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Tesla ramps up solar tile roof installations in US, eyes China and Europe expansion
Tesla appears to be ramping up installations of its solar tile roofs in the San Francisco Bay area and will eventually roll out to Europe and China, according to CEO Elon Musk, who, in a series of tweets, provided the first substantial update since the company launched the third iteration of its product in October.
The solar tile roof, which Tesla calls Solarglass, is being produced at the company’s factory in Buffalo, N.Y. Musk announced in one of the tweets plans to host a “company talk” in April at the Buffalo factory, an event that will include media and customer tours of the facility.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment seeking more information about Solarglass, including how many installations have been made to date. We will update the article if Tesla responds.
Many Bay Area installations are ongoing now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 9, 2020
Europe & China timing will be announced soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2020
Four months ago, Musk said the company would begin installations in the “coming weeks” and that it hopes to ramp production to as many as 1,000 new roofs per week.
Tesla’s solar roof tiles are designed to look like normal roof tiles when installed on a house, while doubling as solar panels to generate power. The company first unveiled the solar tiles in 2016 and has been tinkering with them ever since. Tesla has conducted trial installations with the first two generations of the solar tiles and opened up pre-orders in 2017.
In an earnings call last October, Musk suggested that the tiles were ready for a widespread deployment, noting that “version three is finally ready for the big time.”
The solar tile roof will initially be offered in textured black, but Musk reiterated Monday plans to offer other color and finish variants “hopefully later this year.”
Yes, but we want to focus on textured black first, then move into Earth tones & convolutions
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2020
A pricing estimator on the Tesla website says a solar tile roof with 10 kW of solar on an average 2,000 square-foot home costs $42,500 before federal tax incentives. It also lists $33,950 as the price after an $8,550 federal tax incentive.
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Tesla vehicles are getting Stardew Valley
Tesla owners have seen a bunch of games added to their car’s in-dash display over the last few months, from a handful of Atari classics to the painfully hard Cuphead. Next up? The oh-so-sweet farm-living RPG, Stardew Valley.
In addition to just being kind of cool, the in-dash games (playable only when parked, because duh) are meant to help Tesla owners kill time while at superchargers. Stardew Valley is… sort of the perfect game for this. Beyond being so charming that it hurts, it’s an absolutely incredible way to burn 30 minutes in the blink of an eye. Oh, you’ve got 10 minutes to waste? Why not tend to your crops? Or explore the mines? Or catch some fish?
Word of the addition comes from a Musk tweet:
Tesla holiday software update has FSD sneak preview, Stardew Valley, Lost Backgammon & a few other things
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2019
Musk also mentions a full self-driving (FSD) “sneak preview”… which would normally be a headline on its own, except that no one really knows exactly what it’ll entail, or just how much the “preview” will actually include. But it’s coming!
The tweet also mentions “Lost Backgammon,” which I can only assume is a game of backgammon where JJ Abrams continuously throws in all sorts of mysterious new stuff only to end the whole thing without really explaining 90% of it.
Musk doesn’t get specific about when this update will land. Seeing as he calls it the “holiday” update, though, it’ll presumably be sometime soon.
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Tesla’s record stock price shows its investment in energy storage is finally paying off
A little over a year after sparking a legal firestorm for musing that he would take Tesla private for $420, Elon Musk is likely glad he didn’t.
Tesla’s stock just hit a record high yesterday, brushing close to $400 per share and putting the company within striking distance of that $420 figure that cost Musk $20 million in fines with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Since Tesla announced a surprise profit in the third quarter of the year the stock has been on a tear, recovering from its year-long tumble wrought by Musk’s Twitter tirades and extracurricular shenanigans.
The company’s core business is looking very strong, thanks in part to a weak performance by rival automakers electric vehicle offerings and the seemingly successful ramp up of manufacturing and sales in China.
There’s also another tailwind at the back of Tesla’s business and that’s in its far smaller (for now) energy business.
