CEO Elon Musk wasnt kidding about Tesla releasing an important holiday software update. The automaker started pushing the update today, and its a massive one, with new voice commands, text message reading, and new Autopilot visualizations.

Last week, the CEO announced that Tesla is working on a holiday update that would include a Full Self-Driving sneak preview, new video games, and a few more things.

Those few more things are actually important features that many Tesla owners have been waiting for.

Tesla started pushing a new 2019.40.50 update to a select few owners ahead of an expected push to the wider fleet.

In the release notes, Tesla announced some phone improvements, including the ability to read and send message texts through Teslas voice command, which is something that Tesla has been lacking and owners have been asking for over the last years since Tesla doesnt have Apple Carplay or Android Auto.

Tesla wrote in the notes:

You can now read and respond to text messages using your right scroll wheel button. When a new message is received press the right scroll wheel button to have your text message read out loud and press again to respond by speaking out loud. You will also be able to view messages as they come in via the Cards section of the touchscreen.

To view messages that have been received while your phone is connected via Bluuetooth, tap the Application Launcher > Call > Messages. You can read and reply to a message by tapping an entry in the Messages list. To enable this feature, tap the Bluetooth icon on the top of the display, and enable Sync Messages. Once enabled you can also choose to play a chime whenever a new text message is received by enabling Chime on New Message.

The automaker also added the ability to see favorite phone contacts on your cars phone app.

In order for text message reading to work, Tesla notes that you need your notifications to be enabled on your phone. The company also says that it doesnt work with group texts.

With the new text reading, Tesla is also revamping its voice commands:

Voice commands have been rebuilt to understand natural language. For this initial release, we focused on commands that minimize having to touch the screen so you can keep your eyes on the road.

The company lists some examples in the release notes:

Tesla also added new Driving Visualization Improvements:

The driving visualization can now display additional objects that include stop lights, stop signs and select road markings. The stop signs and stop light visualizations are not a substitute for an attentive driver and will not stop the car. To see those additional objects in your driving visualization, tap Controls > Autopilot > Full Self Driving Visualization Preview.

It looks like its what Musk was referring to as the FSD sneak preview.

The automaker has started pushing the update to the fleet, but as usual, keep in mind that it can take days to weeks before it reaches the entire fleet.

Also, Musk said that the FSD sneak preview will only work on cars with the latest FSD computer, which means cars that we were produced since April of this year or that received the retrofit.

Here are a few more things in Teslas 2019.40.50 holiday update:

Its a bit disappointing as an FSD sneak preview.

We already knew that the new driving visualizations were coming since Tesla added stop signs and trafficlight 3D renders to its software earlier this month.

However, it kind of make sense when you think about it.

As I have been saying for a while, I see the driving visualization as some kind of confidence builder for Autopilot and eventually Teslas self-driving system.

Now that it is able to see and display traffic lights and stop signs, it will give us a sense of how it can handle intersections, which is an important step toward Teslas effort to deploy a full self-driving system.

If you get the update and have a HW3 car, please reach out (fred@9to5mac.com) with pictures or videos and your impressions. I am curious to see how accurate it is.

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Tesla releases massive new update with text message reading, Autopilot, and more - Electrek

A few years back, amid one of Tesla's periodic stock rallies, I suggested that shares could hit $400.

Didn't happen! The stock retreated and, until quite recently, failed to threaten that mark again.

But this week, Tesla surged through $400, an over-60%-improvement since September. The rally started when the company reported a surprise profit for the third quarter. And yet again, Tesla's market cap is the biggest of any US automaker (at better than $70 billion, Tesla has a big lead on No. 2 General Motors' $50 billion).

It remains to be seen whether Tesla shares remain at this level, testing that $400 mark, or whether they plunge or climb still higher. With the fourth quarter nearly wrapped, analysts expect another profit, so the stage is set for the rally to extend early next year.

Volatility has always defined Tesla trading, but this rally has been a pretty smooth ascent. Could the era of wild swings in Tesla's stock price be coming to an end?

Let's dig into some charts:

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These charts show how the era of rampant Tesla stock volatility could be coming to an end - Business Insider

Elon Musk attends the groundbreaking ceremony of the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, east China, on January 7, 2019.

Ding Ting | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

China's industry ministry has put Tesla Model 3 cars that are built inside the country on a list of vehicles recommended for government subsidies, according to a Reuters report on Friday.

Reuters, citing a document published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the level of subsidy that Tesla would receive was not yet clear. Two types of the Model 3 were on the recommendation list for new energy vehicle subsidies, it said.

Tesla shares rose 1.5% in extended hours trade on the back of the news.

The Chinese city of Shanghai is home to Tesla's Gigafactory 3, where groundbreaking on the facility took place in January 2019. In its third-quarter update toward the end of October, Tesla said trial production of the Model 3 in Shanghai had started ahead of schedule.

Elon Musk's firm noted that the Chinese facility was, in terms of capital expenditure per unit of capacity, approximately 65% less expensive to construct than its U.S.-based Model 3 production system.

Worldwide electric car sales hit 1.98 million in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with global stock reaching 5.12 million.

China's electric car market is the biggest on the planet a little over 1 million electric cars were sold there last year the IEA says, with Europe and the U.S. following behind.

Tesla is one of several automotive firms attempting to make inroads into the Chinese market.

Just last week, the BMW Group, together with China's Great Wall Motor, announced it would construct a plant to produce fully-electric models of the Mini car brand.

The facility's construction phase is slated to take place between 2020 and 2022, and it will be located in the city of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, the BMW Group said last week.

