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According to their test results, FSD Beta was activated at 40 mph within 100 yards of the dummy, and in three tests, it always struck the dummy between 24 and 27 mph:
These results would point to the driver failing to activate the FSD Beta, and the car slowing down to those speeds over 100 yards before hitting the target.
Sure enough, The Dawn Project’s own video of the test shows the driver “activating” FSD Beta by pressing on the Autopilot stalk, but we can clearly see that it didn’t activate because the course prediction line stays grey and the Autopilot wheel doesn’t appear on the top left:
I don’t know much about the publication but this quote, while a little exaggerated, is kind of how I felt using FSD:
Lol, Elon is so bi-polar in his thinking, I love it. He doesn't care if he makes an 180 degree change, and just makes decisions based on what makes the most sense for TSLA, doesn't care much about what others think. What a gift to have that ability.
Lol, Elon is so bi-polar in his thinking, I love it. He doesn't care if he makes an 180 degree change, and just makes decisions based on what makes the most sense for TSLA, doesn't care much about what others think. What a gift to have that ability.
That's why TSLA is so successful. He thinks outside of the box and is not restrained like other executives who are surrounded by massive bureaucracy. Plus like you said, he's um...a little nuts
A Tesla Model 3 Refresh that could potentially be a part of the company’s “Project Highland” was spotted yesterday sporting never-before-seen wheels.
Tesla has been working on the Model 3’s newest iteration, codenamed “Project Highland,” since last Summer. Sightings of the vehicle have continued to pop up throughout the community, with the most recent coming yesterday as Tesla announced a new Engineering HQ in Palo Alto.
Spotted by The Kilowatts, the Model 3 Highland is still covered in the front and rear bumper portions, but it appears Tesla has new 18″ Aero wheels, which are just the stock option for the vehicle with the Aero Covers taken off.
Details regarding what Tesla will bring with Project Highland are still widely unknown. However, there are a lot of indications that Tesla will bring a new infotainment package and interior features. Some people speculate that Tesla could be looking to revamp the design of the Model 3 by giving it somewhat of a facelift.
For what it’s worth, the picture of the front end of the Model 3 Highland spotted yesterday does appear to have a slightly different front end and appears to be boxier than the current design. However, this is just speculation.
Initial reports about Project Highland indicated Tesla was gearing up for a change in internal parts and infotainment, and not necessarily anything super technical or groundbreaking with the Model 3. However, the car has been out on the market for six years and is likely in need of a revamp of some kind.
Tesla has been revamping its Fremont Factory in Northern California for at least eight months now, preparing for a new and updated Model 3 design. Teslarati has been tracking progress at the plant for several months, and the automaker has installed new manufacturing equipment and production lines in preparation for the new Highland Model 3
Tesla does an excellent job of keeping things under wraps? O'rly? We know so many details before Tesla officially tells us anything, heck Giga Texas has giant glass windows drones routinely capture what's going on inside.
I'm certain Tesla purposely doesn't try very hard to hide this stuff, free marketing.
Tesla does an excellent job of keeping things under wraps? O'rly? We know so many details before Tesla officially tells us anything, heck Giga Texas has giant glass windows drones routinely capture what's going on inside.
I'm certain Tesla purposely doesn't try very hard to hide this stuff, free marketing.
there was a debate going on in the Polestar forum regarding Tesla's marketing department, It's basically Twitter in a nutshell
Which of these electric vehicle makers should you put your money behind today?
The electric vehicle (EV) revolution could change the way the world moves, but most companies in the industry have experienced volatile valuation swings over the last year. Tesla (TSLA 0.79%) stock has skyrocketed by roughly 61% year to date, but its share price is still down by roughly 52% from its high. Meanwhile, Rivian (RIVN -4.31%) stock, up 3% in 2023, is approximately 89% below its peak.
Should investors put their money behind industry-leading Tesla, or would they be better off backing the smaller, more beaten-down Rivian? Two Motley Fool contributors have differing views on which of these EV stocks will deliver better returns from here. Image source: Tesla.
Tesla is arguably the best-in-class EV stock
Parkev Tatevosian: Investor enthusiasm around electric vehicle stocks may have come down from the euphoria a couple of years ago, but it remains considerably high. If you're looking for an EV stock to buy, then Tesla could be your best choice. The company has done an excellent job of increasing revenue while demonstrating economies of scale.
Indeed, Tesla's revenue has exploded from $4 billion in 2015 to $81.5 billion in 2022. Its success arguably led several competitors to enter the fray -- especially after Tesla demonstrated the profit potential of manufacturing EVs at scale. In 2015, Tesla's operating income was negative $717 million. By 2022, that figure had turned positive and risen to $13.8 billion. Admittedly, the next few years will not be as easy for Tesla as those previous years were.
