8 May 2018 | Musk Gets Brutal With Contractors, Hyundai Battery Shortage and EV Chargers Coming To Whole Foods
Tesla Requires All Contractors To Have An Employee Vouch For Them | Tesla Solar Roof Patent Reveals The Science Behind Its Stunning Design | Tesla Registers 5,009 New Model 3 VINs | Musk Buys $9.85 Million In Tesla Shares After Taunting Shorts | Future Proofing The Opel Brand In An Electric Future | Battery Shortage Interrupts Hyundai IONIQ Electric Sales | Whole Foods Begins Installing EV Chargers At Stores | New Battery Layout And Motor Components In Hyundai / Kia Electric Vehicles
Tuesday 8th May 2018.
TESLA REQUIRES ALL CONTRACTORS TO HAVE AN EMPLOYEE VOUCH FOR THEM
- Elon Musks recent email to staff said "“I have been disappointed to discover how many contractor companies are interwoven throughout Tesla,” Musk’s email read. “Often, it is like a Russian nesting doll of contractor, subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, etc. before you finally find someone doing actual work”
- Now according to Digital Trends: "Musk’s original email gave contractors a week in order to prove their worth to the company, but he has since extended that deadline. However, he is also requiring that contractors have an employee willing to vouch for them or else they will be denied access. Musk’s requirement that Tesla employees put their reputation on the line will likely make it very difficult for the majority of contractors to obtain recommendations. After all, his email seems to imply that if a contractor’s performance is deemed unsatisfactory then it could impact the job of the employee who vouched for it."
- The full email from Elon over the weekend and obtained by Electrek, reads: "Please send a note to HR before Monday justifying the excellence, necessity and trustworthiness by individual (not just the contractor company as a whole) of every non-Tesla person who has badge access to our buildings or network access to our systems. By default, anyone who does not have a Tesla employee putting their reputation on the line for them will be denied access to our facilities and networks on Monday morning. This applies worldwide. The "barnacles" are a reference to Tesla contractors, an analogy Musk first used publicly in the May 2 earnings call. Now Tesla employees are being asked to put their own careers on the line to justify any contractors they need."
TESLA SOLAR ROOF PATENT REVEALS THE SCIENCE BEHIND ITS STUNNING DESIGN
- We love a bit of Solar chat, and on Inverse.com they've been talking about the Tesla Solar roof. Why does the Tesla Solar Roof look just like a normal roof? How do they not look like traditional panels? Inverse report: "One of the most fascinating aspects of Tesla’s solar roof, which started reaching homes earlier this year, is that it looks like an ordinary roof. The design hides advanced energy-harvesting cells wired to a home battery, and a new patent application published last week by the United States Patent and Trademark Office sheds light on how the company pulled off the technical feat."
- Inverse continues: "Louvers inside the tiles act like blinds in a window. The light hitting the roof from the sky passes through, but from the street level the louvers block the sight of the cells and make the tile appear smooth.
TESLA REGISTERS 5,009 NEW MODEL 3 VINS AS TSLA RETAKES $50B MARKET CAP
- On Twitter, Matthew Koloski (@mattk926) said: "#Tesla registered 5009 new #Model3 VINs. Highest VIN is 39263.". Simon at Teslarati point out: “Interacting with members of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, Koloski noted that none of the new VINs represented dual-motor AWD variants of the Model 3. Over the course of the past few months, Tesla’s VIN registrations have been increasing in number. Exactly two weeks ago, Tesla registered 5,170 new Model 3 VINs — one of the largest batches yet. With this in mind, a production rate of 3,000-4,000 Model 3 per week is starting to seem feasible."
MUSK BUYS $9.85 MILLION IN TESLA SHARES AFTER TAUNTING SHORTS
- Bloomberg have picked up: Elon Musk "bought about $9.85 million worth of Tesla shares on Monday, his biggest purchase since March 2017, according to a regulatory filing. Musk, 46, already was Tesla’s largest shareholder, with his stake now approaching 20 percent"
- He's also been taunting those betting against Tesla on Twitter saying: "“The sheer magnitude of short carnage will be unreal. If you’re short, I suggest tiptoeing quietly to the exit."
FUTURE PROOFING THE OPEL BRAND IN AN ELECTRIC FUTURE
- Sarah Timmermans, the CEO of Opel Belgium, has been talking about the future of Opel now it's owned by PSA Groupe. In a conversation with Fleet Europe she outlined the challenges electric cars will bring: "We have announced to all our dealers across Europe that we need to change our way to market, that both we and our dealers need to adapt to the changing customer behaviour, and to the changing landscape – disruptions such as electric vehicles. We have clearly indicated that we are entirely technology-neutral. Everybody knows that we need to come down to 95 grams of CO2 emitted per km by 2020, and this is going to require a mix of powertrains. So we are working on electric vehicles, hybrids, hydrogen, along with petrol and diesel in their most ecological versions. Opel/Vauxhall will have 4 electrified car lines on the market by 2020, including the Grandland X PHEV and the next generation Corsa that will also be available as a fully electric vehicle. On top of this, every new passenger car line in Europe will get an electrified option – offering a BEV or a hybrid version alongside efficient internal combustion engine."
BATTERY SHORTAGE INTERRUPTS HYUNDAI IONIQ ELECTRIC SALES
- Orders for the Ioniq Electric in Canada are currently on hold due to a global shortage of battery supply. A leaked memo to Hyundai dealers titled "18My Ioniq EV Short-Term Production Shortage" said: ""Due to a temporary global battery supply shortage, the sold order entry system for 18MY Ioniq EV will be closed effective immediately. The 19MY Ioniq EV will be opened at the same time to allow for pre-sale of 19My Ioniq EV, with deliveries beginning in July."
- According to Green Car Reports; "All this comes just before Hyundai is scheduled to release a long-range version of the Ioniq Electric with a bigger battery, slated to go 200 miles or more on a charge. The current Ioniq Electric comes with a single battery size with a rated range of 124 miles. Further, the Hyundai Motor America spokesman allowed that the battery shortage may affect production of Hyundai's upcoming Kona Electric, which is expected to go on sale toward the end of this year with a 64-kwh battery pack rated at 238 miles of range."
WHOLE FOODS BEGINS INSTALLING EV CHARGERS AT STORES
- "Whole Foods has announced a partnership with electric vehicle charging company Blink to begin installing the EV charge points at its US stores" starting with three stores in Pennsylvania say Autoguide: "Blink charging stations can be located using the company’s smartphone app. The app can also relay information on the charge point’s status thanks to Blink’s cloud-based network. The charging stations are now open at Whole Foods’ locations in Lancaster, Spring House and Exton, Pennsylvania."
NEW BATTERY LAYOUT AND MOTOR COMPONENTS IN HYUNDAI / KIA ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
- Something I found on the Hyundai IONIQ forum, the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro are similar but different. "These two cars have the same battery capacity, the same battery pack case, the same motor and electronics. But it seems the two cars have very different battery cells. The Kona EV has NCM622 cells from LG Chem that are optimized more for power density. The Niro EV has NCM811 cells from SK Innovation that are optimized more for energy density. The Niro EV is more of a family car - bigger more comfortable - but the acceleration output through the battery management system (BMS) control is relatively low. The Kona EV cells however allow higher-powered driving. Its body is also smaller, and its agility excellent, which is an advantage for sports driving. In the end, it is analysed that Niro EV is beneficial to achieve stable driving performance and Kona EV has advantages in higher-powered driving."
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