Tesla is preparing for a world where your driver profile can follow you across different cars, be it your personal EV or a rental. The car maker has added a Cloud Profiles section in its latest software release, which points to an "Enable Vehicle Sync" option for backing up driver profiles, Tesla Software Updates reports. The news isn't a huge surprise, as Elon Musk previously said cloud-synced profiles were on the way. 

For a tech-focused car company like Tesla, giving its customers a simple way to bring their settings to multiple vehicles simply makes sense. That's particularly true after Hertz announced it would be buying 100,000 Teslas for its rental fleet. Though Musk was quick to point out that order hasn't been placed yet, it's not hard to imagine a world where anyone can easily rent a Tesla. They'd be easier to maintain than gas-powered cars, and the Model 3 is already cheaper than many luxury vehicles. 

And sure, for the truly privileged, cloud profiles could also make it easier to synchronize settings across multiple vehicles. According to Tesla Software Updates, synced settings include your display brightness, Autopilot and navigation options. It'd also be helpful to have your Stopping Mode synchronized, as that seriously changes how Tesla's braking functions.

Chevy isn't the only one electrifying vintage cars to sell you on aftermarket EV motors. Ford has introduced an F-100 Eluminator concept that upgrades the circa-1978 pickup truck with two of the company's new Eluminator electric crate motor kit. The powerplants, taken from the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, give the F-100 a total 480HP and 634lb/ft of torque. Ford didn't discuss performance benchmarks or range, but it's safe to presume you could smoke some sports cars with that kind of power.

The truck has more customizations beyond the EV motors, including the vertical center-stack touchscreen from the Mach-E. You'll also see custom aluminum Forgeline wheels, a billet aluminum dash from JJR Fabrication and avocado-tanned leather from MDM Upholstery. This may look like a classic truck, but it's not appointed like one.

You can't buy this concept, as you might have guessed. Instead, Ford would rather you buy the $3,900 Eluminator motor for your project car. The automaker eventually hopes to supply everything you might need for an EV retrofit, including batteries, controllers and traction inverters. You'd only want to buy the motor right now if you have the resources to complete the rest of the puzzle yourself. This does, however, hint at a future where many beloved combustion engine cars can get a second life through an EV transplant.

Ford

Much of Waymo's self-driving vehicle testing has largely focused on warm climates, but it's about to give those machines a harsher trial. Waymo will start driving its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica vans in New York City on November 4th. This and a later wave of Jaguar I-Pace EVs will rely on human drivers to map streets and learn from the environment, but the goal is clearly to achieve full autonomy.

The test will focus on Manhattan below Central Park (aka midtown and lower Manhattan), including the financial district and a portion of New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel. All tests will operate during daylight.

The dry run will help Waymo's Driver AI cope with New York City's notoriously heavy traffic, of course, but the company is particularly interested in weather testing. Like many northern cities, NYC has its fair share of ice and snow, both of which remain huge challenges for driverless cars. This test will give Waymo further opportunities to test its navigation in winter conditions, not to mention the heavy rainfall more common in the region.

Waymo said it was "encouraged" by the responses from politicians, regulators, industry and non-profits. With that said, it's easy to see the potential for a backlash. NYC has been highly protective of its taxi business at times, and is heavily dependent on ridesharing. While fully driverless ride hailing services like Waymo One may not arrive for a long time in the city, taxi and rideshare operators alike likely won't be thrilled at the prospect of being replaced by autonomous systems.

ZipCharge has launched a new type of charging product for EVs that might be able to convince people worried about range anxiety to switch from gas vehicles. The British startup has introduced a powerbank for EVs called ZipCharge Go at the Cop26 climate summit. It's about the size of a suitcase and weighs around 50 pounds — plus, it has wheels and a retractable handle, so users can put it in their trunk and easily take it out when they need to charge. 

