Biography of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Revealed That Once He Told His Employee to Set His Priority Right

In a book written by Bloomberg technology reporter, Ashlee Vance, about Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, it was revealed that Elon is very committed to his work and making the world a better place. Elon Musk is the entrepreneur behind some of the big companies like Tesla, Space X and PayPal.

In another book titled “Elon Musk:Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future”, it was mentioned that there was a person who has worked with him said that Elon Musk works for 23 hours a day. On top of that, in Vance’s book, it was written that once Musk even scolded one of the Tesla’s employee for missing an event just because the employee went to see the birth of his own child.

In the email Musk mentioned that there was no excuse and that he was extremely disappointed. On top of that, he advised the employee to figure out where his priorities were. He also added that they were changing the world and changing history and he wanted the employee to choose whether he was willing to give his commitment or not.

In the book, it was also written about his personal life. In the early days when an employee complained that they were working too much, Musk replied that he told them that they would get to see their families a lot when the company went bankrupt.  This according to Ryan Popple, one of Tesla’s employee in the earliest day who is currently the CEO of Proterra, an electric vehicle manufacturer.

Biography of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Revealed That Once He Told His Employee to Set His Priority Right

Tesla Used Cars Sold Online on its website for thousand dollars less

Tesla currently is selling its pre-owned cars on its website which is for the first time, according to Wall Street Journal. There is an option to “Buy Pre-owned” on one of the options. The vehicles for sale are up to 2-and-a-half years old and mostly are lack of all-wheel drive which is a feature that the company announced in April.

The cheapest second-hand Model S costs around $63,000 which is about $12,000 or less than when you buy the most affordable new vehicle from the same company, Tesla. Unfortunately, the price is before the federal tax credit and state purchase incentive; however, it includes a four-year or 50,000 limited warranty by Tesla. It is considered not a bad option for drivers who do not mind the lack of all-wheel drive.

Apparently, Tesla does the sales directly to the customer. The company does not use any independent car dealer; therefore, it does not suffer from a share cut from the sales. By selling its second hand cars, it will become another revenue stream apart from selling the first hand cars. On top of that the profit margin for selling second hand cars is higher.

Recently, there were a lot of announcements from Tesla, such as the high-end electric car which is going to launch soon as well as Tesla Energy plan which includes a new battery called Powerwall which is used to store energy and thus powering the home and Powerpack, which has the same functionality as Powerwall but it is for industrial purposes.

Tesla declines to comment regarding this issue.

Tesla Used Cars Sold Online on its website for thousand dollars less

Tesla Announced Affordable Electric Car Model 3 to be Released Next Year

As Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, announced the company earnings on Wednesday, on top of that, he also announced that the Tesla Model 3 will be released in March 2016. Tesla Model 3 is an affordable electric car which is going to cost about $35,000 before the government subsidy. It faces competition from other car manufacturer such as Nissan Leaf which costs about $29,000 and Chevy Bolt which costs about $30,000.

Elon Musk also mentioned that the date could change. He expects the car to be on sale by mid 2017, although the real date could be later that year.  Chevy Bolt by GM is expected to be released on the road in 2017.

The cheapest Tesla car is the Model S 70D which costs $75,000. Currently, the average of buying car in U.S. in 2013 was about $32,086 according to Kelley’s Blue Book.

Tesla Model 3 will be made from steel instead of aluminium which is easier and cheaper to work with. Aluminium also need to be handled more carefully than steel as such steel is chosen as the car body material.

Musk also mentioned the progress with Tesla Model X which is expected to be the company’s electric SUV. The pre-order for the model will start in July 2015 and the shipment should be starting in Q4.

Tesla Announced Affordable Electric Car Model 3 to be Released Next Year

Driverless Car Soon to be Realized in the Near Future

There is a lot of benefit for driverless car even though it seems like it is not safe as it is considered a new technology. One of the benefit is it will reduce the number of car accidents which is caused by tiredness or drunk-driving which is caused by human.  In USA alone, there are roughly 5.5 million crashes a year which costs estimated to about $450 billiion. However, when compared to other countries such as India, Thailand or Libya, it is considered the lowest.

Driverless car uses technology to control the behavior of the car. Currently a few companies such as Tesla or Google has already bringing the driverless car to real roads to do testing. In 2012, Google announced that the company has already completed 300,000 miles of perfect tests, across Western U.S and in all weather conditions with zero accident whereas when compared with human, there is approximately about 2 accidents every 300,000 miles. Tesla has also sending autonomous cars between San Fransisco and Seattle with zero accidents too.

According to Google X Chief Astro Teller, the driverless car technology has already matured. There is no mistakes which will teach them something new currently. For example, there was a time whereby the driverless car was on the road during one of its testing time, and then a duck was shooed across a pedestrian crossing by a woman in a wheelchair. The driverless car then stopped promptly in front of the duck without hurting the duck. This is definitely not something that a human driver can do.

Driverless Car Soon to be Realized in the Near Future

Apple working on a new iCar?

Apple manages to always stay in the news for some reason or the other. Latest rumor says Apple is working on its own iCar. A mysterious black camera-mounted van has been spotted moving around the streets of San Francisco which apparently belongs to Apple. This has sparked rumors that the Cupertino giant may be developing a self driving car.

It is a known fact that Steve Jobs wanted to build his own iCar and now the company may be working to fulfill “Steve’s dream”. There have been fresh rumors that Apple has been poaching employees from Tesla Motors, the maker of electric cars.

A newly employed person at Apple told Business Insider that “Tesla employees were jumping ship to work at Apple”. He said, “Apple’s latest project is too exciting to pass up. I think it will change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money.“

Apple has hired around 50 employees who were previously working with Tesla and many of them are engineers and designers. These people have good experience in building cars leading to speculation that the Cupertino company might indeed be building a car.

