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Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented some new details on the Tesla Network’s Robotaxi ride-hailing service during the company’s Autonomy Day. Musk outlined his how much electric car owners can earn from the service, as well as how long vehicles can last operating as autonomous ride-sharing Robotaxis.

Musk started his presentation by reiterating Tesla’s Master Plan, which includes the deployment of the company’s Robotaxi program sometime in 2020 (pending regulatory approval, of course). Musk joked about Tesla’s delays in the rollout of Full Self-Driving features, though he did note that “we said we’re gonna do the Robotaxi, and we’re gonna do the Robotaxi.”

Tesla owners who wish to use their vehicles for the Tesla Network will be able to manage their electric cars through their smartphone. Musk dropped several points of information that will be key to the Tesla Network’s Robotaxi service as well. Among these is the vehicles’ longevity. The CEO noted that current-generation battery packs are good for about 300,000 to 500,000 miles, though Tesla’s upcoming batteries which will go on production next year will operate for twice as long, up to 1 million miles with minimal maintenance.

Continue reading “Tesla outlines plan for ‘Robotaxi’ ride-sharing service” »

China was no good at cars. Then EVs came along.

Circa 2013

A team from MIT are developing thrusters powered by ionic wind as an efficient alternative to current conventional atmospheric propulsion technologies.

This electric vehicle could become your future mode of transportation 😍 via @kittyhawkaero

Uber announced Thursday night that its self-driving car unit received a $1 billion investment ahead of the tech giant’s upcoming debut on th.

However, we are not there yet and we have to take it step-by-step, says Dr Anna Anund from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). She and her team are developing sensor-based systems as part of the ADAS&ME project to move towards level three, in which the driver can rest and would only be expected to drive when the car requests it.

When you’re sleepy, stressed or have had a few drinks, you’re not in the best position to drive – or even make that decision. But automated cars could soon make that call for you.

Researchers from Drexel University and Trinity College in Ireland, have created ink for an inkjet printer from a highly conductive type of two-dimensional material called MXene. Recent findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that the ink can be used to print flexible energy storage components, such as supercapacitors, in any size or shape.

Conductive inks have been around for nearly a decade and they represent a multi-hundred million-dollar market that is expected to grow rapidly into the next decade. It’s already being used to make the radiofrequency identification tags used in highway toll transponders, circuit boards in portable electronics and it lines car windows as embedded radio antennas and to aid defrosting. But for the technology to see broader use, conductive inks need to become more conductive and more easily applied to a range of surfaces.

Yury Gogotsi, Ph.D., Distinguished University and Bach professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who studies the applications of new materials in technology, suggests that the ink created in Drexel’s Nanomaterials Institute is a significant advancement on both of these fronts.

Continue reading “Need more energy storage? Just hit ‘print’” »

Canada’s newly announced $5,000 incentive for electric vehicles is officially going into effect on May 1st next month and the federal government has released the list of eligible vehicles.

Tesla vehicles are officially ineligible for the incentive.

As we reported last month, the Canadian federal announced a new $5,000 incentive for electric cars with a $45,000 price limit, which virtually excluded Tesla vehicles.

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The first of the TTC’s zero-emission electric buses arrived today.

According to TTC spokesperson Stuart Green, the new vehicle must undergo testing and commissioning first before it can enter regular service later this spring.

The first of the #TTC ‘s zero emission electric buses arrived today! This @newflyer vehicle (#3700) will undergo testing and commissioning before it enters regular service later this Spring. We’ll have 60 e-buses by year end, making the TTC a national clean-tech fleet leader. pic.twitter.com/voobFV8JEM

Continue reading “The first of the TTC’s zero-emission electric buses rolled into town today (PHOTOS)” »