Lost in the hubbub over the decisions to slash costs of its Chinese manufactured vehicles by 20%; the success of the new gigafactory in the country; and the beginnings of a new gigafactory in Berlin was the news that the company had sold its first Megapack — a massive lithium ion battery installation — to a utility in Alaska.
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By Miles, the UK pay-by-mile car insurance app, adds ‘connected car’ policy for Tesla drivers
By Miles, the U.K. pay-by-mile car insurance provider, is launching a “connected car” insurance policy specifically for Tesla drivers.
The new insurance product pulls real-time mileage information directly from a car owner’s Tesla account and uses the distance they have driven to price their insurance each month. It claims to be the first car insurance policy to take data from a car without the need for a “black box” or aftermarket device.
The new policy — created in partnership with digital insurer La Parisienne Assurances (backed by Swiss Re) — offers lower-mileage Tesla owners in the U.K. (those who drive less than 7,000 miles a year) the opportunity to save significantly on their annual car insurance, according to By Miles.
More broadly, the insurtech company says it is bucking the trend of car insurance not keeping pace with changes in technology, including the move to connected and electric cars. It cites industry figures that suggest one in 10 new cars sold in the U.K. are now electric.
James Blackham, co-founder of By Miles, says the insurance industry needs to “catch up and launch policies as smart as the cars themselves.”
To activate the pay-per-mile Tesla policy, drivers simply connect their Tesla with their By Miles account, with no need to install a separate so-called “black box.” Via the By Miles app, they are then able to instantly see the cost of each day’s miles and pay for what they’ve driven monthly.
The new policy also claims to provide electric-first policy coverage, including covering items often not included on insurance policies as standard, such as “damage or theft of charging cables and accessories as well as electric car batteries.”
Meanwhile, in other ways, the By Miles connected car policy isn’t so much of a deviation from the company’s existing By Miles coverage. It first launched a pay-by-mile policy in July 2018 enabled by its “Miles Tracker” device that plugs into your car to count mileage, and now claims more than 10,000 policyholders.
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Mobility startup Damon Motors enters e-moto arena with EV debut
Vancouver-based mobility startup Damon Motorcycles has entered the EV arena with a preview of its first e-moto, the Hypersport Pro.
The seed-stage company had previously focused on creating digital safety technology — like its 360-degree radar detection system — to augment two-wheelers made by other manufacturers.
Damon has determined to create its own EV model designed to overcome common flaws it sees in existing motorcycle offerings.
“We are for the first time being black and white about the fact that we are a full-on producer and we have a motorcycle we’re going to unveil at CES,” Damon Motorcycle founder and CEO Jay Giraud told TechCrunch.
That machine is the fully electric Damon Hypersport Pro. The news is a pre-announcement ahead of the full January debut, so Giraud would not offer much in the way of core specs — such as price, range, charge-time and performance.
He was clear the motorcycle is meant to be a direct competitor to the latest e-motos released by Harley-Davidson and California-based venture Zero Motorcycles — and to the gas-motorcycle market overall.
“We’ve come at this and the motorcycle problem in a way that no other company has,” Giraud explained.
“We’re trying to change the industry by addressing the issues of safety and handling and comfort and the problems that have persisted with everyone in the industry, including all the e-moto companies today.”
Damon’s Hypersport Pro is designed around the company’s CoPilot system, which uses sensors, radar and cameras to detect and track moving objects around the motorcycle, including blind spots, and alert riders to danger.
Damon has also taken on the problem of one-size-fits-all in motorcycle design, integrating a system on its Hypersport Pro that allows for adjustable ergonomics. The startup’s debut model will allow riders to electronically shift the motorcycle’s windscreen, seat, footpegs and handlebars to accommodate for different positions and conditions — from more upright city riding to more aggressive high-speed runs.
Damon Motorcycles is taking pre-orders for its Hypersport Pro and will skip dealers, opting to use a direct-sales and service model similar to Tesla . The startup’s Vancouver facility is equipped to build 500 motorcycles a year, according to Giraud.
