Tesla officially revealed a new feature, called “Dog Mode”, that aims to keep pet owners comfortable while they’re left unattended in the vehicle. How does it work? Simply put, it keeps climate control on while the car is parked and also includes a display screen with the temperature so passerby by can see that the pets are safe. To enable this mode, owners simply tap on a fan icon at the bottom of the touch screen, and if the car’s battery reaches less than 20 percent charge, owners will receive a notification on their mobile app. Read more for a video of the new feature and additional information.
Does the Audi RS4, which comes equipped with a 2.9-liter V6 producing 450hp stand a chance against the Tesla Model X P100D with 770hp and the ability to go from 0-60 in around 3 seconds? Car Wow decided to find out by pitting these two vehicles head-to-head in a drag race, and the results might be surprising (or not). Read more to watch the rolling matchup and a brake test.
Elon Musk’s launched his own person Tesla Roadster, complete with mannequin driver, Starman, into orbit around the sun on Feb. 6, 2018, using SpaceX’s massive Falcon Heavy rocket. It’s currently on an elliptical path that takes it out beyond Mars at its most distant point from the sun and near Earth’s orbit at its closest solar approach, making its orbital period around 557 Earth days. According to an orbit-modeling study performed last year the roadster will crash into Venus or Earth within the next 10-20 million years, with a 6% chance of it hitting the later within the next million or so years. Read more for another video and additional information.
Elon Musk has just Tweeted photos of the completed SpaceX Raptor engine for the Super Heavy rocket system, which is the successor of the Merlin engine that is the essential component of the Starship Super Heavy (SSH), a large passenger vessel and rocket system that will hopefully bring humans to and from Mars one day. The SSH will come equipped with 31 Raptor engines, and be capable of a thrust of 1,700 kilonewtons with a specific impulse of 330 seconds at sea level, rising to 356 seconds in a vacuum, and an exit diameter of 1.3 meters. Read more for another video, picture and additional information.
Priced at $21,500 after government subsidies, the all-electric XPeng G3 is a Tesla Model X knockoff that you probably never knew existed, and that’s because it’s only available in China. Despite the low price, it’s claimed to offer a range of automated driving features and over-the-air updates. These “self-developed innovative features, many of which are first-of-its-kind, are intended for China’s unique user behaviors and road conditions,” said compay chairman He Xiaopeng. Read more for another video and additional information.
The futuristic Nissan IMs concept, with its innovative new proportions and stretched interior space – including a unique “Premier Seat” 2 + 1 + 2 seating architecture – has made its North American International Auto Show debut. This vehicle was designed to create an entirely new vehicle segment, the elevated sports sedan. Featuring electric all-wheel drive, full autonomous drive capability, and dual electric motors (front and rear) generating 483 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, paired with a 115-kWh battery that provides an estimated range of 380 miles on a single charge. The exterior also sports holographic rear tail lamps and a B-pillar-less 4-door body structure with reverse-opening rear doors for easy access to the interior, while a a traditional Japanese Asanoha geometric graphic pattern has been applied in gold over the IMs concept’s smoked glass roof surface. Read more for another video, additional pictures and information.
Elon Musk has just unveiled the completed Starship prototype (above) ahead of Friday’s big event. SpaceX is set to launch 10 Iridium NEXT satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This would be the eighth and final set of satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. Iridium is currently the only satellite communications network that spans the entire globe, and Iridium NEXT is one of the largest “tech upgrades” in space history, since the process of replacing the satellites individually in a constellation of this size and scale has never been done before. Read more for a live video feed of the launch that is set to begin at 7:31 a.m. PST, or 15:31 UTC, and the mission timeline.
Tesla may reveal their own all-electric pickup some time this year, but the Atlis XT aims to give it some competition. Based on Atlis Automotive’s XP platform, this full-sized pickup has a 5,000 to 20,000 pounds towing capacity based on the battery capacity selected, with up to 35,000 pounds available in the form of a fifth wheel gooseneck trailer — all square in full-size ICE range. It’s claimed to have a 300 to 500 mile range depending on the model, with a 0-60 time of five seconds, while topping out at of 120 MPH. Read more for additional pictures and information.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket have gone vertical on Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with both having to undergo a series of fit checks ahead of a planned demonstration flight to the International Space Station. The test flight is scheduled for January 17, but Elon Musk suggests that it could happen in early February. This Crew Dragon mission is a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, designed to send US astronauts into space whom have not launched into space from US soil since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Read more for two more pictures and additional information.
Photo credit: TSportLine
Tesla Inc. shares dropped as much as 9% on Wednesday for falling short on quarterly deliveries of its mass-market Model 3 sedan, as well as worries of future profitability, after the automaker slashed US prices for all its vehicles to offset lower green tax credits. The $2,000 price cut starts Wednesday on the Model 3 – as well as on its higher-priced Model S and Model X – and comes as automakers expect U.S. new vehicle sales to weaken in 2019, and increased competition from new electric vehicle entrants. Electric vehicle sales benefited from a $7,500 federal tax credit throughout 2018, but that expired at the end of 2018, and new buyers will now receive only half that amount. Read more to see how it stacks up against the all-electric Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf.