Elon Musk’s Boring Company releases new images of its electric vehicle concept for passengers

Elon Musk’s Boring Company releases new images of its electric vehicle concept for passengers
Electrek reports in this article, on the passenger sled concept for Elon Musk's Boring Company. An autonomous minibus type vehicle that will utilise tunnels to swiftly transport passengers across cities.

Recently I was a bit skeptical about the whole Boring Company tunnel concept. With more thought though it is beginning to make sense.

Elon Musk is a step ahead of the rest of the World. He was producing electric cars almost a decade ago before most auto makers were even thinking of producing electric vehicles. Now that other manufacturers are rushing to get their electric vehicles out to compete with Tesla, Elon Musk is already on the next page.

Transporting regular passenger cars through tunnels is not the end game result for The Boring Company. Musk is envisaging ride sharing autonomous vehicles that have the advantages of a taxi in that they can pick up passengers at their door but at the same time also have the advantages of an underground train, the ability to travel at high speed underground from one point in the city to another.

This is a vision of how autonomous vehicles will actually end up operating and serving us. They'll be no need for it to be your car and you to be the driver as it won't need a driver. Whenever you need to go somewhere you'll just hail a ride. Just like Uber are doing already. With an autonomous minibus though where there is no driver to demand a salary and it can hold more passengers, the economies of scale should reduce the cost of a ride.

Maybe Tesla will become like Apple. In the 80's and 90's Apple were famous for their desktop computers and laptops. In the 2000's they were synonymous with first the iPod and then the iPhone and iPad. At the moment Tesla is known as the leading maker of electric cars. In ten years they'll be known for their autonomous mass transit network and Tesla cars will just be a legacy product

Recent history has taught us that tech companies that don't adapt quickly fall by the wayside. Automakers should really be paying attention to Elon Musk lest they become the next Kodak or Nokia.

Being Boring

One of the projects Elon Musk has been updating us with snippets of news over the last few months is The Boring Company. This is Elon Musks plan to build a network of tunnels under Los Angeles (and presumably other cities in the future) to help alleviate traffic congestion on the surface.

A few days ago the first details of how the tunnels will operate were revealed in a short video.

Cars will drive into a skate at ground level, this is like a cradle the car will sit in, which will then descend via an elevator into the ground, when it gets down to the tunnel level, the skate will then automatically carry the car and it's occupants to their chosen destination.

The first thing that crossed my mind when seeing this concept, is what is the need for the skates? This concept seems unnecessarily complicated and very unlike something Tesla would produce. How many skates would there need to be for a city the size of Los Angeles to make a meaningful difference to traffic congestion? How many elevators would there need to be and how fast would they have to be? When a car takes a skate, will there be another one waiting to pop up out of the ground for the next car waiting to use the tunnel? How much maintenance will the skates and elevators need? What about vehicles too big for the skate? What's to stop something else, a person, dog, cat etc. accidentally falling in the hole in the ground when it opens for the elevator? 

Why not have the cars drive themselves in the tunnels? I envisage the Tesla Autopilot software programmed so it would automatically switch on and override the manual car controls as soon as the vehicle entered the tunnel. It would then drive the car and passengers to the tunnel exit closest to the destination. With no human driven vehicles or other obstacles like pedestrians and cyclists to worry about down there, there would be zero chance of any collisions or anyone taking the wrong tunnel. The Autopilot software would also take note of the available battery range of the vehicle and make sure it exited the tunnels with enough capacity to get to a charging point. If the vehicle doesn't ahve enough battery charge to get to the nearest exit then it won't be allowed to enter the tunnel.

If vehicles were driving into the tunnels instead of using an elevator, far more vehicles would be able to enter the tunnel system, in a far simpler and quicker method than using elevators. There would be no problem with exhaust fumes as obviously all Tesla's are zero emission vehicles. 

Maybe the reason for the skates is because Musk wants the tunnels to be available to all road users, regardless of car make and propulsion system. If that is the case then the skate system would make sense. If it would just be for electric vehicles then I don't see why all manufacturers couldn't have a tunnel mode on their self-driving systems to allow their cars to also autonomously drive the tunnels?

A South African Gigafactory?

