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☆ Elon Musk says he's working on Twitter's customer service — but some Tesla and Starlink customers haven't been impressed when trying to receive support
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said Twitter users must have good customer service, and that he was working on it. Customers of his other companies have said they're disappointed at the lack of customer service. "Of course, you need to have good customer service for money," Musk tweeted, adding he was "working on it." Some commented on how slow and unresponsive Tesla's customer service was, while others said it was quick and easy. Are you a Starlink user or Tesla owner who is disappointed with the company's customer service?

☆ Watch a parking lot of around 100 Teslas put on a light show tribute to the Oscar-winning song 'Naatu Naatu'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A video on Twitter shows around 100 Tesla vehicles performing a light show to the popular song "Naatu Naatu." The official "RRR" account also shared footage from the event, which has racked up over 8.8 million views. Custom Tesla light show websites created by Tesla fans have also cropped up. The website TeslaLightShows.io allows users to upload and download free custom light shows from other Tesla owners. To perform a light show, Tesla owners can follow similar set-up instructions as setting up Tesla's "Boombox" feature, per Tesla's website.

☆ Tesla is rolling out its first Full Self-Driving update after a recall — see the new features
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla is addressing a recall issued last month to some cars equipped with Full Self Driving, or FSD. The latest FSD update is rolling out gradually, and drivers should be notified by April 15. The update comes with a variety of new features, including a merging of FSD and Tesla's Autopilot highway driver assist software. This week's update is also designed to address NHTSA's recall, according to text from the update posted to a Tesla blog that crowdsources from owners. Tesla's driver assist features are under investigationTesla's Autopilot driver assist software has drawn the scrutiny of regulators for several years.

Most carmakers said their battery packs are repairable, though few seem willing to share access to battery data. Lauterwasser said access to EV battery data is part of that fight. EV battery problems also expose a hole in the green "circular economy" touted by carmakers. Hill estimated at least 95% of the cells in the hundreds of EV battery packs - and thousands of hybrid battery packs - Synetiq has stored at Doncaster are undamaged and should be reused. 'PAIN POINTS'The British government is funding research into EV insurance "pain points" led by Thatcham, Synetiq and insurer LV=.

☆ Early photos of Tesla's new Supercharger suggest it fixes a common complaint for non-Tesla EV owners
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The new chargers appear to solve a common Supercharger complaint for non-Tesla EV owners: cable length. The electric-car maker said it plans to open the V4 Supercharger station to non-Tesla's "soon." On Wednesday, the electric-car maker announced it had opened its V4 Superchargers in Harderwijk in the Netherlands. Though, Bink told Insider he wasn't able to experience a faster charge rate because he had a 2018 model. Bink was one of several Tesla owners to take to social media to post pictures and videos of the new charging site.

☆ Tesla opening its Supercharger network to rivals could be a brilliant marketing move from a company that famously doesn't advertise — with one big risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla plans to open 3,500 of its fast-charging plugs to all electric-car owners by the end of 2024. Until now, Tesla's Supercharger network was only for Tesla owners in the US. According to Loren McDonald, CEO of EV industry consultancy EVAdoption, the Supercharger network serves as Tesla's single biggest marketing tactic. Sam Abuelsamid, an auto industry analyst at Guidehouse Insights, agrees that expanding Supercharger access could help Tesla sell more cars. Analysts see another risk: A boom in demand for limited charging stalls could frustrate Tesla owners by crowding popular stations.

☆ Tesla opening its exclusive Superchargers to rivals leaves some owners worried about waiting in line behind Fords and Kias
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The reliable and extensive Supercharger network used to be only for Tesla owners. Some Tesla owners worry the move could lead to long waits at charging stations. He believes the Tesla charging experience is so far ahead of the competition that non-Tesla owners will arrive in droves. Other Tesla owners Insider spoke with don't foresee major issues and cheer a move that could accelerate EV adoption. Experts said Tesla Superchargers could get more crowded, but there probably won't be major issues.

"Tesla needs to open up its ecosystem and allow competition for the servicing of Tesla [vehicles] and sales of parts," said plaintiffs lawyer Matthew Ruan of Freed Kanner London & Millen, who filed one of the proposed class actions. The proposed class in both cases would include anyone who has paid Tesla for repairs or parts since March 2019. Ruan said the potential class includes hundreds of thousands of Tesla owners and lessees, so damages could total hundreds of millions of dollars. Tesla joins other major vehicle makers facing "right to repair" antitrust litigation over alleged exclusionary conduct. Read more:Harley-Davidson hit with class actions over 'right to repair' restrictionsU.S. FTC settles with Weber grills over 'right to repair'FTC votes to make 'right to repair' a priority, drops 1995 merger policyReporting by Mike ScarcellaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tesla owners sue the carmaker, claiming they've faced long waits and high prices at service centers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla owners are suing, claiming they've faced long wait times and high prices at service centers. The carmaker has faced criticism over its service centers in the past. The electric-car maker has faced criticism over its service centers in the past. To date, Tesla has less than 200 service centers in the US. For comparison, GM or Ford owners can choose from thousands of independent repair and maintenance shops.