The two firms have set up a joint venture called Spotlight Automotive Limited and the combined investment in the plant will amount to approximately 650 million euros ($721 million).

Once up and running, the factory line will have the capacity to produce as many as 160,000 vehicles annually.

Originally posted here:

Tesla cars built in China have been recommended for government subsidies, report says - CNBC

Like Apple fans before them, Tesla aficionados have gained a reputation for intense obsession. But how does an electric car company produce so many enthusiasts who, in turn, produce their own contentlike podcasts and YouTube videosabout the company?

In 2015, Ryan McCaffrey, Executive Editor at IGN, started Ride The Lightning, which he labeled as an unofficial Tesla podcast. As he discusses in the first episode, McCaffrey started the podcast becausedespite talking his friends' and family's ears off about the car makerhe still had more to say. He looked for Tesla podcasts, but there weren't many options at the time.

That's no longer the case. Castbox.fm estimates that across all podcast platforms, nearly half of the available Tesla podcasts launched in the last year, and that Tesla podcasts have seen millions of downloads. On YouTube, Tesla content is everywhere, with topics like AutoPilot, software updates, maintenance, and track racing a constant source of intrigue.

"The Tesla community is growing, and so more and more people are developing that enthusiasm," McCaffrey says. "And I think there's still a feeling that we're at the very beginning of all of thisthat Tesla is a little secret club that it's super fun to welcome new people into. The community's shared enthusiasm is one of my favorite parts of Tesla ownership."

McCaffrey now has more than 200 episodes of Ride The Lightning under his belt, and counts Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen among his guests. But while fast cars and Tesla technology are the genesis for most of the intrigue and interest in the company, they aren't the only areas of interest.

"I'm a technology and business enthusiast first," says Rob Maurer of the Tesla Daily podcast. "These interests, unsurprisingly, led to a fascination with Tesla that really began in early 2013. The stock caught my attention during its huge rise that year."

(Tesla Cybertruck)

Maurer's podcast is heavy on the investment and business aspects of Teslaand there's certainly a lot to talk about there. Glowing headlines and enthusiasm about new products like the Cybertruck go hand in hand with controversies, from Musk's battles with the SEC to production delays.

Fans appear undeterred. Tesla Daily has more than 600 Patreon supporters who contribute more than $5,000 a month. "I'm most proud of the credibility I've built over the last couple of years by thoroughly researching and relentlessly fact-checking," says Maurer. "There's a lot of misinformation out there these days."

For Michael Bodner, Tesla isn't his job, just how he spends a lot of his free time. During the day he's a director of operations for a residential property management company, but in his spare time he's taken to creating YouTube videos about his Tesla Model 3, including upgrades and maintenance.

Bodner didn't have much interest in watching YouTube, let alone making his own videos, but videos posted to his Teslatunity channel are closing in on a million views in just about a year.

"I filmed how amazing Autopilot was and needed a place to put it, so I could share it on the forum, so I just threw it on YouTube," Bodner says. "The next video was about how I wash my carthere were a lot of questions about the 2-bucket method so I thought I would share. That video got such a good response that I realized something was there and just kept putting out more content."

His answer to why he loves Tesla cars? "Ahhh that question seems so easy and yet so hard at the same time, I don't think it's just one thing, but all things."

Ryan McCaffrey says his enthusiasm started when he got to drive the original Roadster in 2009 and fell in love with the car and the technology.

"There are a lot of great cars out there, but none of them are a genuine paradigm shift compared to everything you've ever driven in your entire life the way a Tesla is," McCaffrey says. "The fact that Tesla as a company leans into the 'fun' aspects of the car, toothe fart sounds, the Spaceballs references, the Easter eggs, video gamesmakes it feel like Tesla itself is having as much fun making these cars as we are driving them."

Tesla Daily's Rob Maurer agrees. "The way I describe what I do to friends is to say, 'If I'd have been doing this 10-15 years ago, I'd have been talking about Apple," he said. "That's the sort of intense consumer interest Tesla has been able to generate and the only other company that has captured my interest at a level similar to Tesla. People love cars (especially fast cars). People love technology. I'd be hard pressed to come up with an overlap that could generate more interest. Then you throw Elon Musk in the mix."

Editor's Note: PCMag and IGN are both owned by Ziff Davis.

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What Drives the Tesla Superfans? - PCMag

The biggest compromise one makes when buying an electric vehicle is having to plug it in to charge it up, which even at the fastest chargers takes significantly more time than pumping a tank of gas. There's only so much social media scrolling we can take before we're bored out of our minds, but luckily our new long-term Tesla Model 3 is equipped with several entertainment features to help while away time at the local Supercharger.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

All of the car's entertainment features are part of the major version 10 software update that Tesla rolled out in September and are locked out when the car is driving. We updated our Model 3 just after delivery and can now choose to catch up on our latest Netflix or Hulu obsessions, check out the latest ASMR video on YouTube, or indulge in one of the onboard arcade games, which are controlled by the car's steering wheel and other controls. There's even a crackling fireplace video if you decide you want to relax or nap while waiting on that full battery. And, at least temporarily, the streaming-video services can be used with the car's built-in data connection. However that may go away as Tesla fulfills its promise to provide free WiFi at every Supercharger location.

"It's the perfect activity to keep me busy while Supercharging," said Stephanie Kowall, owner of a 2018 Model 3. Kowall charges her Model 3 at a charging station near Los Angeles about once per week and prefers watching shows over playing games.

"I'm generally not super into video games, so I'm probably not the target audience for that feature," she says. Her partner, Stan Chibashov, says the games just aren't as appealing as the streaming video options, but he admits he has dabbled with the Lunar Lander game.

