explicitly states in its support page that “Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel.” Those currently enabled features, the company added, “do not make the vehicle autonomous.” Its sources told Reuters that Tesla’s warnings that drivers should keep their hands on the wheel could complicate any case the DOJ may bring. 

Aside from the Justice Department, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also looking into Tesla’s Autopilot system. The agency initiated a probe in 2021 following the report of 11 crashes with parked first responder vehicles since 2018. Those crashes results in 17 injuries and one death. In June this year, the NHTSA upgraded the probe’s status and expanded it to cover almost all Tesla vehicles sold since 2014.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Bluetooth hack compromises Teslas, digital locks, and more

Security researchers have found a way to circumvent digital locks and security systems that rely on Bluetooth fobs and smartphones for authentication.
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Tesla’s deliveries increased despite supply shortages and plant closures

Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles over the first three months of 2022, the automaker announced on Saturday. “This was an exceptionally difficult quarter due to supply chain interruptions and China Zero-Covid policy,” Musk said on Twitter shortly after Tesla shared the news.

Last month saw the company suspend production at its Shanghai Gigafactory, its largest manufacturing facility, twice. Despite those hiccups, the 310,048 vehicles Tesla delivered in Q1 represent a 68 percent year-on-year increase from Q1 2021 when the company shipped approximately 184,400 cars. According to Tesla, the Model 3 and Model Y made up the majority of its deliveries in Q1 2022, with 295,324 of those cars making their way to consumers since the start of the year. Over the same time frame, the company produced 305,407 vehicles, a not insignificant feat when you consider the supply chain issues that have affected Tesla and many other automakers.  

Q1 also saw Tesla begin shipping vehicles from its $ 5.5 billion Gigafactory in Grenheide, Germany. The company plans to eventually produce 500,000 cars per year from the plant.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Tesla’s latest update turns your EV into a boombox

Your Tesla could soon broadcast your taste in music to the world — if you have the right car, at least. Electrek notes that Tesla has released its promised holiday update, and the centerpiece appears to be a Boombox mode that pumps media outside as l…
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Tesla’s ‘full self-driving’ feature is coming in subscription form

During the Q1 2020 earnings call on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system will become available as a monthly subscription later this year.Tesla has been installing the necessary hardware for its autono…
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Tesla’s Supercharger network will cover all of Europe in 2019

Elon Musk has revealed on Twitter that Tesla is planning a Supercharger expansion that will cover "100 percent of Europe" next year. "From Ireland to Kiev (Ukraine), from Norway to Turkey," he added, in response to a tweet that some parts of Ireland…
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GM’s Maven program will rent Teslas and Fords in 2019

Earlier this year, GM officially launched a program called Maven that gives people a way to earn extra money by renting out their cars. It's only open to Chevrolet-, Buick-, GMC- and Cadillac-branded vehicles, though — in other words, cars from GM's…
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Tesla’s board discussed going private before Musk’s tweets

Turns out not everyone was in the dark about Elon Musk's plans to take Tesla private. A post from the board on the electric-vehicle manufacturer's investor relations site says the idea came up last week during a board meeting. "This included discussi…
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Tesla’s mobile app can turn on top speed limits from anywhere

If you're a little worried about handing over the keys to your Tesla to a valet, then you might be tempted to engage the car's "Valet Mode," which limits the speed of the car to 70MPH and tops out the power and acceleration to just 25 percent. But th…
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Tesla’s key safety contact leaves for Waymo

Tesla's executive team isn't done with turmoil following the loss of its Autopilot chief and its engineering lead's sabbatical. The electric car maker's "primary technical contact" with American safety regulators, Matthew Schwall, has left the compa…
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Tesla’s new Roadster, and more in the week that was

Has Tesla succeeded in creating a vehicle that reacts faster than its driver? A recently-surfaced dashcam video appears to show Tesla's autopilot mode predicting an accident moments before it actually happens. It currently takes hours to charge an el…
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Tesla’s fix for Supercharger squatters is a $0.40 per minute fee

As the number of Tesla's on the road continues to increase, owners are running into a growing problem. While there are Superchargers located nationwide for them to plug in and quickly charge up, they can quickly get clogged up if one jerk leaves thei…
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Weekly Rewind: Facebook’s alleged snooping, Tesla’s new doors, coolest hotel rooms

In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories.

The post Weekly Rewind: Facebook's alleged snooping, Tesla's new doors, coolest hotel rooms appeared first on Digital Trends.

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