Rising competition will make things meaningfully more challenging for Tesla. Sales will be harder to come by as consumers have more EV options. Meanwhile, securing materials will be more costly as competitors bid up commodity prices. Still, those headwinds could already be priced into Tesla's stock, which is trading at its lowest valuation in years when measured by its price-to-earnings ratio of 57.5. For those reasons, if I were picking an EV stock to buy, Tesla would be at the top of my list.
Rivian is down, but it's not out
Keith Noonan: Rivian shareholders have had a tough go of things since the company's initial public offering late in 2021. The stock lost ground during the market's broader pivot away from growth stocks and in conjunction with concerns that economic conditions will create a tougher operating backdrop for auto companies.
Investors were also dismayed by Ford's decision to divest from the company, and by the end of the EV upstart's short-lived partnership with Mercedes. Additionally, the 24,337 vehicles that the company produced in 2022 fell short of its target of 25,000.
But it doesn't look like the wheels are falling off the business. While Rivian's losses have mounted as it has scaled up its production, it remains well capitalized. Its cash position of roughly $18.1 billion at the end of the third quarter far exceeded its total liabilities of roughly $2.8 billion at that time. With the stock down massively over the last year, Rivian is priced at levels that leave room for explosive upside.
Rivian Automotive
Today's Change
(-4.31%) -$0.82
Current Price
$18.20RIVN
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$18B
Day's Range
$17.50 - $18.93
52wk Range
$15.28 - $68.15
Volume
20,280,426
Avg Vol
26,415,929
Gross Margin
-238.89%
Dividend Yield
N/AWhile Tesla is already actually posting profits and Rivian is years away from breaking even, I think that the latter company's smaller valuation and underappreciated business could set the stage for it to see much stronger returns.
With a market cap of roughly $18.6 billion, Rivian is valued at approximately 3.6 times this year's expected sales. That's significantly below Tesla's forward price-to-sales multiple of 6.4.
Of course, the fact that Tesla is already posting significant profits is a key distinction between these two companies, but I think the disparity between their price-to-sales ratios indicates that Rivian is undervalued. The company should continue to grow its sales at a much faster clip than the EV leader over the next five years, and its ample cash position will allow it to ride out its money-losing period of scaling up operations. Rivian's business outlook is admittedly much less clear than Tesla's, but I think the smaller company's risk-reward profile looks more appealing.
Which stock is the better buy?
For investors seeking a more established business, Tesla is clearly the better buy. The company is the clear leader in the EV space, and that it's already serving up profits at scale makes it a much less risky investment than Rivian in many respects.
On the other hand, those seeking the potential for more explosive returns may prefer to put their money behind the smaller EV player. While Rivian is not profitable yet, it is scaling up rapidly and has plenty of funds to use in the meantime, and its much smaller market capitalization means that the company may have an easier time posting multibagger returns from here.
On the street entering my community there is a street with a 90 degree right, but no stop sign as the street just curves into it. FSD cannot handle that turn at all lol. It looks for a stop sign, sees no stop sign, gets confused, and treats it as a stop sign anyway. Since FSD became more widely available, the nav has avoided that street and tried to direct me to a street with more stop signs. It also does not like windy country backroads because it thinks cars going the opposite way are going to hit it. I've had better luck with basic AP than FSD so I only turn on FSD during drives I know the streets will be empty
On the street entering my community there is a street with a 90 degree right, but no stop sign as the street just curves into it. FSD cannot handle that turn at all lol. It looks for a stop sign, sees no stop sign, gets confused, and treats it as a stop sign anyway. Since FSD became more widely available, the nav has avoided that street and tried to direct me to a street with more stop signs. It also does not like windy country backroads because it thinks cars going the opposite way are going to hit it. I've had better luck with basic AP than FSD so I only turn on FSD during drives I know the streets will be empty
Basic Autopilot is all I really need, and that's the only feature I'll probably add on. My Polestar has something called "Pilot Pack" which contains it's version of semi autonomous software, but I just opted for basic Cruise Control. I don't mind Smart Cruise control though
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced the vehicles that qualified for its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2023. The Tesla Model Y is one of them, despite the agency updating its standards this year to make them more stringent.
Thanks to the IIHS’ new criteria, only 48 models qualified for the agency’s 2023 awards. Among this number, 28 were able to earn a Top Safety Pick+ and 20 were able to achieve a Top Safety Pick rating. In comparison, there were 101 winners in the past year, which included 65 models that earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating.
IIHS President David Harkey explained the agency’s test results this year. “The number of winners is smaller this year because we’re challenging automakers to build on the safety gains they’ve already achieved. These models are true standouts in both crashworthiness and crash prevention,” Harkey said.
Among the most notable changes made to the IIHS’ standards involved the agency’s side crash test, which was updated to involve 82% more energy than before. A new evaluation, the nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention test, was also rolled out.
Harkey explained the addition of the nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention test in the IIHS’ metrics. “US traffic fatalities hit a 20-year high in the first half of 2022, in part due to a steady climb in pedestrian crashes. Safer vehicles can be an important part of the solution, even though reversing the trend will also take a concerted effort from policymakers and other stakeholders,” he said.
