All posts tagged: Automotive industry

Has Elon Musk driven Tesla off track?

Has Elon Musk driven Tesla off track?

Published by skeptic

The electric carmaker’s Cybertruck was recalled last month after safety concerns emerged over the accelerator pedal. Kari Paul reports Last month Tesla recalled its Cybertrucks after malfunctions involving the accelerator pedal were reported. It is the latest blow for the US electric carmaker, which has been hit by a series of embarrassing failures since the Cybertruck was delivered to customers late last year. Kari Paul, a technology reporter for Guardian US, talks to Michael Safi about Tesla’s recent struggles, from safety issues to supply-chain delays. Can the company’s embattled chief executive, Elon Musk, turn its fortunes around? Continue reading… Source link

Pint-size pickup startup Telo Trucks finds unexpected niche in fleet customers

Pint-size pickup startup Telo Trucks finds unexpected niche in fleet customers

Published by skeptic

When electric-vehicle startup Telo Trucks announced its pint-sized pickup, people predictably went nuts. There’s a cadre for whom small trucks aren’t just convenient, they’re a lifestyle, one that major automakers have largely ignored for the last 20 years as they’ve chased high-margin, full-size pickups. With little more than some renders and early prototypes, the company has racked up nearly 3,000 reservations. But over the last several months, something less expected happened. Fleet customers went nuts, too. “There’s this unspoken thing where fleet companies that do work in cities can no longer buy small trucks,” Jason Marks, Telo Truck’s co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. “They used to love them: They were perfect for these fleet applications for downtown cities, but they don’t exist anymore.” What some fleet managers have resorted to is buying neighborhood electric vehicles, which are basically souped-up golf carts that can be equipped with a small bed in the back. But because those low-speed vehicles can’t be used on the highway, the fleet also has to buy and maintain a full-size pickup to …

Carmakers could be complicit in abuse of China’s Uyghurs, report says

Carmakers could be complicit in abuse of China’s Uyghurs, report says

Published by skeptic

Jim Wormington, a senior researcher and advocate for corporate accountability at Human Rights Watch, said: “Car companies simply don’t know the extent of their links to forced labour in Xinjiang in their aluminium supply chains. “Consumers should know their cars might contain materials linked to forced labour or other abuses in Xinjiang.” According to HRW, the risk of coercion in the aluminium industry is linked to Chinese government-backed labour transfer programmes, which force Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims into jobs in Xinjiang and other parts of the country. The rights group cites “credible evidence” from Chinese state media articles, company reports and government statements to back up its research. It also reports that fossil fuel companies supplying coal to Xinjiang’s aluminium producers have received labour transfer workers at their coal mines. The report draws heavily from a 2022 report by Sheffield Hallam University and the NomoGaia group on links between aluminium smelters in Xinjiang and major global carmakers, as well as research on links between the region’s smelters and labour transfer schemes. ‘Crimes against humanity’ …

The Most Important Technology of 2023 Wasn’t AI

The Most Important Technology of 2023 Wasn’t AI

Published by skeptic

One day in late November, I cradled a red Samsung flip phone in my hands as if it was a ruby gemstone. To me, it was just as precious. Deep inside an overstuffed dresser in my childhood bedroom, I had spotted the glint of my first-ever cellphone, a Samsung SGH-A707 purchased in the waning days of the George W. Bush presidency. The device, no bigger than a credit card, had long ago succumbed to the spider web of cracks on its screen. For a moment, I was brought back to life before the smartphone, clicking the phone’s plastic keys for the first time in more than a decade. This device, and every other phone like it, of course, was made obsolete by the touchscreen slabs now in all of our pockets. Perhaps you have heard that we are now on the cusp of another iPhone moment—the rise of a new technology that changes the world. No, not that one. Despite the post-ChatGPT frenzy, artificial intelligence has so far been defined more by speculative hype than …

‘Roborace’ car makes street track debut in Marrakech

‘Roborace’ car makes street track debut in Marrakech

Published by skeptic

Story highlights Driverless electric racer completes successful track test in Marrakech, Morocco Planned Roborace series will see autonomous cars compete at Formula E ePrix weekends CNN  —  It is a car kitted out with technology its developers boldly predict will transform our cities and change the way we live. The autonomous “DevBot #1” took a giant leap forward in Morocco recently, making its debut on a street track at the Formula E Marrakech ePrix. The battery-powered prototype is being tested for Roborace – a proposed race series where driverless cars will compete on temporary city circuits. “It’s the first time we’ve run the Devbot in driverless mode on a Formula E track in the middle of a city street,” Roborace’s Justin Cooke told CNN. “It’s so exciting for the team who put hours and hours of work in. These guys were up to 1-2 a.m. in the morning developing a technology that no one else in the world is able to do at this speed and in these complicated environments.” Read: Electric race car showcases …

Flying a sports car with wings

Flying a sports car with wings

Published by skeptic

Story highlights The intuitive amphibious ICON A5 looks like a sports car It does require a sports pilot license to fly it Tampa, Florida CNN  —  When it comes to piloting a plane, I have zero experience. In fact, I’ve never even considered attempting it. Nevertheless, as we swoop over Florida’s Tampa Bay on a gorgeous November morning, I enthusiastically take over the controls of the ICON A5, a two-seater amphibious plane that looks like a sports car, maneuvers like a jet ski and is so intuitive, the company says that even a novice can learn to fly it in less than 30 hours. At 23 feet long and weighing in a 1,510 pounds, it’s known as a sea light-sport aircraft. Designed to help you focus on the freedom of flying without worrying if the plane will react unpredictably, there’s nothing else quite like it on the market. Now that I’m in control, my whole body tenses for a good five minutes. Am I really ready to pilot this shiny new machine all by myself? …