Elon Musk said that SpaceX will donate 1,000 Starlink terminals to emergency responders in Brazil to help after recent flooding, and the use of all terminals in the region will be free until there is recovery. The southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul was inundated by the worst flooding in 80 years. Brazil’s National Center for Natural Disasters warned that the region remains at high risk of further flooding. In order to support the local population and help emergency responders, SpaceX will donate 1,000 terminals to the country. “Given the terrible flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, @Star ..read more

Tesla has once again lowered the price of the 7-seat configuration option for the Model Y in the United States, but only when upgrading your configuration with an optional paint or interior upgrade. There have been no similar price changes in Canada. Last month Tesla lowered the price of the 7-seat option from US$2,500 to $2,000, making it cheaper for customers to order their Model Y with third row seating. On Thursday night Tesla lowered the price even further, all the way down to US$1,000. However there is a catch. The lower price is only available when you select one of the non-standard pai ..read more

The long wait for Tesla owners stuck on the 2024.8 software branch is nearing a close, as the first rollout of a new software update to give them access to the 30-day Full Self-Driving (Supervised) trial has finally started rolling out. Tesla first started giving out a 30-day FSD trial to owners in late March, including the trial on the software branch 2024.3. This was good news for hundreds of thousands of Tesla owners who now had access to FSD for the first time, however it wasn’t as good for those that had already been updated to the 2024.8 software branch. This meant that they would have t ..read more

BP is looking at the recent layoffs to Tesla’s Supercharger team as an opportunity for growth, as the oil giant is hoping to not only hire some of the former employees, but also some of the sites Tesla has in the pipeline that now have an uncertain future. Last week Elon Musk fired the entire Supercharger team in the US, with the layoffs extending to the Canadian team a few days later. The abrupt move caused a lot of confusion among property owners and managers who had previously been working with Tesla to install a Supercharger site at their properties. It also put over 500 workers with a str ..read more

First responders were able to locate the deceased driver of a Tesla Model Y after it plummeted 300 feet down a hillside in a remote area, thanks to location data sent directly from the car to the victim’s wife. On Tuesday morning, the Model Y, driven by Seth Cohen from Roseville, plummeted 300 feet down a hillside along Highway 50. The El Dorado County Fire Protection District (EDCFPD) reported that they received “vague reports of a vehicle accident in the area of Highway 50 and Outer Limits Road.” The report came from the victim’s wife, who received a notification on her phone that the Model ..read more

The construction of a Tesla Megafactory in Shanghai has been officially approved by local authorities. Construction of the factory is expected to begin in May and production by the first quarter of 2025. The Office of the Management Committee of Lingang New Area, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone recently issued the “Decision on Administrative Licensing Approval for the Construction Plan of Tesla Megafactory Project Related to River in South Fengjie River Management Area.” It approves the Construction Plan related to the Tesla Megafactory project, reported by Tesla (Shanghai) within the m ..read more

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed the company plans to finally remove the steering wheel nag in the next major update of Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The change will come with the release of version 12.4, which is expected to roll out as early as next week. Tesla first introduced Autopilot back in 2015. The cars built at that time did not have in-cabin cameras to monitor the driver, so Tesla used other methods to make sure the driver was paying attention, namely visual and audio warnings to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The steering wheel doesn’t actually sense that it is being to ..read more

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shared some of the improvements and enhancements that will be coming in the next several versions of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), the first of which should roll out as early as next week. The majority of Tesla owners with FSD are currently on v12.3.4 or v12.3.5 (sorry everyone still on 2024.8, your time will come), and these version have proven to be a major step change compared to previous versions. The shift in the capabilities and human-like behaviours is due to the fact Tesla has switched to an end-to-end neural network. The switch has allowed Tesla to train the ..read more

In what might be a sign of the beginning of the end, the Austrian unit of Fisker has filed for reorganization. The latest move in Fisker’s struggle for survival has impacted its contract manufacturer, Magna Steyr, which is cutting 500 jobs. Fisker has sought protection from its creditors after pausing the production of its only car, the Ocean SUV. It has applied for reorganization for the Austrian arm of its business, the equivalent of a Chapter 11 procedure in the US. In a statement, Fisker explained why the step has become necessary. “By filing to open a restructuring pro ..read more

Rivian has had a challenging start to 2024, as revealed in its first quarter financial disclosure, with the automaker reporting revenue growth against a backdrop of substantial losses. According to Rivian’s Q1 2024 earnings report, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer posted a 82% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $1.2 billion. However, this financial milestone was paired with a net loss of $1.45 billion, as the automaker continues to struggle to achieve profitability. Despite this, Rivian remains committed to its production and financial targets for the year. The company confirme ..read more