Of course, it is also likely that Apple is working on improving its CarPlay infotainment system. CarPlay allows you to control the car’s entertainment system through your iPhone, make calls or listen to voice mails while driving. It also has Apple Maps and other options so that navigation of the car becomes easy.

Well, some may think what does Apple know about building a car, but they forget that Apple is one of the leading companies in the world for software and it can easily use its expertise to build an electric car. What do you think?

 

Source Redmond Pie

Apple working on a new iCar?

Tesla’s autopilot isn’t anything sensational but it’s quite cool

Tesla had announced its autopilot during the unveiling of its dual-motor all-wheel drive sedan Model S. “We’ve been able to accelerate autopilot and bring it to market faster than originally anticipated,” said Elon Musk to a gathering at its facility in Southern California. “It’s actually in production. In fact, every car coming off the line at Tesla at the factory has the autopilot hardware.“

The autopilot that is installed in the new Tesla cars is a “bundle of hardware and software” that allows the car to take control when running on highways, park by itself in the garage and even intervene when it senses that you are on a collision course. This is an advanced autonomous driving system but if you think the autopilot will drive the car around while you sleep comfortably at the wheel or when there is no driver at all, think again.

All the new Model S vehicles that roll off the assembly line will have a sensor package containing radar, ultrasonic sensors and forward-facing cameras which are new to Tesla, but other automakers have already been offering them. For instance, the Lexus HS250h of 2010 could drive by itself on highways by controlling the steering, acceleration and brake, through dynamic cruise control and lane-keep assist systems.

This was achieved by using a combination of cameras and radar just like the Tesla, but Tesla’s is more sophisticated as the technology has advanced considerably since then. Steer Assist present in Mercedes 2014 S Class is somewhat similar. Some BMWs are capable of reading speed limit signs like the Tesla Model S. Audi has demonstrated car parking by itself and picking you up unattended. However, full autonomy in cars will still take a few years. Tesla is also promising to make its system more advanced over a period of time.

Google has logged thousands of miles for its driverless car but it still hasn’t solved the problem of heavy rain and snow although it has a wider range of sensors than what Tesla is using. Making a car that can transport you safely by itself is a pretty challenging task but hopefully in the next few years, there will have been much more progress on this front.

 

Via The Verge

Tesla’s autopilot isn’t anything sensational but it’s quite cool

Robot Cars is Safer than Us. Is It Even Possible?

Tesla recently announced an autopilot feature which will enable us to have a self driving car. Yes, of course there are some challenges in the technical and logistical and some academics expected that it will take decades for it to learn to navigate the complexities of urban jungle.

By designing self-driving cards, we do hope that it will eliminate some traffic issues that we currently have. After all humans are prone to road rage since we tend to rush headlong into traffic jams, break rules, get distracted and crash into each other.

Tesla is not the only one who developing this technology. Most car manufacturers now offer option in their high-end vehicles to keep them within their lane, adjust speed, warn of pedestrians and stop in the event of impending accident. This system has been tested by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The company has done the testing on automating braking systems of 24 vehicles and thus gives 21 a ranking of “superior” or “advanced”.

The new Tesla will have improvements on sensors for image recognition, 360-degree sonar system that can analyze the surroundings and long range radar to recognize signs and pedestrians. It is designed to be able to change lanes on its own, obey speed limit signs, and avoid accidents and even park itself. On top of that, it should be able to pick us up at our front door after driving itself out of the garage.

Well, we are looking forward to try this technology!

Robot Cars is Safer than Us. Is It Even Possible?

Algae Battery that could even charge a Tesla

Algae are being studied since long for their power generating capabilities.  Adam Freeman of the research company aLGAS has used Algae to create a prototype battery in his small lab near a lake in West Berkeley. This prototype at present consists only of a row of jars, but if it becomes successful, it could totally revolutionize battery power that is being used now.

According to Freeman, the Algae battery he is working on could generate 200 times more power than the currently used lithium-based batteries and could power even a Tesla.  The Algae battery can also charge at a faster rate and can last longer than the usual Lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones, tablets or even the Tesla car. The Algae have paper-thin fibers through which ions can get through easily and thus charge faster, as fast as 11 seconds!

The current batteries use Lithium and as their usage grows Lithium shortages are bound to occur. Lithium demand will also shoot up as more and more electric cars are produced. China holds 95% share in the global market for supply of rare earth materials used in batteries. No other material has been discovered as yet that could replace Lithium. In such a scenario, Algae batteries could prove to be a boon.

Studies have shown that Lithium-ion batteries contain Nickel and Cobalt which can cause an adverse effect on our health and environment. People exposed to these elements could suffer from a variety of health problems including cancer.

The following figure shows how a Lithium-ion battery gets charged:

Earlier research has shown that Algae have a charge and could be used for battery power. However, how much charge Algae can produce and how much of it would be required to power various devices such as a mobile or a car has not been ascertained yet.

Freeman claims to have found the solution but needs funding to begin mass production. He needs $1500 to build the prototype and a total of $5000 to get it ready for mass production. In the prototype, Freeman uses a bio-safe polymer that binds together the Algae fibres and improves its interaction with the electron charge. A French biochemist Pierre Calleja has used Algae to power a street lamp but his experiment is also in initial stages.

If Adam Freeman’s Algae Battery project is successful, we could not only power mobile devices and cars, but also an entire house with Algae. He says, “Think of driving your car on a living battery that charges in seconds with a battery that costs almost nothing and is actually good for the environment.”

Algae Battery that could even charge a Tesla