Cars

Tesla announced plans Wednesday to raise at least $1.6 billion in debt to finance the expansion of its electric car business, develop its upcoming mass market vehicle and build the company’s much anticipated battery plant. The Palo Alto, Calif., company separately released additional details about its plans for the so-called Tesla Gigafactory on its corporate Continue Reading →

Ford Motor Co., struggling with in-car technology flaws, will base the next-generation Sync system on BlackBerry’s QNX and no longer use Microsoft’s Windows, according to people briefed on the matter. Using QNX will be less expensive than licensing Microsoft technology and will improve the flexibility and speed of the next Sync system, the people, who Continue Reading →

Rumors of Apple showing interest in buying Tesla resurfaced earlier this week after the SF Chronicle reported that Apple’s M&A chief met with Elon Musk last spring. In an interview with Bloomberg TV (hat/tip MacRumors), Musk confirmed that Tesla did have conversations with Apple, but he couldn’t comment on whether they revolved around any kind Continue Reading →

In the 2004 film, “I, Robot”, Will Smith played a techno-phobic cop in the year 2035. In the film, robots and automation dominated every aspect of human life. “I, Robot” was based on a work of fiction, and the speed of technological progression in the film seems like a stretch. However, advanced safety features designed Continue Reading →

While likely not committed with the driving of a silver spike, Tesla has completed the first Supercharger line spanning from each coast. This achievement now makes it possible to drive a Tesla Roadster or Model S from LA to NYC, recharging the vehicles exclusively through Superchargers. Best of all, at these stations, Tesla drivers can Continue Reading →

Tesla issued a recall on Tuesday on a power adapter that could have a defect which leads to shorting and even fire in some cases. The recall says that the NEMA 14-50 adapters used to charge Model S vehicles could exhibit higher than normal resistance when subject to corrosion, damage or fluctuating outputs of electrical Continue Reading →

Garmin’s been on a real heads-up display kick as of late. Back in September, the company showed off a bit of dash-mounted hardware for $150 a pop. Now the navigation giant’s looking, ahem, ahead a bit, with a concept targeted specifically toward automakers — meaning that you likely won’t be installing this on your own Continue Reading →

The craziness and awesomeness of CES is in full swing once again, and we’re smack in the middle of it. I’m literally in the middle of it, as I’m writing this from the booth in North Hall from where our Silver Tours are launching. These tours show off the best of the best that CES Continue Reading →

In November, Ford Motor Company hit a critical milestone: its 10 millionth Sync-enabled vehicle rolled off the assembly line. But that doesn’t mean that Ford has built 10 million connected cars. Sync in its most basic form is a voice command-and-control system. AppLink, the in-car connectivity platform companion which allows apps in your smartphone to Continue Reading →

Technology giants Google and Apple are about to expand their battle for digital supremacy to a new front: the automobile. Next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google and German auto maker Audi AG plan to announce that they are working together to develop in-car entertainment and information systems that are based Continue Reading →