For those concerned that utilizing the Model 3's entertainment features will extend charging times, there's no noticeable increase as the power draw for these features is minuscule relative to the firehose of energy being pumped into the car.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

Users might end up spending a little extra time at the Supercharger for another reason, though. Kowall admitted to us that she upped her maximum charge cutoff point recently to justify waiting around to finish an episode of Netflix's hit show Queer Eye.

In our experience, Supercharging the Model 3 from a nearly dead battery takes a little more than an hour, which is plenty of time to kick back and disconnect for a little bit. Plus, it's great to know we're not the only ones who find the features so useful and that real-life Tesla owners are embracing the entertainment options as ways to pass the time.

Originally posted here:

Our Tesla Model 3 Is Entertaining in More Than One Way - Car and Driver

Workers walk outside the Tesla Inc. Gigafactory in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019.

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Morgan Stanley increased its "bull case" for Tesla to $500 a share on Thursday, in the firm's calculation of a best case scenario for the company's value if Cybertruck is successful and the new factory in China exceeds expectations.

"In an optimistic scenario," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said he sees Tesla selling 100,000 Cybertrucks by the end of 2024, at an average price of $50,000. Additionally, Jonas believes Tesla's Gigafactory in China could perform better than anticipated and reach a production rate of 450,000 units per year by 2024/2025.

Tesla's stock rose 0.7% in after hours trading from its close of $330.37 a share. Morgan Stanley's new bull case represents a 50% increase from Tesla's current stock price. Jonas is widely followed on Wall Street as he was one of the earliest bullish analysts on Tesla, as well as the market for electric vehicles.

But Morgan Stanley's "base case" price target of $250 a share remains unchanged, as well as its equalweight rating on Tesla.

"To be clear, we are not bullish on Tesla longer term, especially as, over time, we believe Tesla could be perceived by the market more and more like a traditional auto OEM [original equipment manufacturer]; we are prepared for a potential surge in sentiment through 1H20 but question the sustainability," Jonas said.

In essence, Morgan Stanley could see Tesla's stock going in any direction. The firm has a $10 "bear case" on Tesla, as Jonas earlier this year cited the difficulty of valuing Elon Musk's company.

"We continue to believe Tesla is fundamentally overvalued, but potentially strategically undervalued," Jonas said in a June note.

In his latest report, Jonas reiterated that his base case represents the view that Tesla is not really a high-flying Silicon Valley tech stock any more.

"We are cautious on Tesla's prospects in China, given geopolitical/CFIUS concerns, we believe that the Model Y will likely cannibalize a significant amount of demand for the Model 3, and see Berlin Giga as a first step for Tesla to ultimately be seen by investors as an auto company rather than a high growth tech firm, with valuation reflecting that at some point," Jonas said.

CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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A top Tesla analyst raised his 'bull case' for the stock to $500, or 50% higher from here - CNBC

Photos from a collision on I-95 in Norwalk on Saturday, Dec. 7, in which a driver struck a police cruiser and a disabled vehicle with his Tesla, which he claimed was on auto-pilot, according to state police.

Photos from a collision on I-95 in Norwalk on Saturday, Dec. 7, in which a driver struck a police cruiser and a disabled vehicle with his Tesla, which he claimed was on auto-pilot, according to state police.

Photo: Courtesy Of The CT State Police

Photos from a collision on I-95 in Norwalk on Saturday, Dec. 7, in which a driver struck a police cruiser and a disabled vehicle with his Tesla, which he claimed was on auto-pilot, according to state police.

Photos from a collision on I-95 in Norwalk on Saturday, Dec. 7, in which a driver struck a police cruiser and a disabled vehicle with his Tesla, which he claimed was on auto-pilot, according to state police.

Police: Driver claims Tesla on auto-pilot when hitting 2 cars on I-95

NORWALK Connecticut State Police were stopped behind a disabled motor vehicle in the center lane of I-95 northbound near Exit 15 in Norwalk early Saturday, waiting for a tow truck to arrive, when an oncoming car struck a cruiser, a release said.

The driver claimed his car, a Tesla, was on auto-pilot when the events occurred, and that he was checking on his dog in the back seat in the moments before the crash, according to state police, who posted about the collision on Facebook.

After striking the cruiser, the driver hit the disabled vehicle and continued at a slow speed until a trooper stopped him several hundred feet ahead, the post said.

Teslas website says cars with autopilot features still need drivers.

Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.

Two state troopers were at the scene of Saturdays collision as it occurred, with their emergency lights on as they monitored the disabled vehicle, according to the release.

Police issued the Tesla operator a misdemeanor summons for reckless driving and reckless endangerment, they said in the release.

Regardless of your vehicles capabilities, when operating a vehicle your full attention is required at all times to ensure safe driving, the post continued, noting that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet designated any vehicles for sale capable of fully automated driving.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com

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Police: Driver claims Tesla on auto-pilot when hitting 2 cars on I-95 - Thehour.com

Tesla CEO Elon Musk views the new Tesla Model Y at its unveiling in Hawthorne, California on March 14, 2019.

Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

Tesla is poised to start deliveries of its crossover SUV, the Model Y, in the first quarter of 2020, according to research out Tuesday from Deutsche Bank.

If Tesla could begin Model Y deliveries in the first-quarter of 2020, that would be a full season ahead of CEO Elon Musk's promised schedule. Early production and deliveries would be a symbolic win for the company, which has often failed to meet self-imposed delivery deadlines.