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, indicated during a recent TED talk that Tesla would be announcing the construction of up to 4 more Gigafactories before the end of the year. At the moment there is just one Gigafactory producing lithium batteries for Tesla vehicles and Powerwalls in Nevada. This article from Electrek suggests that the new Gigafactories might be built in Buffalo, China and somewhere in Europe. It also mentions that it is anybody's guess where the fourth factory might be built.

Tesla Gigafactory

Though Tesla have denied there are plans to build a Gigafactory in South Africa, I can't help thinking it would be an ideal location for a Gigafactory. South Africa is a gateway to Africa and many other parts of the World.

Africa is potentially a massive market for Tesla's Powerwall, home battery pack and solar panels. Solar power charging a Powerwall could bring electricity to remote locations on the continent that are not on any electrical grid. It will mean that people will no longer have to wait on municipalities and traditional energy companies to bring them power. Not only will it bring power to peoples homes, it will enable them to also charge electric vehicles. Locations far from the nearest petrol station will be able to power their own transport.

Not only is South Africa the perfect place to manufacture and distribute Tesla products throughout the African continent, it also has many large ports and is on many major shipping routes. Being at the bottom tip of the continent, it'll be equally easy to ship Tesla batteries to South America, Asia, Middle East & Australasia. With North America, Europe & China seemingly already covered a South African Gigafactory could take care of the rest of the World. 

Tesla Model 3 Caught Completely Undisguised, Showing Interior

Tesla Model 3 Caught Completely Undisguised, Showing Interior
Spy shots from Motor1.com of the forthcoming Tesla Model 3, which will be coming to South Africa sometime after the middle of 2018. Click here to see all the images.

Tesla boss promises more of the same thing

Tesla boss promises more of the same thing
Article from Fudzilla analyzing the recent tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk regarding the upcoming Model 3. Among the countries due to get the most affordable Tesla is South Africa. The Model 3 will reportedly have at least a 335km battery range and the base model will cost about $35,000 (just under R500,000).

Of interest to South Africans were the tweets regarding the right hand drive version of the Model 3.

Two of Musk’s more notable details when discussing Model 3 characteristics on Twitter were the implementation of a right-hand drive model for British, South African, Indian, East Asian, Australian and Japanese customers, and the possibility of Performance models after the initial release. When the first Model S vehicles were released just over four years ago, they all featured rear-wheel drive and standard left-hand drive. The right-hand option was released two years later in 2014, though Tesla says the wait will only be until next summer for the Model 3.

Next summer will presumably be Summer 2018 (northern hemisphere edition) as it will only be July 2017 at the earliest before the left hand drive variant of the Model 3 starts populating the roads of North America. Sometime from June next year then, one can presume that the right hand drive Model 3's will appear in the appropriate markets. I'd guess they will be released in the territories where Tesla is already established first before they release to the new markets such as South Africa and India, so it could well be 2019 or 2020 before we see the Model 3 in South Africa.

Where should Tesla place their Superchargers in South Africa?

When Tesla launches the Model 3 in South Africa, probably sometime in the next year or two, they are
undoubtedly going to set up a network of their Supercharger fast charging stations. In every other market they've entered they have provided the charging infrastructure along with the battery powered vehicles. Presumably there will be Superchargers in the big cities of South Africa and the suburban sprawl that surrounds them. Where will they be positioned though on the freeways linking the major metropolitan areas? I thought it would be a nice idea to try and predict the Supercharger positioning on the major routes.

Bear in mind the Model 3 which is the first Tesla model we will see in South Africa, will have a range of at least 210 miles which is about 335km. Recent reports though indicate the range may be even more than this, presumably exceeding the 380km battery range of it's rival the Chevy Bolt. As it currently takes a Tesla Model S 40 minutes to charge to 80% full and another 35 minutes for the final 20%, it makes sense that the Superchargers should be within 80% of the maximum range which is 268km, so not to make stops longer than 40 minutes. 40 minutes seems like the perfect amount of time to stretch ones legs a bit, get something to drink and eat and make oneself comfortable for the next leg of the journey. For this exercise I will make sure no too charging stations are further apart than 268km so no stop should take longer than 40 minutes.

