The Tesla Optimus Robot

Are you excited about having your own personal Tesla Bot? Shelly Palmer speaks with Dan Bowens and Tashanea Whitlow on Fox 5's Good Day New York about Tesla's new robot and whether or not you'll be able to own one for under $20,000 (like Elon Musk says). Continue Reading →

Ghosts in the Tesla

Elon Musk showed off a prototype of a bipedal humanoid robot at Tesla AI Day. Known as the Tesla Bot or Optimus, the “rough development robot” walked around and waved its hands in the air. While admitting that developing a humanoid robot was not precisely in line with Tesla’s mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy, Musk said Optimus expands the Tesla mission to “making the future awesome.” Continue Reading →

Leave Elon Alone!

Elon Musk's latest claim -- "I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level 5 autonomy complete this year" -- is a clear sign that Mr. Musk has crossed over to the other side and is now "cuckoo for cocoa puffs." Continue Reading →

Consumer Reports Has “Jumped the Shark”

There's a new article on consumerreports.org entitled, "CR Engineers Show a Tesla Will Drive With No One in the Driver's Seat," with the subtitle, "After a fatal crash in Texas, we demonstrated how easy it is to defeat Autopilot’s driver monitoring." At first glance, you are supposed to jump to the conclusion that anyone driving a Tesla can easily defeat the driver monitoring system, thereby putting themselves and others at risk. After reading the article, I have reached a different conclusion: Consumer Reports has "jumped the shark." Continue Reading →

Tesla officially breaks the 400 mile range barrier

Tesla Model 3
Engadget is reporting that Tesla announced that its 2020 Model S Long-Range Plus is now EPA rated for 402 miles, cracking a significant psychological range barrier for electric vehicles. That’s an update from the EPA’s earlier 391 mile estimate and applies to “all Model S cars made since late Jan,” according to a Tweet from CEO Elon Musk. The 2020 version can now go nearly 20 percent farther than the last Model S, according to Tesla, thanks to improvements in the vehicle’s weight, wheel drag, drive unit efficiency and updated regenerative braking. Continue Reading →

Are Elon Musk and Tesla Ready for the Future?

Tesla Model 3
In the not-so-distant past, Tesla was synonymous with the future of electric vehicles (EVs). Elon Musk (who some say is the Tony Stark of our age) painted a vision of the future that many bought into. Right now shareholders are calling for Musk to be fired, there are reports of more than $150M wasted on scrap metal, and there are concerns about the company’s overall finances. Tesla’s situation is troubling, but Mr. Musk will probably talk his way out of the current issues. Then what? Are Elon Musk and Tesla ready for the future? Continue Reading →

Is the Chevy Bolt a Tesla Killer?

Chevy Bolt vs. Tesla Model 3
Elon Musk recently announced the Tesla Model 3, a sub-$40k, 5-seat plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) with a ~200-mile range that is well positioned to change the world. It should be available sometime in late 2017. As of this writing, the company has received over 325,000 deposits ($1,000 each). That said, sometime in late 2016 (a year earlier than Tesla is scheduled to launch the Model 3), GM is going to launch the Chevy Bolt, a sub-$40k, 5-seat PEV with a ~200-mile range that is also well positioned to change the world. As of this writing, GM has received approximately zero deposits to reserve the Bolt, and there's a reason. Continue Reading →