☆ Tesla's price war is starting to backfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Tesla's price cuts started a broader round of industry price reductions," Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas said in a note to clients on March 10. Its biggest competition there, BYD (whose stock has declined since the price war began), has also introduced discounts. "April is now the crunch to put a pause in the price war," the analysts said. But some automakers, like GM and Volkswagen, opted not to engage in the price war. "We gauge a full-blown price war would urge consumers to stay sidelined and await more promotions/discounts to come."

☆ Meet the typical Tesla owner: A white man with a household income over $130,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla drivers are typically white men, a study that analyzed Model S, 3, and X owners found. The typical Tesla owner has a household income over $130,000 per year, per the study. The average Tesla owner is an upper middle class white male, according to a study from Hedges & Company, a digital marketing firm for automakers. The analysis found Tesla drivers largely come from the upper middle class (commonly referred to as individuals that have household incomes over $100,000 per year). Hedges and Company's analysis mostly lines up with other studies of Tesla drivers when it comes to gender and income.

☆ You'll likely pay more and wait longer for repairs to your electric car
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If car-buyers can only go to a dealer for service, that might mean longer waits and more expense. What's going on with vehicle repair today? So you can imagine if independent repair shops didn't have the opportunity to work on vehicles." "The industry has been hyper-focused on launches and now these customers are bringing their electric vehicles in for maintenance and repairs." "The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but we're not seeing the benefits yet," Sutton added.

☆ There's one big problem with Tesla's plan to open its exclusive Supercharger network: The cords aren't long enough for other EVs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla opened up some of its exclusive Supercharging stations to rival electric vehicles. But the cords are designed for Teslas, meaning that owners of some other cars need to use two spaces. Early this month, Tesla opened a handful of its roughly 1,700 US charging stations to non-Tesla vehicles. (Tesla designed its own charging connector, while the rest of the industry uses a different standard.) Tesla owners sometimes experience long lines at charging stations, particularly during popular travel times.

☆ U.S. investigates Tesla for steering wheels that can fall off
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. auto safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla 's Model Y SUV after getting two complaints that the steering wheels can come off while being driven. A friction fit held the steering wheels on, but they separated when force was exerted while the SUVs were being driven. The owner wrote that there were no cars behind him, and he was able to pull toward the road divider. The complaint has a link to a Twitter posting from the owner that included a video of the detached steering wheel and pictures of the white Tesla being towed. The U.S. Justice Department also has asked Tesla for documents from Tesla about "Full Self-Driving" and Autopilot.

☆ A YouTuber charged a non-Tesla EV at a Supercharger and it 'descended into chaos'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marques Brownlee took his Rivian R1T to a Supercharger that had just been opened to non-Teslas. He said non-Tesla EVs sometimes took up multiple parking spots due to their charging port locations. The YouTuber said the charging station makes his Rivian a better car, but cuts into Tesla's advantage. Youtuber Marques Brownlee took his Rivian R1T to a Tesla Supercharger in rural New York last week and he said on Twitter that the visit "descended into chaos" when other non-Tesla drivers showed up as well. The billionaire agreed to begin opening up some of the electric-car maker's Superchargers to non-Tesla owners earlier this year.

☆ Tesla just slashed Model X and Model S prices for the second time in 2023, by $10,000 and $5,000 respectively
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It cut the prices of its Model X and Model S by $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. The basic version now costs $89,990, down from $94,990, while the Plaid performance version now costs $109,990, down from $114,990. At the end of 2022, the basic Model S cost $104,990 and the Plaid version, $135,990. The Model X SUV, Tesla's most expensive vehicle, was just discounted by $10,000 in the US, according to the company's website. Before the first price cut of 2023, the basic Model X cost $120,990, and the Plaid version, $138,990.

☆ Tesla shares down 8% after Investor Day despite positive analyst sentiment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla shares continued sliding Thursday morning, a movement that began the prior day during Tesla's Investor Day event, which provided investors with a long-term vision but lacked detail on new products or services. The electric-vehicle manufacturer's stock fell over 8% in the pre-market, despite positive analyst reaction to CEO Elon Musk's presentation and to Tesla's overall outlook. Jonas has an overweight rating and set a $220 price target for the stock. Goldman Sachs maintained a buy rating and a $200 price target, with analyst Mark Delaney writing Thursday that "the event reinforced our positive view of the company's long-term competitive positioning." Tesla shares are up over 80% year-to-date but remain well off of the 2021 high, which propelled the stock price above $400.

