Tesla Order Configurator for India by Jan 2021?

According to a tweet by Elon Musk, customers who have reserved the Tesla in India can expect the Tesla Online Configurator to be functional by January 2021. The tweet was a reply to a query by the Tesla Club India.

When the configurator goes live, India will join a select group of countries where Tesla cars can be purchased. Currently, amongst the Asian countries, Tesla is selling only in the China, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Japan. The carmaker has also set up a Tesla Gigafactory in China.

In 2015, Prime Minister of India had visited Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto. In June 2020, Musk tweeted that Indian fans can soon expect to drive a Model 3. Musk has also been keen to start operations in India, but noted that few of the government regulations were challenging.

India could become the second country outside the USA to have a Tesla research centre.

According to a media report, US-based EV maker Tesla could set up a research centre in Bangalore.

Tesla is said to have had discussions with the Karnataka government with regards to a possible investment. A follow-up meeting is reportedly scheduled to take place later this month, when state officials are expected to present a detailed proposal to the EV maker.

If the talks are successful, India will become the second country outside the USA where Tesla will have a research centre.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk - CEO of Tesla, had stated that the company was hoping to enter the Indian market. In 2016, the carmaker had opened bookings for the Model 3 in India but has not delivered the cars yet.

Musk had also revealed his plans to set up a second Gigafactory in Asia. At present, the only Tesla Gigafactory in Asia is located in Shanghai, China. Giga Berlin which is currently under construction will serve the European market.

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A Tesla Model S crashed in to a Sheriff's car outside Nashville, North Carolina early morning on Wednesday. The police car was parked on the road with lights flashing while responding to another crash.

The driver of the Tesla, Devainder Goli of Raleigh, was watching a movie on his mobile phone and had engaged the autopilot function in his Tesla Model S. He first crashed into the Sheriff's car which then slammed into another car parked ahead. There have been no injuries reported, but both the cars have been totalled.

This is not the first time that a car using autopilot has been involved in an accident. Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report on a fatal Tesla crash that happened in Delray Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida. In 2017, the NTSB had concluded that over-reliance on technology led to a Tesla crashing into a truck.

Autopilot is a level 2 autonomous system that controls the steering, acceleration and braking, but it is the human that is responsible for monitoring the surroundings. He/she must be ready to take over in case the system fails.

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A German court has upheld the Euro 200 fine levied on a Tesla driver for 'improper use of an electronic device' last year. It was reported that the driver was trying to adjust the wiper speed, when he drove into an embankment and hit several trees. He has been banned from driving for a month.

The court observed that while the wiper could be turned on/off conventionally, changing the wiper speed required the driver to access a sub-menu on the touchscreen. The driver argued that touchscreen can not be classified as an electronic device as it is used for a safety feature (wipers). The judge dismissed this as it is only permitted to have a brief glance or use voice commands while driving to ensure safe operation of the vehicle.  

The ruling could result in car manufacturers having to rethink replacing buttons with touchscreens as the drivers would be held liable for operating such functions that could divert their attention from the road. 

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Tesla has announced that it has become the first manufacturer to break the 400-mile (643.74 km) range for production electric vehicles. The Tesla Model S Long Range Plus has managed to achieve this feat.

The announcement comes after the CEO displayed displeasure over a previous 391-mile (629 km) rating given by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to Musk, someone at the testing agency left the keys inside the car and the door open overnight resulting in a 2% depletion of the car's range.

Some of the changes done over the years to the Model S include lowering the weight by in-house seat manufacturing and use of lighter weight materials in the battery pack and drive units, addition of Tempest aero wheels and tyres, improved drive efficiency by replacing a mechanical oil pump with electric pump and improved regenerative braking.

Compared to the 2019 version of the same car, there has been an improvement of nearly 20% in claimed range. All Model S Long Range Plus cars produced from January 2020 have a 402-mile (646.96 km) range.

Tesla could soon surpass Toyota to become the world's most valuable carmaker. The EV maker's market cap rose to US$ 190 billion, whereas Toyota's market value is around US$ 216 billion.

Earlier this week, Tesla Inc's stock price rose by 8.97% to US$ 1,025.05 after Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO, shared his plan to start production of the all-electric Semi Truck. The truck's batteries and powertrain will be made at the company's Nevada battery factory.

The Tesla Semi was unveiled in November 2017. It comes in two configurations with a maximum range of either 480 km or 800 km with a full load.

The truck is powered by 4 independent motors that are located between the rear axles of the truck. Tesla claims a 5 second 0-60 mph time without any load and 20 seconds when fully loaded at over 36,000 kg. The truck is also claimed to maintain a speed of 105 km/h on a 5% grade under full load.

Elon Musk's statement comes just days after Nikola Corp. announced plans to open bookings for the Badger electric truck.

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Nikola Corp. completed a merger with VectorIQ Acquisition Corp. on June 2, 2020. Since announcing the planned reverse merger, the company's share prices have gone up by almost 612%. At the end of the day on June 2, Nikola's share price was US$ 33.75 with a market cap of US$ 12 billion.

Nikola was founded by Trevor Milton in 2016. The company is focusing on building hydrogen fuel cell powered trucks. It plans to build a pick-up truck and an 18-wheeler semi.

Earlier, Milton had tweeted plans to debut the Badger truck and open bookings. This announcement by the founder has had a positive impact on the company's share price as well. Currently, Nikola Corp. shares are trading at US$ 73.27.

Nikola's main rival Tesla is also building an all-electric semi truck.

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Tesla has filed a suit against Alameda County, California. The move comes after local officials did not permit the company to reopen its Fremont factory. The lawsuit asks for a permanent injunction against the county's shelter-in-place order.

The Governor of California has issued new guidelines which allowed manufacturing companies to reopen. However, he has also allowed individual counties to apply their own rules. Alameda County has enforced a shelter-in-home rule up to May 31, 2020.

Tweets from Elon Musk - CEO of Tesla, also warned that the company could consider moving its headquarters to Texas or Nevada states, where there are less restrictive rules in force due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Nikkei Business Publications did a teardown of the Tesla Model 3. The result suggested that the electric car came equipped with electronics that are at least 6 years ahead of rivals.

The teardown of the EV focused on the central module responsible for ECU, infotainment and autonomous driving. This module consists of custom dual 260 sq. mm. artificial intelligence chips. It also comes equipped with a water-cooled heatsink. It is reported that such a module replaces multiple systems used by conventional carmakers. It reduces complexity as well as components in the car. However, these could affect suppliers of components and larger carmakers who are reluctant to makes moves that affect the supply chains.

According to the report, it will take rival carmakers till at least 2025 to catch up with Tesla's technology.

It was also revealed that many components in the Model 3 bore the Tesla logo, which means the carmaker has control over the development of most of the technologies inside the car. Tesla founder Elon Musk had stated in the past that the company's cars come equipped with all the necessary hardware needed for full autonomous driving. This means that the cars can be upgraded over-the-air.

Tesla cars made after Spring 2019 come equipped with Hardware 3 module. This module was upgraded over time from the first launch as the Hardware 1 driver-assistance system (Autopilot) in 2014.

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According to a media report, Tesla has overtaken Volkswagen to become the second most valuable carmaker in the world.

Tesla's share value increased and the company is now worth US $102.66 billion. In comparison, Volkswagen is valued at US $89.68 billion while Toyota is valued at US $230.95 billion.

Tesla is reported to have sold more than 367,500 cars in 2019, 50% more than its 2018 sales. Volkswagen sold almost 11 million vehicles last year, while Toyota sold more than 9 million in the first 11 months of 2019.

Tesla has also opened a new factory in China.

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