Tesla has big expansion plans for its first Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada. The automaker has announced that it's investing $3.6 billion to build two new factories in the complex and hire 3,000 additional workers. That's bigger than the company's initial investment ($3.5 billion) when it made a commitment to build the facility back in 2014. One of the new Nevada factories will manufacture its 4680-type batteries, while the other will be Tesla's first factory to mass produce the Semi. 

The automaker delivered its first production Semis to Pepsi in December 2022, five years after it first showed off the electric rig and following several delays. Tesla currently manufactures the truck in limited quantities only, but it has long been planning to start volume production in Nevada. The company's Semi truck uses less than 2 kWh per mile of energy and can go between 300 and 500 miles on a single charge. Tesla claims owners will enjoy an estimated fuel savings of up to $200,000 within the first three years. 

While the Semi factory will finally allow Tesla to mass produce its trucks, its 4680 battery factory will help it achieve its goals of slashing battery costs by half and ramping up production to be able to sell 20 million electric vehicles by 2030. Tesla introduced the 4680 battery — named as such because its cells measure 46mm by 80mm — as a higher-capacity-but-cheaper option to power its vehicles. According to Reuters, though, the company has been having issues scaling up its production due to the dry-coating technique used to coat its cells. Tesla didn't say how it's addressing those issues, but it did say that the new factory will have the capacity to produce enough 4680 batteries for 1.5 million light duty vehicles every year.

If you just bought a 2023 Polestar 2, hoooo boy are you about to be mad. The company on Tuesday showed off some of the, ahem, numerous updates that the upcoming 2024 model year PS2 will sport, including next-generation motors, a slew of new standard equipment, a more potent battery pack and the SmartZone sensor suite first teased on the Polestar 3. Also, the previously front-wheel drive single motor Polestar 2 — that's RWD now, so let the drifting begin!

The Polestar 2 is now a fully RWD platform for the single-motor variant that arrived in March. It uses newly devised permanent magnet motor and silicon carbide inverter technologies to increase the horsepower output from 231 to 299 hp. Torque similarly jumps from 243 lb-ft to 361, putting it in line with the Tesla Model 3's output, while the 0-60 figure drops more than a full second compared to the old motor, to 5.9 seconds. 

Polestar

The dual-motor AWD version will see equivalent performance gains — 421 hp and 546 lb-ft, up from 408 hp and 467 lb-ft — as well as improved traction and a 0-60 of 4.3 seconds. Opt for the 2024 Performance pack and the horsepower jumps to 455 and the 0-60 drops to 4.1 seconds. The powertrain and torque ratios in the dual-motor version have been given a rear-wheel bias and, when the extra performance of AWD isn't necessary, the second (front) motor can be disengaged to improve efficiency and range (using the larger battery of 82 kWh) up to 300 miles, a 10 percent increase. 

The PS2's battery is receiving some slight chemistry tweaks as well. It to now offer a max 205kW charge rate while requiring 1.1 fewer tons of carbon emissions to produce — now just 5.9 tons per battery pack! Note however that this specifically applies to the Long Range single motor variant, the dual-motors both are stuck with the existing 78 kWh packs charging at 155 kW. 

Polestar

“Changing from front- to rear-wheel drive in the single-motor variants, and re-calibrating the torque ratio in the dual-motor variant for an increased rear-wheel drive feel, elevates the Polestar 2 driving experience to a whole new level,” Joakim Rydholm, Head of Chassis Development, said in a press release. “The updated Polestar 2 is an even more playful and agile car, retaining its compactness and complete sense of control, while at the same time becoming more mature with added comfort.”

Polestar

Next year's PS2 will be quite a bit smarter than its predecessor thanks to tech first shown off by its successor, the PS3. Polestar's SmartZone, mounted in the vehicle's vestigial front grille, houses an improved mid-range radar array and front-facing camera. A number of ADAS systems will come standard as well. For example, the Pilot Pack (which includes the 360-degree camera, parking assist and adaptive cruise control) will now come standard on the long-range dual motor PS2, while every trim level will get wireless device charging. And for folks that purchase the Performance package (Brembo brakes, 20-inch rims and a performance software upgrade) will receive the Plus package (Harmon Kardon stereo, panoramic glass roof, air quality software that sounds like something everyone should get just like the device charging) for no additional cost. Deliveries are expected to begin later this year and Polestar's online order window has already opened. 

Electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles accounted for 18.8 percent of all new car sales in California this past year, according to data shared on Friday by the state’s Energy Commission (CEC). In 2022, California residents bought 345,818 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), a 38 percent increase from a year ago and a 138 percent jump compared to 2020. In what should come as no surprise, Tesla vehicles made up most of the ZEVs people in California bought last year. About two-thirds of the 345,000 ZEVs sold in the state in 2022 were made by the automaker, per France’s AFP News Agency.