The company recently brought on Derek Dorresteyn, the former CTO of e-moto startup Alta, as its COO. Full specs of the Hypersport Pro will come next month at CES, but Giraud did offer a glimpse, saying it would be more competitive and more powerful than existing e-moto offerings.
Harley-Davidson released its first e-motorcycle — the $29K LiveWire — in 2019 and California EV startup Zero Motorcycles launched its $19K SR/F, both in bids to go take e-motos mass-market. Aside from the price-gap, both have comparable charge times (about an hour), performance and range (around 100 miles for combined city and highway riding).
The U.S. motorcycle industry has been in pretty bad shape since the recession. New sales dropped by roughly 50% since 2008 — with sharp declines in ownership by everyone under 40 — and have never recovered.
Harley-Davidon’s EV pivot is likely to bring e-moto offerings from the other large gas manufacturers, such as Honda and Yamaha, which are also attempting to revive sales to younger riders.
Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire
With Damon’s pivot to e-moto production, the startup is not alone. Italy’s Energica is expanding distribution of its high-performance EVs in the U.S. Other competitors include e-moto startup Fuell, with plans to release its $10K, 150-mile range Flow in the near future.
Of course, there have already been some speed bumps and market attrition, with three e-moto startups — Alta Motors, Mission Motors and Brammo — forced to power down over the last several years.
So how does Damon Motors plan to succeed as a new entrant in a motorcycle market with stagnant new bikes sales and increased EV competition from established OEMs and startups?
“We have so many advantages the others don’t have and we’re leveraging everyone of their weaknesses,” founder Jay Giraud said. The company’s direct-sale model will lend to more competitive pricing and higher margins for R&D, he said.
Then there are what Damon Motorcycles sees as its Hypersport Pro’s purposely designed comparative advantages over existing manufacturers.
“You’re gonna love the horsepower and range and all that good stuff, but that’s not what makes Damon different from every one else,” explained Giraud.
“What’s different is that it’s a safer motorbike with the safety features and transforming ergonomics that will keep you from smashing into someone’s car,” he said.
Not crashing into other people’s cars is certainly a compelling feature to offer in a motorcycle. Time and sales will ultimately tell how Damon fares in the inevitable cycle of events — profitability, failure, acquisition — that will play out in the increasingly competitive e-moto space.
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Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai and more sign renewed commitment to Paris Agreement
The U.S. government may be in the process of formally withdrawing from the term of the Paris Agreement, an international accord on targets to fight climate change, but major U.S. employers say they’ll stay the course in a new statement jointly signed by a group of around 80 chief executives and U.S. labor organization leaders. The statement, posted at UnitedForTheParisAgreement.com, represents a group that either directly employs more than 2 million people in the U.S., or represents a larger group of 12.5 million through labor organizations.
The group collectively says they are “still in” on the Agreement, which many of the undersigned also supported vocally back in 2017 when the Trump administration announced its intent to formally remove itself. They also “urge the United States” to reconsider its current course and also agree to remain committed to the agreement. The Agreement will not only help to potentially counter the ongoing impacts of global climate change, the group says in the letter, but also prepare the way for a “just transition” of the U.S. workforce to “new decent, family supporting jobs and economic opportunity,” implying that bowing out of the Agreement will actually impede the U.S. workforce’s ability to compete on a global scale.
Apple CEO Tim Cook shared the renewed commitment on Twitter, noting in part that “humanity has never faced a greater or more urgent threat than climate change,” and other prominent tech executives have also co-signed, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen. Chief executives from other powerful U.S. companies across industries are also represented, including Coca-Cola’s James Quincey, Patagonia’s Rose Marcario, Unilever’s Alan Jope and Walt Disney’s Robert Iger.
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Max Q: NASA signs up new Moon delivery companies
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There were lot of highlights in the space industry this past week (even though a rocket launch that was supposed to happened is now pushed to Monday). The biggest news for commercial space might just be that NASA signed on five new companies to its list of approved vendors for lunar payload delivery services, bringing the total group to 14.
SpaceX is among them, and Musk’s company had its own fair share of news this week, too – some good, some bad. One things’ for sure: Even going in to the last week in November, there’s still plenty of news to come in this industry before the year’s out.