☆ Elon Musk has promised self-driving Teslas for years. Experts say it's not even close.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk has made developing autonomous driving technology one of Tesla's fundamental goals. "Today it's financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla," Musk said at an event touting the carmaker's autonomous-vehicle development in 2019. That revolutionary software update never came, and by 2022 the goalpost for bringing self-driving cars to the masses had shifted to 2023. Full Self-Driving is far from actually being self-driving, some sayDespite its branding, Tesla's Full Self-Driving Beta currently requires total driver supervision, just like cruise control or smarter features like Autopilot. Likewise, McGehee says self-driving cars need a combination of overlapping sensors — whether that's cameras, radar, lidar, or ultrasonic sensors — to move through the world safely.

☆ A new Mercedes-Benz will have TikTok, Angry Birds, and Zoom built into a touchscreen that extends across the dashboard to the passenger side
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its 2024 E-Class on Wednesday. And a new app store that lets drivers watch TikToks, play Angry Birds, or attend Zoom meetings. Mercedes-Benz unveiled its 2024 E-Class on Wednesday, featuring a giant touchscreen extending across the passenger side. TikTok, Angry Birds, and Zoom are already set up on the display. The first batch of Mercedes' 2024 E-Class is expected to arrive in European dealerships this summer, and in the USA in autumn.

☆ Tesla cofounder calls Autopilot and FSD software 'crap' that could risk the carmaker's future
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard said he's "not a big fan" of autonomous cars. The Tesla cofounder said it's a "mistake to think of a car as a software platform." The Lotus Elise was a two-seater convertible that the British car company Lotus Cars first sold in 1996. The Tesla cofounder said that while he appreciates "safety-oriented systems" like driver-assist features, he's "not a big fan" of autonomous driving. Last year, the billionaire said the carmaker's self-driving software is the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money and Tesla being worth almost nothing.

☆ Traditional automakers have one huge leg up on EV startups: A nationwide network of shops ready to service cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But today's EV startups don't operate that way. When in need of service, car buyers typically utilize the massive dealership network automakers like Ford, GM, Toyota and others have, or choose to take their vehicle elsewhere. Unlike Tesla, today's EV startups can't afford to tick their owners off with waits or make prospective buyers worry about repairs and service. The right-to-repair movement is also going to be significant for EV startups moving forward. "It comes down to how confident a given consumer feels when going with an electric vehicle from a new EV brand versus a traditional car from a traditional car company," Brauer said.

☆ Tesla recalls 362,758 vehicles, says Full Self-Driving Beta software may cause crashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla is recalling 362,758 vehicles equipped with the company's experimental driver-assistance software, which is marketed as Full Self-Driving Beta or FSD Beta, in the US, according to a recall notice out Thursday. The FSD Beta system may also have trouble responding appropriately "to changes in posted speed limits," the notice said. Tesla lets thousands of drivers try new and unfinished driver assistance features on public roads in the U.S. through FSD Beta. Owners must obtain a high driver-safety score, as determined by Tesla software that monitors their driving habits, and maintain it to get FSD Beta access. FSD Beta can best be summarized as a host of new features that are not yet fully debugged.

☆ Tesla recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles equipped with ‘Full Self-Driving’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Tesla is recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with its so-called “Full Self Driving” driver assist feature due to risks it can pose at intersections, even if the driver is paying attention and ready to take over control of the car. Tesla will attempt to fix the the FSD feature, which costs $15,000, through an over-the-air software update, the notice added. NHTSA itself has identified at least 273 crashes that involved one of Tesla’s driver assist systems. Tesla owners have filed a class-action lawsuit over the predictions and missed deadlines, which is still pending. Tesla, which has disbanded its public relations staff and has not responded to press inquiries for several years, could not be reached for comment.

☆ Tesla recalls more than 362,000 cars for a software issue that may cause them to 'act unsafe around intersections'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla will issue an over-the-air software update to more than 362,000 cars, NHTSA said Thursday. The carmaker issued the recall over concerns its FSD software may cause it to act "unsafe" in intersections. NHTSA said the beta software "increases the risk of a crash." Tesla will release an over-the-air software update to address the issue, according to the agency. The agency said the software issue "increases the risk of a crash" and allows the car to exceed the speed limit and travel through intersections in an "unlawful or unpredictable manner."

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) will open part of its U.S. charging network to electric vehicles (EVs) made by rivals as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to electrify the nation's highways to cut carbon emissions, the Biden administration said on Wednesday. There are also nearly 10,000 "destination" chargers with Tesla plugs that can recharge a vehicle overnight. Opening up access to Tesla's network would be a quick win for an ambitious federal program to build 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, up from 130,000 currently. Administration officials did not say whether a contract has been signed, but federal officials will control disbursement of about a third of the $7.5 billion federal program. Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, said, "There is no doubt the $7.5 billion in federal charging investment threatens Tesla's competitive advantage.

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