According to the company, the Go can provide up 20 miles of range after being plugged into the car for 30 minutes. A higher capacity version will be able to provide an EV up to 40 miles of range. The device works with any plug-in hybrid or EV with a Type 2 socket, and it can charge that vehicle to its full capacity between 30 minutes to an hour. Charging up the device itself is as easy as plugging it into any socket, and users will be able to control and monitor it through an app, where they can schedule future charges during off-peak hours for cheaper costs. 

While range anxiety is becoming less of an issue these days, it's still keeping those on the fence from making the leap. A company called Gogoro developed hot-swappable battery technology for scooters to address the problem, but batteries in electric cars typically can't be swapped out. SparkCharge has a portable EV charging system called the Roadie, but it's not nearly as easy to carry around as the Go. 

That said, the ZipCharge Go isn't available yet. According to InsideEVs, the startup plans to release a 4 kWh and an 8 kWh version, as well as to start deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2022. It can be leased for at least £49 (US$67) per month, though it will also be available for purchase to EV owners who don't mind paying for one and to businesses like hotels that don't have installed charging facilities. While ZipCharge has yet to reveal a price for it, The Sunday Times Driving section says the company aims to sell it for around the same cost as a 7.2kW home charging port installation.

Tesla has issued its second recall in as many weeks, although this may be more strategic than it is urgent. As the APnoted, The new recall covers 11,704 Tesla EVs from 2017 or newer (including the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X) that were prone to "false-positive braking" after a buggy Full Self-Driving beta update from October 23rd led to a communications breakdown between two chips. The company fixed the issue on October 25th. The day before, it also cancelled the flawed update and disabled emergency braking on cars still using that beta release.

There were no reports of crashes or injuries, Tesla said. The automaker decided to issue a recall on October 26th.

The recall may have been meant to prevent conflicts with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency sent a letter to Tesla on October 12th asking why it didn't issue a recall when it fixed an Autopilot software issue that reportedly led to collisions with emergency vehicles. Tesla knows car manufacturers are required to issue recalls for any safety issues, the NHTSA said. It's not clear how Tesla responded to that inquiry before a November 1st deadline, but the company might now be in the habit of issuing recalls for software-related safety problems.

The notice highlights the changing nature of recalls. While recalls for hardware-only flaws haven't changed much (just ask Chevy and LG), software-related issues are another matter. Now that more and more cars accept over-the-air updates, it's possible for companies like Tesla to issue recalls for bugs they've already fixed. Brands may have to make it particularly clear when a recall demands real-world service, as that might not always be clear going forward.

As promised earlier in the year, Tesla is expanding access to its Supercharger charger network. Starting today, the company is opening 10 locations in the Netherlands to non-Tesla EVs as part of a pilot program. Provided you live in the country and you’ve installed the Tesla app on your phone (version 4.2.3 or later), you can use them to charge your car. The stations are located in Sassenheim, Apeldoorn Oost, Meerkerk, Hengelo, Tilburg, Duiven, Breukelen, Naarden, Eemnes and Zwolle.

The one thing to note about the pilot is it's only open to EV drivers who live in the Netherlands. However, if you drive a Tesla vehicle and you’re visiting the country, you can charge your car as normal at the stations. Additionally, how the program expands beyond this initial pilot will depend on congestion at the stations. “Future sites will only be opened to Non-Tesla vehicles if there is available capacity,” the company said.

On Monday, the company also put a non-Tesla port home charger on sale. Both the pilot and charger are a sign Tesla is looking outside of its ecosystem for revenue. That said, it may take a while before we see the automaker open its charging stations in the US to EVs from other companies since those use a proprietary connector.

One of the most famous cars Chevrolet ever built is now an electric vehicle. The company teamed up with Cagnazzi Racing and Hot Rod publisher MotorTrend to electrify the 1957 Chevy Project X vehicle.

MotorTrend's defunct Popular Hot Rodding magazine bought the Project X car for $250 in 1965. Over the decades, it has been used to test a range of power technologies. Before the electric system, it had a Chevy LSX V-8 engine.