1. Johannesburg to Cape Town (1398km)
   A journey that many people split into two days with a stop off for the night on the way. If you were wanting to do it in one day in an electric car then you'd really need Tesla's latest Model S with 500km plus battery range. The route is almost entirely along the N1 freeway. Here are where I think the Superchargers could go.
   
   
   1. Kroonstad (207km from Johannesburg)Roughly half way between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein makes it an obvious choice.
   2. Bloemfontein (212km from Kroonstad)The capital city of the Free State and the sixth largest city in South Africa
   3. Colesburg (235km from Bloemfontein)Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main N1 road from Cape Town to Johannesburg.
   4. Richmond (146km from Colesburg)Bit of a shorter leg as the next major town is Beaufort West and that would possibly be too far in one go from Colesburg. Anyway, maybe only a 20 minute charge to 50% would be necessary while sipping on a coffee at this point.
   5. Beaufort West (183km from Richmond)Beaufort West is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo"
   6. Laingsburg (199km from Beaufort West and 264km from Cape Town)The last charging point before Cape Town. 
   
   So six stops of 40 minutes would add about four hours onto what would be almost a fourteen hour drive. If you split the journey over two days then it would be three stops per day, what you'd probably do in any ICE vehicle anyway. You'll need to stop to stretch your legs and refreshments whatever energy source is propelling your trip, so why not charge at the same time.
   -
2. Durban to Johannesburg (568km)Probably one of the busiest long distance routes in South Africa. Half distance is Harrismith which is a bit further than 268km from both cities, so we'll have to make two stops on our way.
   1. Van Reenen (269km from Durban)Okay 1km over our limit. However a good place to recharge if you're going to Johannesburg or to Bloemfontein from Durban.
   2. Heidelberg (253km from Van Reenen and 52km from Johannesburg)Quite close to Johannesburg for the final recharge. It will allow you to carry on to Pretoria or any of the outlying suburbs without any range anxiety though.
   
   Most people will stop for a meal break on their way between these two cities in any event. The last stop at Heidelberg can just be a quick 20 minute charge to get into Johannesburg. You'd probably need to stop for petrol there anyway.
   -
3. Durban to Bloemfontein (657km)The route from Durban to Bloemfontein and beyond to Cape Town as per route 1.
   
   
   1. Van Reenen (269km from Durban)As per the Durban to Johannesburg route.
   2. Senekal (193km from Van Reenen and 178km from Bloemfontein)Senekal is a town situated on the banks of the Sand River in the eastern part of the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after Commandant FP Senekal.
   
   Again a two stop journey for a Model 3, probably a two stop journey for most drivers.
   -
4. Bloemfontein to Port Elizabeth (654km)A similar length route to that between Durban and Bloemfontein
   1. Colesburg (235km from Bloemfontein)As per route 1 before we leave the N1.
   2. Cradock (200km from Colesburg and 244km from Port Elizabeth)Cradock is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, in the upper valley of the Great Fish River, 250 kilometres by road northeast of Port Elizabeth.
   
   Two forty minute breaks to refresh during a seven hour journey, again nothing out of the ordinary for any motorist.
   -
5. Johannesburg to Nelspruit (341km)Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is the capital of South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province. It’s a gateway to Kruger National Park, home to elephants, zebras, rhinos and other wildlife.
   
   1. Middelburg (163km from Johannesburg and 188km from Nelspruit)Perfect half way point for motorists from Gautang on their way to Mpumulanga.

Obviously this still leaves plenty of gaps but for a start would cover some of the more popular motoring routes in the country. See the map below for my predicted positioning of the first South African Tesla Supercharger stations.

Future Tesla Supercharger stations in South Africa?

Tesla Model 3: Autopilot is most popular option among South African reservation holders

Thanks to this article at Electrek for leading me to this graphic  from Model3Tracker.info showing the most desired options among Tesla Model 3 reservation holders worldwide. There's quite some difference from country to country in what options are most popular.

Interestingly the most popular option among South African reservation holders is Autopilot. This correlates with the Deloitte survey I wrote about on Sunday. That survey found that the desire for self driving vehicles was greater among South African consumers than it was in the UK and Germany.