With EVs and other zero-emission vehicles making up nearly one-fifth of new car sales in California, the state still has some work to do on the adoption front. In Norway, for instance, electric vehicles made up 65 percent of new car sales in 2021 and 79.3 percent in 2022. That said, the country’s largest car market did some heavy lifting relative to the rest of the US. The CEC says 40 percent of all ZEVs sold in the US were sold in California. It’s also worth taking a moment to point to the scale of the California car market. When EVs made up 65 percent of new car sales in Norway, the country’s dealerships sold 113,715 EVs. That’s about a third of the number of zero-emission vehicles sold in California last year.

In any case, EV adoption in California is likely to increase significantly over the next few years. Ahead of the state’s 2035 ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel-powered cars, the CEC announced last month it would spend about $2.6 billion to build 90,000 new chargers across the state. The California Air Resources Board set aside another $2.6 billion to incentivize consumers and companies to switch to electric vehicles.

GM might make an electric truck for those who think the GMC Hummer and Chevy Silverado are simply too huge. As Autoblognotes, the industry journal Automotive Newshas seen a prototype small electric pickup at a GM-organized workshop. The EV would reportedly make even the hybrid Ford Maverick seem enormous with two doors, a low-slung profile and a bed 4ft to 4.5ft long. It would start below $30,000, making it a bargain compared to the $39,900 Silverado.

The design isn't guaranteed to enter production, and it's not even clear which GM brand would carry the pickup if it moves forward. Affordable EV design director Michael Pevovar told Automotive News the company creates prototypes like these to "get a reaction" and either improve the result or scrap it. If the prototype is too small but otherwise well-received, GM could use another platform to make it larger.

There are incentives for GM to go ahead. The small pickup market is relatively hot at the moment. Autoblog points out that the was Maverick outselling the larger Ranger and the Expedition SUV as of last summer, while Hyundai's Santa Cruz (more of an El Camino revival than a classic truck) outperformed the Accent compact and Venue mini-SUV. GM would not only have something to offer in the category, but could stand out as the only brand with an all-electric model.

As it is, there's a rush to produce more affordable EVs. Chevy's own Equinox EV is expected to start around $30,000, while Tesla and other brands are also pursuing lower-priced vehicles in the years ahead. A lower-priced pickup would help GM's EVs reach a much wider audience, not to mention help meet expectations of a profitable electric division in 2025.

The contractors working on the Federal Aviation Administration's NOTAM system apparently deleted files by accident, leading to the delays and cancellations of thousands of US flights. If you'll recall, the FAA paused all domestic departures in the US on the morning of January 11th, because its NOTAM or Notice to Air Missions system had failed. NOTAMs typically contain important information for pilots, including warnings for potential hazards along a flight's route, flight restrictions and runway closures. 

While the FAA only paused departures on the 11th, US flights were already being pushed back the day before after the outage occurred at around 3:28PM ET. The issue even had an impact on military flights that partly relied on FAA NOTAMs: Pilots reportedly had to call around to ask for potential flight hazards themselves. 

The agency later reported that the system failed after "personnel who failed to follow procedures" damaged certain files. Now, it has shared more details as part of the preliminary findings of an ongoing investigation. Apparently, its contractors were synchronizing a main and a back-up database when they "unintentionally deleted files" that turned out to be necessary to keep the alert system running. It also reiterated what it said in the past that it has "so far found no evidence of a cyberattack or malicious intent." 

As The Washington Post notes, it's unclear at this point how deleting some files would cause the whole system to go down. The FAA had already fixed the problem and had taken steps to make the system more resilient, but the incident certainly puts the reliability of FAA's outdated technologies into question. The Transportation Department itself previously described the NOTAM system as "failing vintage hardware" in a budget document requesting $30 million to fund its upgrades.

ZeroAvia flew the world’s largest hydrogen-electric aircraft today in a step forward for sustainable aviation. The 19-seat, twin-engine Dornier 228 plane, fitted with a prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain, completed a 10-minute flight from Cotswold Airport in the UK. It was part of the HyFlyer II project, a government-funded R&D program working to make small passenger planes better for the environment.

The powertrain was fueled using “compressed gaseous hydrogen produced with an on-site electrolyzer.” The testing configuration included two fuel-cell stacks and lithium-ion battery packs housed in the cabin for the test. However, for commercial use, they would move to external storage to make room for seating. In addition, it was paired with a Honeywell TPE-331 stock engine on the right wing for extra power during takeoff and safety-related redundancy.

Here’s ZeroAvia’s promotional footage of the flight (including some delightfully over-the-top music):

ZeroAvia says it’s on track to certify the technology this year, with plans for commercial routes by 2025. The company is also working on a 2-5 MW powertrain program that will scale the technology for aircraft up to 90 seats; the goal is to expand into narrow-body planes in the next decade. In addition, Amazon has invested in the company as part of its Climate Pledge Fund.

