Tesla 2023
- Thread starter VicBee
- Start date
(The Daily Upside)
AUTOS
Toyota’s Hybrids Are Having a Moment
(Photo Credit: Andrew Roberts/Unsplash)
Slow and steady wins the race — and still saves gas.
Elon Musk and Tesla have gone all-in on electric vehicles, but Toyota — which took a more measured approach to its EV rollout — is getting to say, “I told you so,” according to a Wall Street Journalreport this past weekend on the two companies’ trajectories.
Hey, People, You Gotta Drive Hybrids Already
Hybrid cars cut carbon emissions, have driving ranges comparable to gas engines, and don’t need to be charged at home. But hybrids have played second fiddle to traditional combustion engine vehicles in the US, and when Tesla and its Model Y drove onto the scene, hybrids were relegated to third chair, with EVs seen as the inevitable future. Inevitably, US hybrid sales took a hit last year, while EV sales rose 65%, according to Kelly Blue Book.
But now, stubborn inflation and high interest rates are squeezing buyers considering a move away from gas guzzlers. Drivers are keen on sub-$50,000 price tags, but the average cost of an EV is about $53,450, according to Cox Automotive. And consider the recent fates of Ford and General Motors, which came into the year looking to take a page out of Tesla’s playbook with their own major EV pushes, only to see demand wane and be forced to retreat to a re-focus on hybrids.
With the US on recession watch for more than a year now, hybrids are leap-frogging EVs, which could be stuck in a rocky future:
• By April, Tesla had already slashed prices on some of its Model Y and Model 3 cars six times this year as it looked to compete with Ford, which was cutting prices on its F-150 Lightning electric truck. Musk seemed content to forego profit — which, as it happens, plummeted 44% in the third quarter — in a bid to boost sales growth.
• Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda saw the enthusiasm for EVs but had the company spread its investments across hybrids, EVs, and other tech. Toyota said its Q3 profit more than doubled from a year ago, thanks in part to strong global demand for hybrids. Sales of Toyota’s conventional hybrids rose 41% year-over-year, and sales of its plug-in hybrids were up nearly 90%.
That’s a Lot of Car: Most cars are still gas-powered and often very large. By 2022, the share of US cars on the road that were sedans dropped to 21%, while SUVs hit 55% and trucks grew to 20%, the Associated Press reported. And the results haven’t been so Earth-friendly: A report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative suggested that the negative environmental impacts from cars could’ve been lessened by 30% in the past decade if folks weren’t so obsessed with SUVs. Bigger hasn’t been better for the planet in automotive terms.
- Griffin Kelly
AUTOS
Toyota’s Hybrids Are Having a Moment
(Photo Credit: Andrew Roberts/Unsplash)
Slow and steady wins the race — and still saves gas.
Elon Musk and Tesla have gone all-in on electric vehicles, but Toyota — which took a more measured approach to its EV rollout — is getting to say, “I told you so,” according to a Wall Street Journalreport this past weekend on the two companies’ trajectories.
Hey, People, You Gotta Drive Hybrids Already
Hybrid cars cut carbon emissions, have driving ranges comparable to gas engines, and don’t need to be charged at home. But hybrids have played second fiddle to traditional combustion engine vehicles in the US, and when Tesla and its Model Y drove onto the scene, hybrids were relegated to third chair, with EVs seen as the inevitable future. Inevitably, US hybrid sales took a hit last year, while EV sales rose 65%, according to Kelly Blue Book.
But now, stubborn inflation and high interest rates are squeezing buyers considering a move away from gas guzzlers. Drivers are keen on sub-$50,000 price tags, but the average cost of an EV is about $53,450, according to Cox Automotive. And consider the recent fates of Ford and General Motors, which came into the year looking to take a page out of Tesla’s playbook with their own major EV pushes, only to see demand wane and be forced to retreat to a re-focus on hybrids.
With the US on recession watch for more than a year now, hybrids are leap-frogging EVs, which could be stuck in a rocky future:
• By April, Tesla had already slashed prices on some of its Model Y and Model 3 cars six times this year as it looked to compete with Ford, which was cutting prices on its F-150 Lightning electric truck. Musk seemed content to forego profit — which, as it happens, plummeted 44% in the third quarter — in a bid to boost sales growth.
• Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda saw the enthusiasm for EVs but had the company spread its investments across hybrids, EVs, and other tech. Toyota said its Q3 profit more than doubled from a year ago, thanks in part to strong global demand for hybrids. Sales of Toyota’s conventional hybrids rose 41% year-over-year, and sales of its plug-in hybrids were up nearly 90%.
That’s a Lot of Car: Most cars are still gas-powered and often very large. By 2022, the share of US cars on the road that were sedans dropped to 21%, while SUVs hit 55% and trucks grew to 20%, the Associated Press reported. And the results haven’t been so Earth-friendly: A report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative suggested that the negative environmental impacts from cars could’ve been lessened by 30% in the past decade if folks weren’t so obsessed with SUVs. Bigger hasn’t been better for the planet in automotive terms.
- Griffin Kelly
(MorningBrew)
Cybertrucks are on their way: Tesla will hold a “Cybertruck delivery event” on Thursday at its factory in Austin to celebrate the first deliveries of its electric trucks. It shouldn’t be an overly lengthy event—the company said that only 10 trucks will be shipped that day. Elon Musk first announced the Cybertruck in 2019 and recently lamented, “We dug our own grave with Cybertruck.”
andddddddd ............
Quote: “This is insane”
Elon Musk seemingly can’t comprehend what’s happening in Sweden. The country’s postal workers are refusing to deliver Tesla license plates, the latest action resulting from 130 mechanics who want their union recognized by the car company. Other workers in Sweden—where about nine out of 10 employees are union members—have supported the mechanics in ways that Musk may not consider sane: Along with the country’s postal workers, dockworkers are blocking Tesla deliveries to the country’s ports and electricians are no longer availing their services for Teslas.
Cybertrucks are on their way: Tesla will hold a “Cybertruck delivery event” on Thursday at its factory in Austin to celebrate the first deliveries of its electric trucks. It shouldn’t be an overly lengthy event—the company said that only 10 trucks will be shipped that day. Elon Musk first announced the Cybertruck in 2019 and recently lamented, “We dug our own grave with Cybertruck.”
andddddddd ............
Quote: “This is insane”
Elon Musk seemingly can’t comprehend what’s happening in Sweden. The country’s postal workers are refusing to deliver Tesla license plates, the latest action resulting from 130 mechanics who want their union recognized by the car company. Other workers in Sweden—where about nine out of 10 employees are union members—have supported the mechanics in ways that Musk may not consider sane: Along with the country’s postal workers, dockworkers are blocking Tesla deliveries to the country’s ports and electricians are no longer availing their services for Teslas.
Reading an old article on the Cybertruck.
Surprised to see that there were almost 150,000 pre orders back in 2019.
Tesla Cybertruck gets almost 150,000 pre-orders despite being widely mocked
Posted Mon 25 Nov 2019 at 2:04amMonday 25 Nov 2019 at 2:04am, updated Mon 25 Nov 2019 at 5:34pmMonday 25 Nov 2019 at 5:34pm
Tesla truck's "armour glass" shatters in unveiling
Tesla boss Elon Musk says pre-sales of the electric carmaker's new Cybertruck ute are going well, despite the vehicle being mocked online for its unusual design and a stunt at its launch not going to plan.
Surprised to see that there were almost 150,000 pre orders back in 2019.
Tesla Cybertruck gets almost 150,000 pre-orders despite being widely mocked
Posted Mon 25 Nov 2019 at 2:04amMonday 25 Nov 2019 at 2:04am, updated Mon 25 Nov 2019 at 5:34pmMonday 25 Nov 2019 at 5:34pm
Tesla truck's "armour glass" shatters in unveiling
Tesla boss Elon Musk says pre-sales of the electric carmaker's new Cybertruck ute are going well, despite the vehicle being mocked online for its unusual design and a stunt at its launch not going to plan.
Also a cheaper model next year, the big 3 ev will be doa.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/business/economy/electric-car-china-supply-chain.html
Huntsman Corporation started construction two years ago on a $50 million plant in Texas to make ethylene carbonate, a chemical that is used in electric vehicle batteries. It would have been the only site in North America making the product, with the goal of feeding battery factories that would crop up to serve the electric vehicle market.
But as new facilities in China came online and flooded the market, the price of the chemical plummeted to $700 a ton from $4,000. After pumping $30 million into the project, the company halted work on it this year. “If we were to start the project up today, we would be hemorrhaging cash,” said Peter R. Huntsman, the company’s chief executive. “I’d essentially be paying people to take the product.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/business/economy/electric-car-china-supply-chain.html
Huntsman Corporation started construction two years ago on a $50 million plant in Texas to make ethylene carbonate, a chemical that is used in electric vehicle batteries. It would have been the only site in North America making the product, with the goal of feeding battery factories that would crop up to serve the electric vehicle market.
But as new facilities in China came online and flooded the market, the price of the chemical plummeted to $700 a ton from $4,000. After pumping $30 million into the project, the company halted work on it this year. “If we were to start the project up today, we would be hemorrhaging cash,” said Peter R. Huntsman, the company’s chief executive. “I’d essentially be paying people to take the product.”
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Reading an old article on the Cybertruck.
Surprised to see that there were almost 150,000 pre orders back in 2019.
Tesla Cybertruck gets almost 150,000 pre-orders despite being widely mocked
Posted Mon 25 Nov 2019 at 2:04amMonday 25 Nov 2019 at 2:04am, updated Mon 25 Nov 2019 at 5:34pmMonday 25 Nov 2019 at 5:34pm
Tesla truck's "armour glass" shatters in unveiling
Tesla boss Elon Musk says pre-sales of the electric carmaker's new Cybertruck ute are going well, despite the vehicle being mocked online for its unusual design and a stunt at its launch not going to plan.
meh, all it took was 50 bux to be a "pre-order"
Aaah Ok.That puts it in perspective.Cheers.
"We sold 300,000 cars, GM sold 26"
Tells Iger to go eff himself
Wearing a bomber jacket
How can you not like this guy?
Tells Iger to go eff himself
Wearing a bomber jacket
How can you not like this guy?
Maybe because he's a dick - if you are referring to Musk?