On its third-quarter earnings call, Musk told shareholders:

"We're also ahead of schedule on Model Y preparations in Fremont, and we've moved the launch timeline from full 2020 to summer 2020. There may be some room for improvement there, but we're confident about summer 2020." He added, "I've actually recently driven the Model Y release candidate and think it's going to be an amazing product and be very well received. I think it's quite likely to -- just my opinion, but I think it will outsell Model S, Model X and Model 3 combined."

However, he declined to share further details, like how many pre-orders had come in for the Model Y, or whether or not operations at the company's battery plant outside of Reno, Nevada, were also on track enable the earlier launch.

On Tuesday, analysts at Deutsche Bank cited reports from Tesla suppliers in Taiwan who told a newspaper there they experienced "accelerating orders" for parts that would go into the Model Y, as well as Tesla's forthcoming commercial truck, the Semi.

Deutsche Bank's Senior Autos & Auto Technology Analyst, Emmanuel Rosner, wrote:

"Reports from suppliers of Model Y parts in Taiwan are claiming that Tesla is requesting that their orders be delivered much earlier than expected... The Taiwanese suppliers are now indicating that the Tesla is accelerating orders to enter mass production a full six months ahead of the original schedule. This would mean that the Model Y could be available to the public in the first quarter of next year. The suppliers additionally claimed that Tesla Semi part orders are being accelerated as well, with the truck set to be released in limited quantity sometime next year."

Musk has promised or is taking pre-orders and deposits for more products than Tesla is able to produce at scale currently, including the Model Y, Semi, the recently unveiled Cybertruck, Solarglass rooftops, an all-electric ATV, and full-self driving software.

Follow @CNBCtech on Twitter for the latest tech industry news.

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Tesla is poised to deliver Model Y crossover in first quarter of 2020, says Deutsche Bank - CNBC

Whirlpool's Scan-to-Cook technology

Ethan Miller | Getty Images

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday:

Morgan Stanley raised its bull case on the stock and said that scenario could play out if the Cybertruck is a success and a more positive scenario in China comes to pass.

"We raise our bull case to $500 to account for the newly unveiled Cybertruck & a more optimistic scenario in China, reflecting higher than expected volumes & our work around TSLA profitability in the region. We are prepared for a potential surge in sentiment in 1H20 but question the sustainability."

Note: This call occurred after the bell on Thursday. Read more about this call here.

Goldman initiated the multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances and said it was at an "inflection point" due to increased pricing among other things.

"We believe Whirlpool could be reaching an inflection point as it benefits from increased pricing and promotional discipline, lower input costs, and continued consumer spending. In our view, this should increasingly be reflected in its North American margin profile while it also realizes improvements from its EMEA turnaround. We believe this discipline will help Whirlpool mitigate some of the volatility inherent in its consumer driven end markets. Although cyclicality is inevitable, consolidated results could become more consistent in time."

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Here are the biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Tapestry, Anthem, Whirlpool & more - CNBC

Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: The average lifespan of a car is 150,000 miles. Your average driver drives 13,500 miles every year, meaning a car lasts about 11 years. Now, imagine you had a car that could last 400,000 miles. 800,000? How about 1 million miles? Your car could last an entire lifetime. But a million-mile battery is the stuff of fiction... isn't it?

In April, Elon Musk announced Teslas would soon be powered by a battery with a lifespan of more than 1 million miles.

Elon Musk: "The current battery pack is about maybe 300,000 to 500,000 miles. The new battery pack that'll probably go into production next year is designed explicitly for a million miles of operation."

Narrator: In September, a team of battery researchers at Dalhousie University, with support from Tesla, published a paper that describes a very special kind of battery - a battery that it says "should be able to power "an electric vehicle for over 1 million miles." Soon after, Tesla filed a patent for a battery with a similar cell composition to the one in the paper. Many of the Dalhousie researchers, including Jeff Dahn, Xiaowei Ma, and Stephen Glazier, are listed as inventors. So, is this the battery Musk needs? The paper presents the results of years of testing on a new battery cell formula, or chemistry. And the team says the results from tests on the battery are "far superior" than other lithium-ion batteries. So, what's so good about it?

Battery science is an exercise in experimentation. The right tweak in the combination and efficiency of the elements commonly used for batteries could yield big results. In addition to a winning combination, the million-mile battery uses one large crystal instead of many small crystals. This single-crystal nanostructure is less likely to develop cracks when the battery is charging. Cracks cause a decrease in the lifetime and performance of the battery. How'd the new design do? Well, the life of a battery is measured in discharge cycles. Using an amount equal to 100% of the battery's charge is one cycle. Where a typical lithium-ion battery could give you only 1,000 to 2,000 discharge cycles, tests showed the million-mile battery had 95% of its life left after 1,000 discharge cycles and about 90% after 4,000.

You're probably thinking: "That's awesome!" "We've got a great battery here." And you're right. This is an awesome battery. But we're not going to see this version of the battery in a Tesla.

There is one major thing Tesla would have to sort out before it can use a battery like this in its cars. This cell chemistry uses a large amount of cobalt. Cobalt, a popular element in battery development, carries inherent challenges. One, cobalt is finite and running out. So it's very expensive. Two, mining cobalt is hazardous and some cobalt mines have exploited children for labor. Tesla is trying to eliminate cobalt from its batteries entirely.

So, if we don't have a viable battery here, what's the significance of the battery in the paper? Well, it shows that we're close to obtaining a battery that lasts a million miles and is compatible for use in Teslas, one that is cheaper and probably contains less cobalt. A major announcement is on the horizon. Specifically, we're waiting on Tesla's battery and drivetrain investor day, which has been pushed back to early 2020.

The paper and patent represent a big advancement in battery tech and are undoubtedly a preface to the actual million-mile battery composition that will land itself in Teslas in the coming years.