Some cars seem oddly well-suited to Uber (Toyota Prius, anyone?), but the company is now taking things a step further. Uber chief Dara Khosrowshahi told guests at a Wall Street Journal event that his firm is now teaming up with car manufacturers to design EVs with ridesharing and deliveries in mind. Rideshare cars will ideally have lower top speeds to reduce costs, as well as passenger seats that face each other to promote conversations. Delivery vehicles, meanwhile, might have two or three wheels (to help navigate city streets) but loads of trunk space.

Khosrowshahi didn't say which automakers were involved, or provide a timeline for when optimized EVs might be ready. Uber said in 2021 that it was partnering with Arrival on custom electric taxis, but that was before the startup scrapped its automotive projects in favor of vans.

Uber is no stranger to promoting electrified rides. The company launched Uber Green years ago, and lowered prices last spring. More recently, it expanded the option of hailing all-electric rides to two dozen US cities. The company has also made EVs more accessible to some drivers by making Tesla and Polestar cars available to rent through a deal with Hertz. This latest effort could further widen access by lowering the price of entry and speeding up deliveries.

The service is under pressure to transition to EVs quickly. Internally, it plans to go pure-electric in some regions by 2030, and in cities like London by 2025. Governments in Europe, the UK and North America will also ban sales of combustion engine cars as early as 2035. The more drivers willingly adopt EVs, the fewer headaches Uber is likely to encounter in the years ahead.

Uber is expanding its electric car rentals to Europe. The ridesharing service has expanded its deal with Hertz to provide up to 25,000 EVs to European capital cities by 2025, including those from Polestar and Tesla. The rollout will begin in London this month, and will reach hubs like Amsterdam and Paris as soon as 2023. Rates and other details will be available in "due course," Uber says.

The companies first teamed up in late 2021, when Hertz pledged to offer up to 50,000 Tesla rental EVs to Uber drivers in the US. Last spring, Hertz said it would add as many as 65,000 Polestar EVs to its fleet within five years. The rental car agency claims its Uber partnership in North America has been successful — almost 50,000 drivers have rented Tesla vehicles so far.

Both firms see the European expansion as key to furthering their goals. Uber says it plans to be a "zero-emissions platform" in London by 2025, and completely electric in Europe and North America by 2030. Hertz, meanwhile, has set out to offer "one of the largest" EV fleets worldwide.

Neither brand may have much choice, however. The UK and European Union intend to ban sales of new fossil fuel cars by 2035, and the EU agreement also demands cutting new car emissions by 55 percent from 2030. Many automakers operating in Europe, like Ford and Volvo, expect to drop combustion engines by 2030. Uber and Hertz will have to adopt EVs in the next several years, and these rentals could help ease the transition for drivers who can't justify buying the technology at this stage.

Don't worry if Mercedes' insistence on EQ branding for electric cars seems arbitrary — the naming scheme might not last much longer. Sources speaking to the German daily Handelsblatt claim Mercedes will drop the EQ brand as soon as late 2024, when it's expected to debut its next wave of compact cars. Simply put, the company won't have much use for the label when more and more of its cars will be electric.

Mercedes first used the EQ name on production cars with 2019's EQC SUV. Since then, the company has applied the branding to both electrified versions of conventional designs like the EQB as well as unique models like the EQS SUV. Concept cars like the long-range EQXX have similarly stuck to the nomenclature.

In a statement to Reuters, a Mercedes spokesperson said it was "too early" to divulge plans. However, the representative said the automaker would "adapt" the use of the EQ brand as it transitioned to an all-EV lineup by 2030. The identification still plays a key role in the company's current electric vehicle strategy, the spokesperson added.

If the report is true, the rethink won't come as a surprise. While car manufacturers have frequently used names to highlight electric powerplants, such as the Chevy Bolt and Ford Mustang Mach-E, they're starting to rely on more traditional monikers as EVs become more commonplace. Chevy's upcoming electric Blazer is one example. EVs will eventually become the default, and companies won't get to use the presence of an electric motor as a selling point.

Autonomous transportation assistance isn't limited to cars. Airbus has started testing a pilot assistance feature, DragonFly, that could save an aircraft in an emergency. The system can automatically divert a flight in an emergency. It can not only pick a flight path to the best airport (using factors like airspace rules and weather), but communicate with air traffic control and an airline's operations center. If the pilots are incapacitated, the aircraft can still land safely.

Accordingly, DragonFly can automatically land on any runway using sensors and computer vision algorithms. Pilots can even get help taxiing around airports through technology that translates air traffic control's clearance into usable guidance clues in a companion app. It can assist with speed control and alert pilots to obstacles. Crews can spend more time getting ready for the actual flight.

The testing has so far been limited to one A350-1000 demonstrator aircraft. It could be a while yet before DragonFly reaches production, and regulators (like the Federal Aviation Administration in the US) will need to approve its use.

All the same, this hints at where autonomous flight systems are going. Although completely self-flying airliners might not arrive for a long while, you could see aircraft that require little intervention even in the middle of a crisis. This could also help increase flights to airports with difficult landings (such New Zealand's Wellington Airport) and minimize taxiing-related delays.