The car now has a 400-volt electric powertrain with an estimated 340 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque — those are very similar numbers to Cadillac's Lyriq EV. Chevrolet says the battery can store 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity. The range depends on the quick-change differential that's fitted, which can be swapped to optimize the car for acceleration or range. Still, Chevy claims the now-EV has "enough range for weekend cruising."

Although the car still has the front suspension that was installed in 2007, Cagnazzi Racing made some changes, such as swapping to an electric brake booster and electrohydraulic power steering pump. Some springs have been switched too, as there's less weight under the hood and more at the rear compared with the previous incarnation. Project X now has the same push-button gear selector as the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette as well.

This is the third straight year that Chevy has converted a classic car into an EV for SEMA. The automaker did so to show off the capabilities of the eCrate Connect and Cruise system, as Autoblog points out. That's an electric crate motor and battery combination designed to make it easier for tinkerers to build battery-powered projects.

Tesla is recalling 2,791 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles over concerns that their front suspension lateral link fasteners may loosen, potentially shifting the wheel alignment and increasing the risk of a crash. The affected vehicles are 2019, 2020 and 2021 versions of the Model 3, and 2020 and 2021 editions of the Model Y.

Tesla has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the recall and plans to mail notification letters to affected owners on December 24th. The company will tighten or replace the fasteners free of charge. The number for this recall is SB-21-31-003.

This is far from the first recall on Tesla's books, and in the grand scheme of things, it's a small one. Tesla has issued a handful of recalls this year alone, including one in February that affected 135,000 vehicles in the US and another in June affecting 6,000 US vehicles. German regulators issued an additional recall of 12,300 Model X EVs in February of this year, citing trim-adhesive concerns. That issue sounded eerily similar to one that led to a US recall of more than 9,000 cars in November 2020.

Today’s commercial airliners are not exactly fuel efficient. The average 747, for example, burns through a gallon of kerosene-based fuel every second that it flies. And with 8.2 billion people expected to take to the skies annually by 2037, carbon-free alternatives to Jet A-1 will be necessary in order to offset the industry’s impact on global warming. We are nearing the age of electric airplanes.

Pioneering researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs have been working on the dream of electrified flight since the latter part of the 19th century when heavy lead-acid batteries were loaded onto early airships to power their propellers. We’ve also seen a number of, ahem, novel means of powering aircraft while in-flight throughout the years, from conductive tethers stretching back down to the ground to solar panels to microwave energy transmission but it wasn’t until the advent of relatively more power-dense Nickel-cadmium (NiCad) battery technology that human-scale free-flying electric planes became technically feasible.

But even as battery chemistries have evolved and energy densities have risen over the past few decades, today’s state of the art Lithium-ion cells pose the same quandry to the aviation industry as they do to the automotive: how to properly balance the energy-to-weight ratio of their batteries.

“If a jumbo jet were to use today’s batteries, 1.2 million pounds of batteries would be required just to generate the power of the jet engine it would be replacing,” University of Houston Energy Fellow, Emily Pickrell, opined in Forbes earlier this year. “This weight would effectively need an additional eight jet planes just to carry that weight!"

And as Li-ion technology has fully matured, further increases to its energy density have fallen to below five percent with each annual iteration, which is why a number of researchers and battery companies are already looking for the next breakthrough battery chemistry — whether that’s Sodium-ion (Na-ion), Lithium-metal (Li-metal), Lithium-Sulphur (Li-S), or Zinc-air (Zn-air).

Regardless of composition, batteries need to get a whole lot lighter and more energy dense if they’re going to attack and dethrone jet fuel which, with an energy density of 9.6 kWh/L, makes the flammable liquid about 50 times as energy dense as today’s best li-ions. To be fair though, due to inefficiencies inherent to internal combustion engines, that figure drops to around 14 times the energy density of a li-ion battery if you’re comparing equal weights of fuel and batteries.