There is no indication as far as I can tell of how many South Africans have put down their $1,000 deposit so far to reserve a Tesla Model 3 or when exactly we can expect it to be available here.

Is It A Good Fit? Elon Musk’s New Tesla Electric Car Headed To South Africa

Is It A Good Fit? Elon Musk’s New Tesla Electric Car Headed To South Africa.
Article written by Dana Sanchez in April last year for AFK Insider reported on the announcement that the Tesla Model 3 was to be made available in South Africa sometime after it's release which is scheduled for later this year. They make a comment about the Model 3's cost.

With a starting price of $35,000, the Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable electric car to date by U.S. standards. That doesn’t make it affordable or even sensible for South Africa, where it’s considered a luxury car, ITWeb reported.

I disagree. $35,000 should equate to roughly R500,000, maybe a bit more when you take into account import taxes etc. That would put it squarely in BMW 3 series price territory, the sort of ICE (internal combustion engine) car it's designed to contend with. Compared to other electric cars available in South Africa right now, the Nissan Leaf is also about R500,000 with a 135km range compared to the Tesla Model 3's 346km predicted range. The BMW i3 is closer to R600,000, which might be closer to the price of the Model 3 when it gets here. The i3 only has a range of 160kms, less than half of the Model 3.

To me the Tesla Model 3 looks like pretty good value in these comparisons. Also take into account that for someone driving 30,000km a year you'd likely be saving up to R1,500 a month in fuel costs. Now for a businessman on the road, who is not regularly doing over 300km a day, that would make it a great deal more affordable to run than similarly priced cars like the BMW 3 series and Mercedes C class. Add to that,there's virtually no maintenance to be done compared to an ICE vehicle, and the saving just gets bigger.

Generally, electric cars are not a good fit for South Africa, where electricity costs are going up and infrastructure is lacking for charging electric cars, according to ITWeb.

Maybe it's time to pay less attention to what ITWeb says about electric cars. Both the BMW i3 road test from Cars.co.za, I linked to and the story I covered yeaterday about Blue Rock Village as well as other sources, give the comparison electricity cost for powering an EV (electric vehicle) as about 20% of the cost to fuel an equivalent ICE vehicle to cover the same distance.

As far as charging infrastructure goes, I've already said that we need public charging points now. The amount of charging stations has to stay ahead of the demand to use the. Just because it doesn't exist at the moment doesn't mean that it won't and indeed there are already moves underway to increase the number of charging stations in the country. 

As Tesla have done in other markets, I'm pretty confident they will roll out a network of their Supercharger charging stations, once the Model 3 goes on sale here. Of course, if you are able to charge at home, a Model 3 probably won't have to visit a charging station, except on long intercity journeys.

The rest of the article continues in a fairly negative tone. As with all new game changing technologies, there's going to be resistance to the inevitable disruption. Norway has already shown us the electric revolution is already underway and like it or not the future of road travel is electric.

Tesla’s electric cars could be cruising down Indian streets this summer, Elon Musk says

Tesla’s electric cars could be cruising down Indian streets this summer, Elon Musk saysTesla are hoping to launch in India by summer this year according to the article in Quartz India. Hopefully they are looking at a similar time frame for South Africa. South Africans are already able to reserve a Model 3 on the Tesla web site but no indication of exactly when Tesla will launch in SA.

When the Tesla Model 3 was unveiled on March 31, 2016, founder and chief executive Musk announced that the carmaker opened up orders to residents of India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and Ireland as well. The offer caught the fancy of India’s startup bigwigs like venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who were among over 115,000 Tesla enthusiasts from around the world who all forked over $1,000 to reserve a car to be delivered later.

 

App-solutely innovative gadgets and Stuff with Toby Shapshak

App-solutely innovative gadgets and Stuff with Toby Shapshak 
Biz Community reporting on Stuff magazines annual Gadget and App awards for 2016.

Apps are having their moment, with Stuff Magazine having just announced the winners of its annual Gadget and App awards for 2016. Here, Stuff publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak shares a few of his favourite entries....... ........On his personal favourite entries, Shapshak says: “I'd love to own a Tesla Model X, the low-end of the electric supercar range. At $80,000 it's anything but low-end in rands