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Here's how the million-mile battery could lead to Teslas lasting a lifetime - Business Insider

Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk stands in front of the shattered windows of the newly unveiled all-electric battery-powered Tesla's Cybertruck at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California on November 21, 2019.

FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP | Getty Images

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday:

Citi kept its sell rating on Tesla but raised its target price and said it saw improved free cash flow.

"We're also introducing 2022 estimates and expanding our valuation framework to consider 2022E multiples. Our 2019-20 EPS estimates rise reflecting the Q3 beat and expected Model Y pull-forward. Our 2021E EPS declines somewhat mostly on below-the-line items. We're also introducing 2022E EPS of $13.33. Our price target rises to $222 from $191 on slight improvements to our probably-weighted terminal value approach. Our full bull case / moderate bull case / full bear base probabilities improve to 10/55/35 from prior 5/55/40, in order to reflect Tesla's recently improved FCF generation and the uptick in auto gross margin."

BMO said after the global semiconductor company's earnings report that it didn't find the risk/reward "compelling" anymore.

"With the shares within striking distance of our target price, and with the opportunity in communications well understood and discounted in the current share price, we find MRVL reasonably valued with a balanced risk/reward profile. We are thus lowering our rating to Market Perform from Outperform."

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Here are the biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Target, Denny's & more - CNBC

Amid public and media attention, a woman identified as a person of interest surrendered Wednesday in the case of a father of four struck and killed by a rented Tesla that left the scene and was later abandoned.

Vanessa Gutierrez, 35, walked into the lobby of LAPD's Central Division station Wednesday afternoon and was booked on suspicion of felony hit and run, according to Det. Moses Castillo.

The surrender came 13 days after the collision on Olympic Boulevard west of downtown Los Angeles hospitalized Emilio Perez, 34, with a severe brain injury from which he did not recover. He died on Thanksgiving Day.

Per his wishes, his organs were harvested for transplants.

Investigators located the Tesla, and found video they made public of a woman covering it up, before leaving in another vehicle.

"Gutierrez could not take it anymore," said Det. Castillo, who believes the woman's conscience compelled her to surrender.

At this point in the investigation, it appears to Castillo that Gutierrez was not criminally liable for the impact itself, but faces prosecution for leaving the scene without stopping to help.

Police are still seeking another person of interest in the case.

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Woman Surrenders in Rented Tesla Hit-and-Run Crash That Killed Father of Four - NBC Southern California

Before the reveal of Tesla's outrageous Cybertruck, the company's head designer was known for elegance and restraint.

Franz von Holzhausen's calling card was that at Tesla he hadn't created wild, futuristic vehicles that evoked spaceships or impossible constructions of curves and contorted lines. The Model S in particular was a subdued masterpiece that's held up fantastically well since its introduction in 2012. It was a perfectly normal-looking all-electric sedan that nonetheless made you want to keep looking at it. It should have been boring, but it wasn't. It was captivating.

Few car designers have achieved this: Alec Issigonis with the original Mini, Malcolm Sayer with the Jaguar E-Type, Henrik Fisker with the Aston Martin DB9.

When Tesla rolled out its new Roadster a few years ago, you could see von Holzhausen extending himself but not going crazy.

Likewise with the Model Y crossover, which very clearly represented von Holzhausen sticking to the core visual vocabulary he had made into his own language.

But the Cybertruck wow! No one expected anything even remotely like it from the dignified von Holzhausen. Though the design is controversial, I think it's a wonderful move for Tesla and for von Holzhausen. The brand was running the risk of falling into a rut. In the car business, there's a simple dictum that says it all: "Show them the car."

What that means is that the physical fact and impression of the vehicle is the fundamental. If people don't respond to your design, positively or negatively, then you've failed.

So the Cybertruck is a breakthrough for von Holzhausen. Here's why:

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Why the Cybertruck is a breakthrough for Tesla and designer Franz von Holzhausen - Business Insider

An analysis of the Tesla Cybertrucks total cost of ownership versus the Ford F-150 shows that it could save owners almost $20,000 over five years.

Before unveiling the Cybertruck, CEO Elon Musksaid that theTesla Cybertruck would cost less than $50,000 and have better specs than the Ford F-150, which is a top competitor Tesla is going after with its new electric pickup truck.

He delivered on that with two versions of the Cybertruck starting lower than $50,000 and the specs being extremely competitive with the F-150.

But where the Cybertruck really shines financially is not only at the sticker price, but with its total cost of ownership.

Ben Sullins from Teslanomics did the math and made a full total cost of ownership over five years comparison between the Tesla Cybertruck and the Ford F-150.

He came to the conclusion that the Cybertruck is about $19,000 cheaper than the F-150 over a five-year period when owned in California and Texas:

Sullins tried to be as fair as possible with all the different variables that affect the cost of ownership, and he admits that its not a perfect comparison, especially when it comes to insurance and projected depreciation or repairs.

He used a Ford F-150 Lariat, which Edmunds ranks as the best-value F-150, and configured it as an AWD and SuperCrew in order to compare it to the 6-seater AWD Cybertruck Dual Motor.

The Ford F-150s MSRP is $51,775 versus $49,900 for the Tesla Cybertruck.

Thats pretty close, but when you add up all the costs over five years, the Cybertruck ends up much cheaper:

Sullins used average gas and electricity prices in California and Texas, but theres also the potential for an even greater difference if owners use variable rates to charge at night, or even better, if they have solar power and charge their vehicle with electricity they produce themselves.

Also, it doesnt account for EV incentives, because its unclear what will be available by the time the Cybertruck hits the market.

