It'll be fascinating to look back on Cybertruck in 10 years. On the surface, it looks like it's likely going to be a financial flop, but you could make an argument that it's done a pretty good job of keeping Tesla top of mind even while other EV manufacturers are (kinda) catching up.
If you subscribe to the any news is good news philosophy yeah
US regulators launch new probe of Tesla after 2 million cars recalled.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reviewing a December recall on Tesla's autopilot feature, focusing on whether the electric vehicle company adequately remedied the issue. The probe comes after at least 20 crashes have occurred involving cars that received Tesla's autopilot software update. [Reply]
Electric vehicles are technically more popular than ever, but it's no secret that the market isn’t growing as fast as originally hoped. Major manufacturers like Ford and Toyota have delayed plans for all-EV lineups, and many startups have either folded or are on the brink of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Even mighty Tesla saw its automotive revenue decline 13% in the first quarter. Both the technology and infrastructure remain sub-optimal with many EVs having a shorter range than their gas-powered counterparts and the US being way short on charging stations. On top of all that, EVs cost more.
Now, take all that struggle with consumers and put it into the trucking and shipping industry, where diesel engines reign supreme, and you have an even bigger problem:
EV trucks cost about three times as much as combustion-engine semis, and despite state and federal subsidies, the WSJ noted several logistical reasons propping up diesel rigs: EV rigs cost double to operate, can travel less than half as far, and require hours of recharging, which isn’t too practical for an industry that operates on thin margins.
An analysis from trucking firm Ryder found that converting a fleet of 25 commercial vehicles, including about 10 big rigs, to EVs in California would raise the fleet's operating cost by 56%, or $3.4 million a year, the WSJ reported. Light-duty trucks raise operating costs and the expenses tied to labor, charging, and repairs go higher as the vehicles get heavier. In the last year, Ryder has sold just 60 EVs through a program to help companies set up battery-powered fleets, but only five were heavy-duty trucks and they were only used in yards, not roads.
10-4, Good Buddy: Though the big rig EV space seems a little bleak, Amazon did just add 50 of them in California, claiming it to be the biggest EV fleet in the country. The Volvo-made trucks are expected to be used in first- and mid-mile transportation, and some will carry goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on a 35-minute drive to a fulfillment center in Santa Fe Springs.
Japanese Automakers Turn to Gas, Biofuel Engines as EV Adoption Stalls
Just as surging gas prices during the 1970s provided Japanese carmakers with an opportunity, Japan Inc. is ready to capitalize on the greatest fear on American roads today: running out of charge.
Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru are forging a new path in the fledgling era of all-electric vehicles. On Tuesday, the three automakers revealed prototypes of smaller combustion engines that will work in tandem with battery-powered engines and can run on standard gasoline as well as hydrogen and a variety of other fuels.
You Can Go Your Own Way
Many manufacturers had plans for all-electric lineups in the next decade or so, but most have scaled down those ambitions as EVs struggle with low adoption rates. Toyota’s Prius helped popularize hybrid cars, sales of which have become a real boon for the Japanese automaker. And now, instead of trying to take a page out of Tesla or BYD’s book, the company is looking to evolve its hybrid design toward a carbon-neutral future:
Toyota announced Monday it was partnering with petroleum companies Idemitsu Kosan, Eneos, and Mitsubishi to develop carbon-neutral fuels and make them available in Japan by 2030. Biofuels can be considered carbon-neutral as they release fewer emissions than gasoline, and the CO2 they set off could be absorbed by the plants (corn, soybeans, sugarcane) that produce the fuel.
During a presentation Tuesday, Subaru CEO Atsushi Osaki said the companies are committed to “preserving the Earth’s precious environment for future generations.” However, the auto industry must make “steady, realistic progress toward carbon neutrality” and that it’s “ultimately up to customers to decide what car is best for them.”
Bufford Barr, COO of New Day Hydrogen, sees passenger cars as part of building the clean hydrogen market, but he knows it will take a while.
“The problem with passenger vehicles is just getting enough of them on the market and that they’re using enough hydrogen to justify the stations,” he told The Daily Upside. “If you have three fueling stations in the entire state of Colorado, is that enough for you as a private vehicle owner to feel comfortable with? The answer is probably no. But for commercial fleets that have the same routes day-in-and-day-out, those three stations can give plenty of coverage.”
Electric Boogaloo: This isn’t to say Toyota has checked out of the EV game. Sure, the company hasn’t been an EV juggernaut, having only one model and opposing tailpipe emission requirements proposed by the Biden administration last year, but it sees some writing on the wall. Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima told the Financial Times that the company’s investment into the new engines would be a “magnitude smaller” than the money going toward electric vehicles and battery development. EV sales, while slow, are still going up. By 2030, one out of every four new passenger cars sold will be an EV, according to S&P Global, so it wouldn’t be the wisest move to ditch the solely battery-powered vehicles altogether.
Imagine if you can just pop a turd in your gas tank and drive 300 miles.
Figure it out, science.
Taco Bell to the rescue.
Until they figure it out we'll just have to keep letting the cows do it for us. They're even making this cool white stuff and steaks as a byproduct while filling the shit tank powered fuel lines. California is running all the dairy farms off though, so you might have to move if you want shit powered anything before the Taco Bell system gets everyone up and running. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ghak99:
Taco Bell to the rescue.
Until they figure it out we'll just have to keep letting the cows do it for us. They're even making this cool white stuff and steaks as a byproduct while filling the shit tank powered fuel lines. California is running all the dairy farms off though, so you might have to move if you want shit powered anything before the Taco Bell system gets everyone up and running.
Hey man. Don’t be adding competition to my fertilizer market.