For example, a Tesla Model 3’s li-ion-based battery boasts an energy density of 260 Wh/kg while CATL announced earlier this year that it had built a sodium-ion battery with 160 Wh/kg density (though it hopes to get that up to 200 Wh/kg by 2023). Lithium-sulfur batteries have shown the capacity to hold up to 600 Wh/kg, though that technology faces significant longevity hurdles (i.e. the chemistry tends to eat through electrodes) before they can be widely used. Currently, 2- and 4-person small aircraft outfitted with electric power systems typically operate at 250-270 Wh/kg of specific energy but industry experts expect energy densities will have to hit 350 - 400 Wh/kg before the electric aviation industry really takes off — something that could happen within the next few years, according to Tesla CEO, Elon Musk.

Preventing and mitigating thermal runaway is another critical test for electric aviation. When a battery cell, or even an area within a single cell, malfunctions due to mechanical, thermal, or electrochemical failure, its temperature can rise beyond safe levels causing the cell to first produce lithium off-gasses, causing the cell walls to bulge, then rupture, releasing the entirety of its energy reserve. When a cell bursts it can damage and overheat surrounding cells, setting off a cascading failure that results in explosion and fire. When that happens to a Chevy Volt, the car will likely be a write off (fingers crossed it didn’t also set your house on fire) but if such a failure were to occur in-flight on an electrified 747, the loss of life would be catastrophic.

To minimize the chances of a full-blown runaway from occurring, early detection of cell failures is key. As off-gassing typically occurs minutes before a cell ruptures, the presence of a monitoring system which compares sensors positioned close to a li-ion battery against those collected by a reference sensor further away can alert for the presence of a failing cell. And to negate any gases that have already been released, fire suppression systems armed with inert gas — to prevent the offgasses from reaching combustible levels when mixed with atmospheric oxygen — can be employed as well. Of course regular maintenance and robust inspections also help prevent cell failures before the situation becomes explosive.

Rolls-Royce

Battery electric planes will also provide unique challenges in balancing air speed and range, though for Rolls-Royce, it’s not even a question — speed all the way. Over the past few years, Rolls-Royce has been quietly working on Project ACCEL (accelerating electrification of flight), building a battery-powered racing plane, dubbed Spirit of Innovation, in an effort to set a new world air speed record.

The record was previously set in 2017 when an electric-powered Extra 330LE, using a Siemens eAircraft-built power plant, notched a 209.7 mph (337.5 kph) top speed over a 3-kilometer-long course. The feat was certified by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) as the fastest electrically powered flight by an aircraft weighing less than 1,000 kg at takeoff, beating the previous record (set in 2013) by just over 8 mph (13 kph).

In addition to the 3-kilometer record, Rolls-Royce has the opportunity to also set FAI records for a 15km distance and “time to altitude,” basically how quickly the plane can take off and reach a specific height. “It needs to be a significant number,” Rolls-Royce Director of Engineering and Technology – Civil Aerospace, Simon Burr, told Aerosociety. “We’re planning to fly over 300mph. We’ll see how high we can get to.”

Rolls-Royce

For its attempt, Rolls-Royce — which is partnering with the UK’s YASA electric motor manufacturer and start-up Electroflight, which makes bespoke battery systems — has acquired a pair of Sharp Nemesis NXT twin-seat air racers. One has been used for ground testing while the second will conduct the actual flights. The Nemesis NXT already holds the 3km FAI record with a recorded top speed of 415mph (667.8km) using a 400hp Lycoming internal combustion engine.

The Rolls-Royce team has swapped that Lycoming engine out for a trio of YASA 750v electric motors producing around 400kW (530hp) while the fuel tank has been replaced with three independent battery packs.

Rolls-Royce

“The main challenge of electrification is weight,” Rolls-Royce Flight Test Engineer Andy Roberts said during a September media briefing. Not only did the 6,000-cell battery system aboard the Nemesis NXT shift the aircraft’s center of balance, the 450kg battery system also doesn't get lighter over time as conventional fuel tanks would, which could impact the plane’s performance during the later stages of the run. The batteries are so substantial that Rolls-Royce Chief Test Pilot Phill O’Dell had to lose 2kg of bodyweight to help keep the overall aircraft weight within operating margins.