In Canada, which is an important market for pickup trucks, Cybertruck might be eligible for some subsidies if Tesla takes a similar price structure approach as it did for the Model 3.

Thats a huge difference in price, and I also happen to think that it is somewhat conservative.

In markets where electricity is cheaper and where customers combine the Cybertruck with a solar installation, it will be much cheaper.

Especially in Quebec, where electricity is about $0.09 per kWh, it will be massively less expensive than a gasoline-powered truck like the F-150.

If it also happens to be eligible for EV incentives, which can add up to $13,000 in Quebec, the Cybertruck would make a killing.

But it depends on the price in Canadian dollars since there are MSRP restrictions to get access to incentives.

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Tesla Cybertruck is almost $20,000 cheaper than Ford F-150 over 5 years - Electrek

Black Friday shopping lines werent the only queues frustrating people this past weekend. A number of Tesla drivers took to social media to vent about extremely crowded Supercharger stations that turned a promised fast stop into an hours-long slog to recharge during one of the year's busiest travel times. With Model 3 mass production in full swing, there are now well over 400,000 Teslas on American roads, and it appears that growth is exposing the Supercharger network's pain points in high-traffic times like this past weekend.

One Facebook clip shows a line measuring roughly a quarter mile in length, consisting of 50-odd Teslas waiting at a Supercharger in Kettleman City, California, just off Interstate 5. To be fair, the station's popularity is compounded by its location about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but even its 40 stalls aren't enough to accommodate the increased demand, especially when all that simultaneous recharging lowers the speed for everyone. The video's caption"When you regret your Tesla"has got to ring true for some of these drivers. Or maybe a modified version: When you regret bringing your Tesla.

Another video shared to YouTube detailed a similar situation on Thanksgiving Day around 5 p.m. in San Luis Obispo, California. Although it's a bit milder, with about 15 Teslas waiting to charge, it still led to an hours-long wait for some drivers.

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More Teslas on the Road Meant Hours-Long Supercharger Lines Over Thanksgiving - The Drive

A 35-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a Pico-Union hit-and-run crash that killed a father of four, Los Angeles Police Department officials said Wednesday.

Vanessa Gutierrez is shown in a photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department on Dec. 4, 2019.

Vanessa Gutierrez surrendered to police about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.

She was previously identified as a person of interest in the Nov. 21 incident that left the victim, Emilio Perez, 34, brain-dead.

Perez died from his injuries a week later on Thanksgiving, according to LAPD.

The victim was walking in the area of Olympic Boulevard and Lake Street at 10:45 p.m. when he was stuck by a white Tesla and thrown about 50 feet.

The driver left the scene and did not stop to help, police said.

The damaged vehicle was found covered up in the 1800 block of South Saint Andrews Place after authorities received a tip. Surveillance video showed a woman covering the Tesla before being picked up by a person in a black car.

Emilio Perez, 34, is seen at the hospital after a Nov. 21, 2019, hit-and-run collision in Pico-Union. (Credit: Los Angeles Police Department)

Investigators determined that the vehicle was a rental and were able to track it to a business, which helped them identify Gutierrez as a person of interest.

If she had remained at the scene, this would have been investigated as a traffic collision, Detective Moses Castillo said in a tweet showing a photo of Perez.

In another tweet, Castillo said police hope to identify and find the driver of the black vehicle that was seen picking Gutierrez up after the suspect abandoned the damaged Tesla.

Destini Williams, who is in her 30s, was also identified as a person of interest. Police did not elaborate on Williams role, or whether she is in custody.

Perez was described by police as being homeless, and investigators said his family didnt find out about the crash until days later. They searched for the victim at local hospitals for days before finding him.

Many of Perezs organs were harvested to be donated, Castillo told KTLA after the victim died.

A Tesla believed to be linked to a hit-and-run was recovered in Harvard Heights on Nov. 22, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)

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Woman Arrested as Suspected Tesla Driver Who Killed Father of 4 in Pico-Union Hit-and-Run - KTLA Los Angeles

For all the crap we give Tesla, they rightfully deserve to be lauded for the Supercharger network of fast-charging stations. You want to drive across the country in your electric car? Easy peasy, thanks to the ability to quick charge up to about an 80% tank of electron juice in about 20 minutes. Unless you and some of the hundreds of thousands of other Tesla owners want to use the exact same Supercharger station at the exact same time.

Ive written whole rants on the topic, but I really do love the Supercharger system. While companies like GM twiddle their thumbs and pen useless op-eds for CNN wondering who, WHO, could possibly build the infrastructure their cars require for them, Tesla just went out and did it. The freedom the literally thousands of Superchargers enables is why, for all of Elons inanity, if I was in the market for an expensive electric car at the moment, Id probably get a Tesla over anything else.

But literally thousands of Superchargers isnt enough. Its not enough for the millions of cars Tesla itself wants to build, and other automakers are still playing catchup, let alone coming close to the number of Superchargers that exist.

Basically, its going to take some brave corporations millions, if not billions, of dollars, to go ahead and start building quick-charging stations on the scale that we have gas stations now.

Until then, well get scenes like this in high-Tesla-ownership areas, shot by a reader named Steve at the San Luis Obispo, California, Supercharger station on Thanksgiving Day:

Build a big restaurant and a Quick-E Mart and an arcade and whatever the hell it is people use to kill 20 minutes, and youll make a killing yourself.

Oh hell, Ill do it. Anyone got a couple billion?

UPDATE 12/2/2019 3:35 PM EST: We spoke over email to Nika, a Tesla Model 3 owner who stopped by the same San Luis Obispo Supercharger station on Saturday night. At approximately 6:30 local time that evening, she said that she had been waiting for well over an hour, with dozens of cars still waiting ahead of her in line.