Artist’s rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander.
The five include Blue Origin, SpaceX, Ceres Robotics, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems. This doesn’t necessarily mean all or any of these companies will actually fly anything to the Moon on behalf of NASA, but it does mean they can officially bid for the chance. Alongside 9 other companies selected previously by NASA, their bids will be considered by the NASA based on cost, viability and other factors.
This is the bad news I referred to earlier: SpaceX’s Starship Mk1 prototype in Texas blew up just a little bit during cryo testing. This test is designed to simulate extreme cold conditions that the spacecraft could endure during flight, and it clearly didn’t. But Elon Musk was optimistic, saying just after the incident that they’ll move on to a more advanced design right away.
SNC’s Shooting Star module. Credit: SNC.
One of the companies that is now included in NASA’s lunar payload service provider list is Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). They’re currently developing and building their Dream Chaser spacecraft, which is reusable and lands like the Space Shuttle. At an event at Cape Canaveral in Florida, they unveiled what they call the ‘Shooting Star’ – an ejectable single use cargo container for the Dream Chaser that can really add to its versatility.
This demonstration mission is just a start, but the tech that Nanoracks is launching aboard a future SpaceX launch will be able to cut metal in space, marking the first time a robotic piece of equipment has done that. The ultimate goal is to use this tech to take spent spacecraft upper stages and give them new life – as research platforms, satellites or even habitats in orbit.
That’s one of Saturn’s moons, and it’s made up of icy oceans. Normally, that’s not an optimal place for a rover to get around, but the agency’s laboratory has been testing a design in the Earth’s coldest oceans to see how viable it will be, and now they’re going to use the Antarctic, which is where it’ll test it for months at a time.
Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s crazy, beautiful, ugly, strange Cybertruck pickup last week, and he noted that the stainless steel alloy that makes up its skin is the same material that SpaceX is developing and using on its new Starship spacecraft. Sometimes, being CEO of both a car company and a space company at the same time really pays off.
A lot of large companies outsource at least part of their innovation management and design, and with the space boom on, there’s a new opportunity for companies to emerge that specialize in helping those same large companies find out where they fit in this new frontier. Luna is one such co, putting the puzzle pieces together for health tech companies.
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Tesla all-electric ATV makes a surprise debut at Cybertruck event
Tesla CEO Elon Musk definitely didn’t have the most issue-free presentation during last night’s Cybertruck unveil, but he did pull off a pretty impressive “one more thing moment” — revealing a surprise all-electric all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that Tesla created to pair with its futuristic pickup.
The Tesla electric ATV didn’t get a lot of time to shine on its own, and instead was used primarily to demonstrate how the Tesla Cybertruck bed and active suspension works for loading cargo, but it’s a real enough thing that Tesla made sure to point out that you can charge the electric four-wheeler right from the Cybertruck while the ATV is loaded in the bed.
Musk didn’t reveal anything about pricing or availability regarding the ATV, but a demo driver did actually drive it up onstage and load it into the bed, so it’s real enough to be functional. Like the Cybertruck itself, it also featured a body design with a lot of intersecting flat planes and angels, and it was done up in matte black, which makes it look like the ATV version of a stealth bomber.
In the past, Musk has discussed the idea of electric motorcycles, dismissing Tesla’s interest in the category in favor of electric bikes. Musk said at a Tesla shareholder meeting in 2018 that a motorcycle was not in the cards, and also floated the idea of doing an e-bike instead that same year.
An ATV is a very different kind of vehicle — designed more for utility and recreation than for road use, but it’ll be interesting to see what kind of consumer launch Tesla has in mind for such a vehicle. A “Cybertruck: ATV Edition” would probably incur a lot of demand.
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Ford’s Mustang Mach-E all-electric SUV revealed in leaked photos, prices and configurations
Ford is officially debuting its fully electric crossover SUV on Sunday, November 17 — but we got a look at the new Mach-E (which was just officially named yesterday) a couple of days early. The leak comes from Ford’s own website, as screenshotted for posterity by Jalopnick, and includes photos of most angles of the car, including the interior, as well as pricing and configuration details for the model variants available at launch.
