Tesla's Cybertruck is getting a significant platform upgrade, with Elon Musk confirming that the specifications for the controversial electric pickup will be updated before it has even gone on sale. Announced in late 2019, the Cybertruck proved divisive with its stealth bomber-inspired aesthetic, but its speed promises also set it apart from the truck status-quo.
Tesla's Cybertruck may not be ready for production yet, nor the Cyberquad ATV that Elon Musk showed of at the controversial electric pickup's big unveil in 2019, but kids at least will be able to have some electric fun. The Tesla Cyberquad for Kids is one of the smallest models in Tesla's line-up, not to mention having the smallest range at around 15 miles, though it's also by far the cheapest.
The push to electric vehicles is going on all around the world. Along with the push to get automotive manufacturers to produce electric vehicles is a push to get significant charging networks rolled out all across Europe. One of the largest EV charging networks in Europe belongs to Ionity. Recently it announced a combined €700 million investment from shareholders, including BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai Motor Group, Kia, Mercedes-Benz AG, and the Volkswagen Group including Audi and Porsche.
Anyone who has driven the highways in their part of the country has seen semi-trucks out delivering goods and other items. The semi-trucks you see on the roads today are powered by massive diesel engines able to run for a million miles or more. With the federal mandates attempting to push people from traditional combustion-engine vehicles to EVs, the same pressure is being felt by manufacturers of large heavy-duty trucks and large fleet owners. Several of the largest manufacturers in the semi-truck market are hard at work on electric vehicles and other zero missions technologies for the future, and here are some of their trucks.
At this point, most people who follow the automotive market know that the pandemic has created a significant shortage of processors and other components. Typically, missing components have to do with chips to operate computerized sensors and other items inside the vehicles. However, parts shortages are impacting other components you might not expect. One example is new Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that have reportedly been delivered recently missing USB ports.
Anyone who's been on the fence about buying a new Tesla electric vehicle should go ahead and pull the trigger because prices are continually going up. Tesla has now increased the price of its Model Y SUV by $1000, pushing the price for the entry-level Model Y Long Range up to $58,990. The new price increase comes only a month after the last price increase that saw pricing on the Model Y Long Range model increase by $2000.
Form Camper has revealed an interesting new camper that would work with multiple truck models. The Form Camper would work with everything from the coming Tesla Cybertruck to the class-leading Ford F-150 pickup. While the camper appears to have been designed specifically to work with the yet released Cybertruck, it's not limited to that vehicle specifically. It uses a rectangular box form that can fit in the bed of just about any truck.
Tesla is trialing guest access to its Supercharger network, lighting up a pilot in Europe which will allow drivers of other electric vehicles to plug in at what have until now been exclusive to Tesla owners. Ten locations in the Supercharger network in the Netherlands are opening up initially, ahead of what the automaker says will be an expansion of the pilot to other countries.
Lawmakers in Washington want to push people away from cars with internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. In the US, lawmakers face the problem that electric vehicles are often more expensive than similar combustion engine vehicles. The charging infrastructure in many areas is still patchy enough that people worry about where they would charge the vehicles. This is a particularly big problem for people who live in apartments or condos where chargers don't exist, making charging from home virtually impossible.
Recalls by automakers are nothing new and certainly not limited to traditional combustion vehicles alone. One of the biggest recalls in recent memory was GM when it recalled the Chevrolet Bolt EV because batteries were short-circuiting and catching fire. Chevrolet will begin limited production of the Bolt EV again at the beginning of November.
One of the more interesting features that Tesla cars have is Sentry Mode, which is an integrated surveillance system. Sentry Mode utilizes the Autopilot cameras arrayed around the electric car as a sort of dashcam on steroids. A new software update has added an interesting feature to the vehicle's capability.
Hertz today made a whopper of an announcement, revealing that it will be ordering 100,000 Teslas over the next year and adding those EVs to its fleet. Not only that, but Hertz will also install several thousand chargers at its network of locations around the US and Europe. With this move, Hertz says that it will "offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world."