When she was finally able to plug in, the Supercharger itself was charging at some un-super speeds, with a photo she provided showing a recharge rate of 56 miles of range per hour of charging (more typical Supercharger speeds, in my own personal experience, run into the 300 mi/hour range).

Nearly 20 minutes after she began charging at the Supercharger, Nika said that one of Teslas mobile Supercharging units arrived to help alleviate the line.

But 40 minutes after that update, Nika said that the Supercharger she was charging at died, leaving her Model 3 with a 43 percent charge.Someone is trying to fix it, but damn, this is the worst travel experience so far, Nika wrote. At least my car and the car next to me got the same error message, explaining what a Supercharger failure looks like. A Tesla staffer managed to get the Supercharger back up and running, but Nika showed us a photo of her car reporting an additional two hours to charge:

Even still, Nika said that her Model 3 is a great car, but we should have driven our Mazda for this weekend.

Weve reached out to Tesla for comment, and will update when we hear back.

H/t to Steve!

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Here's The Main Problem With Tesla's Supercharger Network - Jalopnik

Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduces the Tesla Cybertruck at the Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, ... [+] California on November 21, 2019.

It was the lone automotive debut that singlehandedly overshadowed the entirety of the L.A. Auto Show last week: Teslas Cybertruck.

For those living under a rock, this was the steampunk-style debut of a wild all-electric wedge of a truck, an evening event not affiliated with the auto show itself. The reveal was awash in heavy strobe lights, fog machines, and on-stage theatrics by Elon himself: after watching Teslas design chief shatter two copies of windows that were supposed to be unbreakable, a frustrated Musk let out an understandable-but-also-live-streamed Oh my f***ing God before joking that the electric automaker would Fix it in post.

The backside of the Tesla Cybertruck, showing its enclosed bed.

The Cybertruck is easily the most polarizing creation of Teslas to date, a trait Musk forewarned us about and which was likely the point. Though Teslas stock closed the Friday after the debut down more than six percent from its close on Thursday before the reveal took place, the media buzz and subsequent 200,000 claimed deposits ($100 each, fully refundable) more than made up for any stock price loss.

Setting aside serious questions about the Cybertrucks crash-test and rollover worthiness, the legality of its lighting design, where Tesla would physically build it, and even how it plans on making that exoskeleton (Musk himself admitted the process doesnt exist yet), Tesla says production begins in late 2021.

By that time, the Cybertruck wont be the only EV pickup in town. In fact, there will be a handful arriving by then or shortly thereafter, many of which will fall under the burgeoning lifestyle truck movement.

Heres a look at the all-electric competition the Cybertruck will face:

Rivian R1T:

The Rivian R1T starts at $69,000 and is due by the end of 2020.

Sitting closer to the luxury end of the EV truck spectrum is Rivians R1T, aimed at the well-heeled outdoorsy type. If the Rivian name rings a bell, its likely because you heard it uttered with Amazon and Ford, two behemoths who have invested in Rivian $700 million and $500 million, respectively. Rivian has also picked up another $350 million from Cox Automotive, the parent company of entities including Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader.com.

All that cash is going to the production of the R1T (truck) and its sister SUV the R1S by 2020 or 2021. The R1T starts at a cool $70,000 before any tax incentives and will come with one of three different battery capacities, the largest promises as much as 750 horsepower and more than 400 miles of range.

Bollinger B2:

The Bollinger B2 will start at $125,000 and will feature a host of innovative, off-road-oriented ... [+] features.

If the Rivians price tag is too pedestrian for you, consider the $125,000 Bollinger B2. This (huge) brick-shaped technological wonder gives you plenty in return for its six-figure asking price. Things you never knew you needed in an EV truck, like a trick hydropneumatic suspension that modulates body roll not unlike the setups in trick supercars, a flip-down rear cabin wall and removable seats for full bed-to-cab access, DC fast charging, and portal axles (a trick off-road vehicles use to boost ground clearance and reduce torque on various drivetrain components, allowing for the use of lighter parts...Ive totally lost you havent I?).

Range is pegged at around 200 miles. Look for the lower-volume Bollinger B2 (and its platform-mate, the B1 SUV) to start arriving in customer hands in 2021.

Ford F-150:

An all-electric Ford F-150 prototype pulls a train of rail cars weighing over one million pounds in ... [+] a July 2019 publicity effort.

Ford has already changed the perception of how you could power a full-size truck once, so dont count them out to do it again. Two generations of F-150 ago, Ford started putting its EcoBoost turbocharged six-cylinder engines in high trim levels that had been dominated by V8 for eons. Critics scoffed that buyers would never make the leap; these days, 62 percent of F-150s come with EcoBoost engines, and now General Motors and Ram offer downsized engines.

The current generation of F-150 is reaching the end of its lifecycle; testing of the new generation set for 2021 is already well underway, and Ford has made it clear it will come in all-electric and hybrid variants.

Despite Fords tie-up with Rivian, its going it alone for this F-150. The automaker has been mum on the F-150 EVs specs, but it did release a video of an EV prototype towing a train of rail cars that weighed over one million pounds.

GM electric truck:

This, but electric? There are rumors that General Motors may revive the Hummer name as an ... [+] all-electric truck brand. Regardless of the name, GM has said an EV truck would arrive in 2021.

Remember the Hummer? Most drivers of Earth-friendly EVs would rather not recall the days when these leviathans roamed freely in grocery store parking lots nationwide. Ironically, there are rumors that General Motors could resurrect the Hummer name for its upcoming all-electric pickup. Or they could capitalize on the immense popularity of the Chevy Silverado and just make an EV version of that.