The Mach-E will start at $43,895 U.S., before any state or tax incentives are applied (and that turns into $36,395 once you apply the maximum $7,500 federal tax credit). The “Select” trim Mach-E as configured at that price gets you 230 EPA-rated miles of range, either AWD or RWD (which presumably alters the price) and a 0-60MPH time in the mid five-second range.
Next up is the “Premium” trim starting at $50,600, again offering an AWD or RWD option, with 300 miles of estimated EPA-rated range, and that same mid five-second 0-60MPH time. The “California Route 1” model above that comes in only AWD, has that longer 300 miles of EPA range and promises a mid six-second 0-60MPH time. It’s a bit slower off the jump, but it’s “named for its cruise-worthy engineering,” so presumably it’s got a more luxe interior for long-distance highway scenic drives.
Next up is a $59,900 “First Edition,” which will be in limited availability and only at launch for the first batch of customers to reserve. It’s got AWD, a range of around 270 miles, a mid five-second 0-60MPH time and exclusive exterior color options, special scuff plates, brushed aluminum pedals and red brake callipers, as well as contrast-colored interior stitching. There’s a GT edition at the top end, with an MSRP starting at $60,500, that will manage to get a 0-60MPH time in the mid three-second range, so that’s clearly the peak performance options for thrill-seekers. Estimated EPA range on that one is around 230 miles.
In terms of looks, the Mustang Mach-E’s design won’t be a surprise to anyone who’s seen the camouflaged spy shots, or the teaser peeks officially released by Ford. It’s definitely got Mustang vibes, and looks a bit like a Mustang that has been lifted up with paneling extended down toward the road. It looks like a panorama roof is an option, and that hatchback will probably please a lot of small SUV fans. There’s also something funky going on with the door handles — the front ones appear very small and near the base of the door windows, while I’m not sure how exactly it works on the rear passenger doors based on these photos.
There’s also a panoramic sunroof at least as an option, and you can see the interior looks pretty blatantly Tesla -inspired, with a large vertical touchscreen taking up most of the center of the dash — albeit with something that looks like a large physical dial right at the base, instead of going for fully touch-only input. A second digital display appears to replace the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel.
Ford has since taken this down, as it’s hosting a splashy event on Sunday with Idris Elba in LA for the full official reveal. TechCrunch will be on site to bring you more photos and details around availability, customization options and more on the day.
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Walmart reaches settlement with Tesla over solar panel fires, drops lawsuit
Walmart has dropped a lawsuit that accused Tesla of breach of contract and gross negligence after rooftop solar panel systems on seven of the retailer’s stores allegedly caught fire.
A settlement has been reached and stipulation of dismissal has been filed with the court, a Walmart spokesperson said in an email. It is unclear what the settlement entails. TechCrunch has requested more information and will update the article if new details emerge.
The two companies issued a joint release Tuesday announcing that the issues raised by Walmart have been resolved.
“Safety is a top priority for each company and with the concerns being addressed, we both look forward to a safe re-energization of our sustainable energy systems,” the emailed statement reads.
The resolution comes just three months after Walmart filed the lawsuit in New York state court. The lawsuit was aimed at Tesla Energy Operations, a division within the clean energy and electric vehicle automaker that was formerly known as SolarCity.
Days after the lawsuit was filed, the two companies announced efforts were underway to try to reach an agreement that would keep the solar installations in place and put them back in service, according to a joint statement issued at the time.
While the announcement signaled progress, the specter of a lawsuit still loomed. Until now.
Walmart said it sued Tesla after years of gross negligence and failure to live up to industry standards by Tesla, according to court documents. Walmart asked Tesla to remove solar panels from all 240 locations where they have been installed, as well as pay for damages related to fires that the retailer alleges stem from the panels. The lawsuit points to several fires on the retailer’s rooftops that allegedly stem from Tesla solar panels.
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