Tesla and SolarCity are now one and the same. Both companies announced this morning that its acquisition of SolarCity has been finalized, completing a process that began back in August. Tesla revealed late last week that its investors had approved the acquisition, removing the final roadblock in merging the two companies.
Tesla is continuing to go all-in with autonomous driving technology, having already promised that all future models, including the upcoming Model 3, will include self-driving features. Now found Elon Musk has shared a new video that attempts to better demonstrate to drivers how the technology works. The demo clip shows what it's like for a Tesla vehicle to drive itself on local, public roads, all while showing the car's point of view of things.
Last month, Elon Musk went on stage to unveil the Tesla and SolarCity solar roof, a product that looks very similar to an ordinary home roof, but with each shingle instead being a small part of a large solar offering. Prices weren't discussed at the time, though Musk emphasized the necessity of affordability and suggested the solar roof wouldn't be more expensive than a regular home roof when taking into account electricity savings.
It appears that Tesla and SolarCity will soon be operating as one company. Shareholders from both companies have approved Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity, which was a necessary step for the two to merge. Tesla's plans for acquisition were announced at the beginning of August, and everything seems to be playing out according to the timeline that was originally envisioned.
It looks like Tesla's Model S P100D, which captured attention back in August for its ridiculous capabilities, is about to get faster. In a tweet today, Elon Musk said that a software update coming next month will shave some time off of the P100D's already impressive 0 to 60 and 1/4 mile times. If there was ever a question before, it can now be laid to rest: Yes, you are indeed living in the future.
As it prepares to ramp up production with the introduction of its Model 3, Tesla has announced plans to acquire Grohmann Engineering. Based in Prüm, Germany, Tesla plans to use Grohmann's approach to automation to help it increase production. This is also the first step toward Tesla adding 1,000 advanced engineering and skilled technician jobs in Germany over the next two years.
Tesla has announced some rather significant changes to the way it operates its network of Superchargers. Thus far, Supercharging stations placed around the world have been offered free of charge to Tesla owners on long distance trips, but that's about to change next year. Tesla has announced that starting in 2017, some Tesla owners will be charged a "small fee" to use these stations.
Tesla announced last month that all of its cars would be produced with self-driving technology on-board. Along with that announcement came some details on what the new Hardware2 or HW2 self-driving technology would entail. The cars are fitted with eight different cameras and a radar ultrasonic sensor and a supercomputer to support image processing and the needed processing for safety.
Just last week Tesla and SolarCity unveiled their new "Solar Roof" product, which is designed to cover a home's roof in small solar-powered shingles. But now the electric car company has announced a new roof option for the flagship Model S sedan, and it aims to remove all barriers to between passengers and the sky above: an all-glass roof.
In addition to the new Solar Roof, Elon Musk has announced the arrival of the Powerwall 2, an update to Tesla's original Powerwall offering. The Powerwall 2 is a vital component for powering your home using the sun, particularly with one of the new solar roofs. This residential home battery will power a two bedroom home, including its lights and appliances, for a full day.
Tesla has taken the wraps off the new ‘Solar Roof,’ an offering that is tougher, costs less, and is arguably more attractive than a conventional roof. Rather than having large solar panels mounted on a roof, the Solar Roof looks completely ordinary, only each ‘shingle’ is actually a glass slate with a small solar cell within. This solar roof would work alongside the newly unveiled Powerwall 2 to power someone's entire home, ushering in our green future.
Tesla has a solar roof and Powerwall announcement coming today and ahead of that announcement Tesla is taking the opportunity to talk about its Powerpack shipments. While the Powerwall products are aimed more at the end user, the Powerpack products are more for utility and enterprise customers. Tesla rolled out its Powerpack 2 system in September of this year and so far the products in the Powerpack 2 range have proven popular and are shipping robustly.