Regardless of the name on the tailgate, GMs CEO Mary Barra announced (on the same day as the Tesla Cybertruck reveal) that the all-electric truck would land in showrooms by the fall of 2021. Even better news for the green truck fans in the audience? The unnamed model from the unknown brand will actually be the first in a line of all-electric trucks and SUVs from GM.

Lordstown Endurance:

The Lordstown Endurance is due at the end of 2020 and will have a range of around 260 miles.

Perhaps the least-well-known model on this list is the Lordstown Endurance. Yes, thats the same Lordstown that caught President Trumps attention a year ago when G.M. said it planned to close its plant in this Ohio town, citing low demand for the Chevy Cruze compact hatchback and sedan it built there. Trump, in a phone call with G.M.s Barra in May, confirmed that G.M. planned to sell the plant to an EV automaker.

After several months and G.M.s contentious strike in which keeping the plant open and run by G.M. was a central issue the automaker did indeed close Lordstown. It sold the facility to newly-christened Lordstown Motors.

Details on the EV truck are scarce, but the Endurance does promise 260 miles of range, a starting price of around $52,000, and deliveries starting towards the end of 2020.

See the article here:

Teslas Cybertruck Will Face These Five Electric Pickups in 2021 - Forbes

The unveiling of Teslas Cybertruck last week was full of surprises, but none more shocking than the moment when lead designer Franz von Holzhausen smashed two of the vehicles armor glass windows onstage with a metal ball. It certainly wasnt the result CEO Elon Musk was expecting, who could be heard muttering oh my fucking god under his breath before being forced to complete his presentation in front of the fractured panes.

But Musk says he knows what went wrong, and explained things on Twitter. Right before the metal ball test, von Holzhausen smacked the door with a sledgehammer on stage to prove its durability (and unlike the glass, it was fine), and Musk says this impact cracked base of glass, which is why the windows subsequently smashed when hit by the ball.

This seems plausible, especially as Musk also shared a slow motion video of von Holzhausen performing the same exact test before the event, with the ball bouncing harmlessly off the window. The combined impacts likely weakened the glass, setting the stage for the eventual smash. (Though why the back window broke as well isnt clear: the passenger door didnt get whomped by the sledgehammer.)

At any rate, the smashed glass was just one moment in an event which gave viewers plenty to talk about without the on-stage mishaps. The divisive design and impressive specs of the Cybertruck have caught the worlds attention, and since the unveiling Musk has been drip-feeding bits of information on Twitter to keep people engaged.

Solar panels on the roof that charge the car as it drives? Were doing it, says Musk. A new matte black finish? Sure, he says. The Tesla CEO even suggested a second, smaller version of the Cybertruck would make sense in the long term.

Well have to wait and see how many of these promises become a reality (remember: Musk has been predicting Teslas will have full self driving capability for years) but theres certainly a lot of interest in the Cybertruck. As of Monday morning, Musk said the company had received more than 200,000 preorders for the vehicle, with no advertising & no paid endorsement. All it took was a few smashed windows instead.

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Elon Musk explains why Teslas Cybertruck windows smashed during presentation - The Verge

I don't know what to think about Elon Musk anymore. I mean the SpaceX stuff is awesome, and the Tesla car has been pretty cool. But now we have the Tesla pickup truck, unveiled on Thursday. (Simone Giertz did it first!) The Tesla Cybertruck looks oddone person likened it to a futuristic doorstopbut that's fine with me. My problem is with the unveiling itself.

In case you missed it, Musk wanted to demonstrate the trucks ruggedness. They start off by hitting a normal truck door with a sledgehammer. Yes, it makes a dent. What about the Tesla truck? Bam! Not a scratch. It has a thicker steel exterior that makes it impervious to people with sledgehammers.

Oh, and the windows? Theyre made of "Tesla Armor Glass." To compare, Musks assistants drop a metal ball on normal car glass, which cracks. Then they drop it on Teslas special glass, and the ball bounces off. They drop a bigger ball on it from higher up. Nothing. So the guy tosses the ball at the drivers window of the Cybertruckand smashes it.

Well, maybe that was a little too hard, Musk says. So the guy picks up the ball and lobs it as softly as he can at the rear passenger window. Now there are two smashed windows. Awkward.

I dont know, if it were me, Id have tested this demo before doing it live onstage. But, to Musks credit, they just carried on with the show. The whole rest of the presentation was carried out in front of a prototype with broken windows. Bad optics, but you have to admire his aplomb.

What went wrong? Why did Teslas fancy glass survive a dropped ball but not a thrown ball? To find out, we need some physics.

How high was the test ball dropped?

If you drop a metal ball, it speeds up as it falls. So to know how hard it hit the glass in the demo, we need to know the height from which it was released. For the first drop, the stage assistant stands over the glass, raises his arm, and releases the ballthat looks to be a distance of roughly 1 meter. The higher drops are a little trickier. It would have been nice if they just told us, but thats OK, we can estimate it from the amount of time it takes to hit.

If you drop an object, it starts with an initial velocity of zero, and the only force acting on it is gravity. The gravitational force, we know, depends on the local gravitational field (9.8 newtons per kilogram) and the mass of the object.

We also know that the net force must equal the product of mass and acceleration. Notice: Mass is on both sides of the equation, so we cancel out the mass, and we get that the acceleration of a falling object is 9.8 meters per second squared in the downward direction.

Using the definition of acceleration, and rearranging, you can get the following semi-famous equation showing height (y) as a function of time (t):

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A Physics Analysis of Tesla's Shattered Cybertruck Windows - WIRED