Thermal runaway is a very real concern for the Rolls-Royce team, as they’ll be pushing these batteries to their absolute limits during the flight. In order to mitigate this issue cells are separated by liquid-cooling plates and stored in cork-wrapped fireproof cases (the porous cork material helps diffuse heat). Should a cell overheat to the point of venting off-gasses, the plane is equipped with an inert gas suppression and ventilation system as well.

On September 15th, the Spirit of Innovation made its maiden test flight from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down airfield, flying for 15 minutes. The company hopes to have the Nemesis ready for an official run at the record before the end of this year.

“The first flight of the Spirit of Innovation is a great achievement... We are focused on producing the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonize transport across air, land and sea, and capture the economic opportunity of the transition to net zero,” Warren East, Rolls-Royce CEO, said in a statement. “This is not only about breaking a world record; the advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Urban Air Mobility market.”

Rolls-Royce is far from the only company pursuing electric aircraft technology, no matter how much faster it is than the competition. From tiny startups to industry stalwarts — even NASA — companies and governments around the world are racing to develop commercially viable electric aircraft both for passenger flights and cargo hauling. 

Guglielmo Mangiapane / reuters

Bye Aerospace, for example, builds electrified 2-seat trainer planes called the eFlyer, similar in function to Diamond Aircraft’s eAircraft. Slovenian aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel has been selling its $140,000 Alpha Electro, the first electric plane to earn FAA certification, since 2018. On the other end of the spectrum you have aerospace giants like Airbus developing the Air Race E, which the company claims is the world’s first all-electric air race series when it starts up later this year (better get with the times, Red Bull Air Race), and demonstrators like the City Airbus, a 4-seat eVTOL. These electric vertical take off and landing capable vehicles have become a popular option for fossil fuel-free air travel, such as Cadillac’s single-seater concept, the build-it-yourself Jetson Aero, China's EHang AAV, Uber’s since-abandoned air taxi scheme or Volocopter’s ongoing air taxi scheme.

Unfortunately, despite all the research into and hype surrounding electrified air travel, many industry experts remain skeptical that we’ll see its widespread adoption for at least a few more decades — at least for large-scale airframes like the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350. Until battery technologies become sufficiently robust, we’ll most likely see eVTOLS restricted to short-hop intracity duties for the foreseeable future, eventually expanding out to inter-city jaunts and regional commuter jets. Still, it beats sitting in traffic.

This past April, Toyota teased the bZ4X, the first of seven “Beyond Zero” fully electric vehicles the automaker said it would debut by 2025. Other than to reveal it was working with Subaru to develop the SUV and that it would include its upcoming e-TNGA powertrain, the company didn’t share many details about the bZ4X. On Friday, it changed that by unveiling the production version of the vehicle.

Toyota will offer the bZ4X in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive variants. The former will feature a single 150 kW capable of accelerating the car from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 8.4 seconds. Per the WLTC standard, the automaker claims the FWD model’s 71.4 kWh battery will allow it to travel approximately 500 kilometers or 310 miles on a single charge. Expect that estimate to decrease once the EPA tests the car. It’s also worth noting these measurements come from the Japanese model, which may end up featuring different specifications to whatever model(s) Toyota releases in the US.

Toyota

The battery will support 150 kW DC fast charging, allowing it to go from dead to 80 percent after about 30 minutes of charging. As for the AWD model, it will feature two 80kW motors, one built into each axle, for a total power output of 160 kW. It can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 7.7 seconds. Toyota estimates the ranges of the AWD model at 460 kilometers or 285 miles on a single charge. In both variants, the battery is integrated into the chassis, a design choice the automaker helps lower the SUV’s center of gravity and improve the rigidity of the chassis.

Toyota also plans to equip the bZ4X with some nifty extra features. One of those is a solar roof the automaker says will generate about 1120 miles worth of free power generation. It will also offer a steer-by-wire system that removes the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and front wheels. Both features will be available in select models.

The bZ4X will debut in the US and other markets in mid-2022.