Silicon Valley
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Early last year, with promises of self-driving cars in owners' hands well before any competitor, development of the Tesla Autopilot system for the maker's electric cars was proceeding nicely. Then, in May 2016, a dedicated Tesla owner was killed in a Florida crash when his Tesla Model S, operating on Autopilot, hit a tractor-trailer rig broadside and passed under it, shearing off the roof. The subsequent 16 months have been considerably rockier for Tesla and the collection of active-safety and driver-assistance aids that make up Autopilot. DON'T MISS: Tesla upgrades self-driving sensors...
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Apple self-driving car plans emerge: how will it play with automakers?
Last year, techies, auto journalists, and Apple fans spent a great deal of time debating the existence, technology, and potential prospects of an "Apple car" project that the company never officially acknowledged. The idea that Apple would move from fast-turn, high-volume, very profitable consumer...
John Voelcker -
Tesla CEO Elon Musk named to Trump's business-leader forum
Elon Musk was named to an advisory group of business leaders.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla CEO Musk, other Silicon Valley execs, to meet Trump Wednesday
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is among a roster of chief executives from Silicon Valley set to meet with president-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, according to news reports. Musk has suggested that climate change is among the most urgent challenges facing mankind, one reason his company makes only...
John Voelcker -
Atieva now Lucid Motors; plans 300-mile, 900-hp electric car
Atieva is now Lucid Motors.
Stephen Edelstein -
Apple Car always faced insanely great odds, now apparently dead
Apple is reportedly abandoning plans to build its own car.
Stephen Edelstein -
There's no shortage of putative rivals to electric-car maker Tesla Motors, from German luxury makers to other California startups. Thus far, of course, none have actually put a car on sale—unlike Tesla, which has sold somewhere north of 125,000 cars since 2008. One of the least-known is Chinese-backed Atieva, located in Silicon Valley since its 2007 founding. DON'T MISS: Tesla, Faraday: Meet Atieva, Your Newest Electric-Car Rival (Dec 2015) Initially, Atieva intended to develop and sell complete electric-drive systems to automakers, both in China and elsewhere. That business didn't...
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Maybe Apple and Google won't take over the car industry after all?
Apple and Google are both experiencing setbacks in their plans to build autonomous cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Chevy Bolt EV electric car shows GM can do Silicon Valley, exec says
Over the last five years, much has been written about autonomous-car efforts from Apple and Google. Could these two massively successful Silicon Valley startups overturn the established order in the global auto industry? The answer remains to be seen, but this month brought news that both companies...
John Voelcker -
Tesla now 'driving force' behind San Francisco area manufacturing
Electric-car maker Tesla Motors has had many interesting and unexpected effects in its decade of existence. It's launched a series of electric cars with 200 miles or more of range, which remain—eight years after its first Roadster—the only such cars sold today that can make that claim...
John Voelcker -
Startup That Refills Your Car At Work Or Home Hits Silicon Valley
A startup allows consumers to order gasoline with a smartphone app.
Stephen Edelstein -
VW CEO Müller: Automotive Future Must Not Be Left To Silicon Valley
Like many automakers, Volkswagen Group has had a research facility in Silicon Valley for many years. In 2011, Its Electronics Research Laboratory--first launched in 1998--tripled its size and moved northward from Palo Alto to Belmont. It now has almost 100 people. But new VW Group CEO Matthias...
John Voelcker -
Seems like starting an electric car company making luxury vehicles is all the rage in Silicon Valley these days. Tesla Motors, of course, is now well-established, although its Southern California counterpart Fisker Automotive declared bankruptcy and is now hoping for resurrection under a new owner. More recently, the mysterious Faraday Future, with supposedly lavish funding from Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, will host a major press event at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. DON'T MISS: Faraday Future Electric Car Concept Coming To 2016 CES But there may be another entrant...
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A Polite Note About Tesla To Media Colleagues (Especially In Detroit)
Automotive journalists talk among ourselves, just as most people in most professions do. And because this site consistently covers Tesla Motors and its electric cars, we've had a number of colleagues at other outlets reach out to us with questions about the Silicon Valley carmaker. They all boil...
John Voelcker -
Apple Electric Car Is "Committed Project," To Ship In 2019: Report
Apple is reportedly speeding up its electric-car project.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S, Three Years Later: What Electric Car Taught Us
Three years ago today, the very first production Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan was delivered to its buyer. That would be Silicon Valley venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, who's also a Tesla board member. The delivery took place, on a weekend, as soon as the Model S had been fully certified...
John Voelcker -
First Standalone BMW Electric-Car Sales Facility Opens--In CA, Of Course
Electric cars are still a rarity in most of North America, and for that matter most of the world. But California, which has led automotive trends pretty much since the Second War, is different. Electric cars are increasingly popular there, and they're becoming positively commonplace in Silicon...
John Voelcker -
Tesla 'Ecosystem' Changing The Face Of Silicon Valley
Tesla is reorienting the local economy toward car manufacturing, a new report says.
Stephen Edelstein -
It wasn't so long ago--not quite four years, actually--that Tesla's new headquarters and office complex in the foothills of Palo Alto, California, seemed a big and audacious gamble. My, how times change. With its factory in nearby Fremont cranking out several hundred Model S electric cars a week, and preparations underway to add the Model X crossover and boost production to as much as 2,000 cars a week within 18 months, the company is running out of room. DON'T MISS: Largest Auto-Industry Employer In California: Electric-Car Maker Tesla Motors According to Silicon Valley Business Journal, the...
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Tesla's Important Not Only For Electric Cars But For Silicon Valley: Opinion
The Tesla Model S is undoubtedly an excellent car. It's quick, efficient, looks good to most eyes and can compete with most fossil-fueled equivalents on even footing. READ: White House Responds To Tesla Direct-Sales Petition: Sorry, Talk To Congress But it's arguably not Tesla's, nor Silicon...
Antony Ingram -
Want To Rent A Tesla Model S P85? It'll Cost You $900...A Day
A California exotic-car rental company has a Tesla Model S electric car in its fleet.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is This A Tesla Model S AWD Prototype Caught Testing? (Video, Photos)
It's long been expected that sooner or later, the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan will be offered with all-wheel drive. Now, two different Tesla fans have captured photos and video of what appears to be a prototype test vehicle with external instrumentation driving around the San Francisco Bay...
John Voelcker -
From Apple To Tesla: Woz Follows The Trend, Buys Model S
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has had his eye on a Model S electric car for some time.
Stephen Edelstein -
SOLVED! Electric-Car Mystery: Doorless, Abandoned Nissan Leaf In Palo Alto
Most people in the U.S. have probably never seen a Nissan Leaf electric car. But Silicon Valley is different--it's crammed with plug-in electric cars, especially Teslas--and now it's got its own electric-car mystery. As longtime reader Anton Wahlman points out, a blue 2012 Nissan Leaf has now been...
John Voelcker