Despite these changes, the Tesla Model Y still earned the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick+ rating, making it one of three all-electric vehicles that earned stellar marks this year. Other all-electric cars that received a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS include the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Rivian R1T.
A look at the Tesla Model Y’s page on the IIHS shows that the all-electric crossover scored a “Good” rating on the agency’s updated side-impact test. The Model Y also aced the IIHS’ nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention test.
Interestingly enough, the IIHS announced that it was sunsetting three of its previous safety evaluations from its award criteria. These are roof strength, head restraint, and vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention tests. As noted by the IIHS, the retirement of the “roof strength, head restraint, and vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention tests is also a result of industry progress, which has made these tests less relevant in their current form.”
Tesla and other electric vehicle (EV) owners in Canada will soon be billed at charging stations by the amount of electricity they put in their car, and not based on the amount of time they are plugged in
This is an opinion piece, one that point by point I agree with from my experiences owning two EV's over the almost last three years
Op-Ed: Why I’m Pro EV, But Not For The Reasons You're Probably Thinking
There are plenty of noble reasons to support electric cars, but in all truth, EVs are simply better overall products than gas cars
EV Proliferation
I remember the day when I saw my first Tesla Model 3 in person, in the wild. It was a marker day for me. It ranks up there with other historic events. That was less than five years ago, before my first article here on InsideEVs. I recall how, in those days, seeing an EV was a rare event. It was something to take note of. I used to count how many EVs I saw in a day. Often I’d see none. But sometimes, if I were lucky, I’d see three.
Now everything has changed, everything is different. I’ve stopped counting. I see so very many electric vehicles every day (mostly Teslas), most everywhere I go. I haven’t done an official study, but it seems like I encounter Teslas on the road more often than I see Volvos. With the way things are going, it may not be long before I see them more often than Subarus. EVs seem to be on track to take over the auto industry much quicker than many analysts project.
Recent Anti-EV Conversation
With the growth in EV adoption, you might think that most people are warming up to EVs. And that is beginning to be the case. But there are still those who don’t think EVs are the cat’s meow.
Recently, I had a conversation with a structural engineer who brought up some of the old tired arguments against EVs, including studies that supposedly show that EVs are NOT green. I countered by stating that for each of those studies he could cite, there are other studies that show that they are in fact greener than IC vehicles.
I capped my comments by explaining that for me, as a marketing person, being green isn’t the main reason that I’m pro-EV. The main reason I see EVs taking over the market is that they are just straight-up a better product. Just like digital photography overtook film, EVs will replace IC vehicles. They are just better and consumers will adopt them because of that, no government incentives or other motivators are needed.
EVs Are A Better Product
For all their advances and the wonderful things that internal combustion vehicles have given us, they are, at their core, just put-puts. You know, those go-cart-type vehicles kids drive at amusement parks. It’s true IC vehicles are very advanced, sophisticated put-puts, but still put-puts, just the same. Their basic means of propulsion hasn’t changed in over 100 years.
The advantages EVs hold, on the other hand, are several. The driving experience is so very different. EVs are slick, and smooth and just feel futuristic. There is, of course, the most celebrated aspect of driving an EV, acceleration, acceleration, acceleration. But there are other advantages too, no more oil changes, no more emissions tests, no more engine tune-ups, no more worrying about cold engine starts, a quieter driving experience, and lower energy costs to name a few.
The “Full Tank” Convenience
Among all the advantages EVs have, the one that I see as most apparent and beneficial, and which I believe will be the feature that will, in time, win over the greatest number of people is the ability to never visit a gas station. To be able to wake up every morning with a “full tank”. I explained this to my EV-doubting acquaintance this way. Imagine the following scenario.
You have a mobile phone. You love it. It gives you so much freedom. But, you have to visit a special charging station every week or so to power it up. The charge only takes four or five minutes. But you have no choice, you must make time to visit the special station, every week or two. How convenient is that phone, really?
Now compare that to your friend who recently bought one of those new-fangled phones that he can fill up at home. He NEVER visits the special station. Imagine the convenience of that. No more special visits. How likely are you to want to ditch your old phone and get one of the new ones?
This one feature alone is a very good rationale for many people to switch to an EV. Add to this the other benefits EVs offer and they are just very simply a better consumer product. As EV sticker prices continue to come in line with IC vehicles there will be no shortage of buyers. The more likely scenario is that manufacturers will be materials-constrained and not able to keep up with the demand for the next 10 years or more.
EVs’ Economic Advantages
There is still one more advantage that EVs offer. They are economically efficient. In other words, they introduce an efficiency factor into the economy. Not only do they save their owners money, which increases their discretionary buying power, but their net efficiency has a positive effect on the entire economic system. But … that is the subject for another article.
02-23-23, 09:27 AM
Image source: Tesla.
