Tag Archives: Tesla

Auctions

Tesla Cybertruck sold for $400,000 USD

In 2019, Tesla presented its first and so far only electric full-size pickup truck, the Cybertruck. Tesla announced that it has received two million orders, and interestingly, not a single copy has been delivered to the customer, at least not yet. However, one copy of the Tesla Cybertruck was recently sold at auction.

The Cybertruck was sold at the Petersen Museum auction for $400,000. Each guest paid $1,750 for a seat, while a table cost $17,500 or $30,000 for a premier table.

In July, American media reported that they heard a little earlier that Tesla had already informed suppliers to be ready for the start of production of the Cybertruck at the end of August, while delivery would begin by the end of the year.

Each potential customer needs to pay a deposit of only 100 dollars, so there is a possibility that a large number of reservations will not be realized. It will be interesting to see if the Cybertruck will be available outside of the North American market (Europe and Asia) where customers can already pre-order the model. Because of its size and weight, selling the Cybertruck in overseas markets could pose a serious challenge. For example, in several European countries it must be classified as a commercial truck or truck.

Cybertruck will be powered by three electric motors with a total output of 805 hp (600 kW) and 1,033 lb-ft (1,400 Nm), which is enough to push the car to 62 mph in just 3 seconds with a top speed of 130 mph (209 km/h). It has a range of up to 500 miles.

Source: @haleykesparza and @greggertruck via Twitter

News

Hyundai electric cars will use Tesla Supercharger charging stations

Tesla is the largest investor in electric vehicle infrastructure and the owner of 50,000 Supercharger charging stations that can also be used by other electric cars. After General Motors, Honda, Jaguar, Nissan and Volvo, now owners of Hyundai electric cars that have adopted the NACS charging standards can use these charging stations.

The Hyundai Group also announces that Hyundai, Kia and Genesis electric models will be equipped with NACS connectors that are compatible with Tesla charging stations, and that from 2024 they will be able to charge at them throughout North America.

By the end of next year, the Korean group claims that all models sold in North America will be equipped with NACS connectors. Also, from 2025, all other owners who already have an electric model of one of the Korean brands equipped with a CCS connection, will be able to order a special adapter, so that they can use Tesla chargers.

Tesla is the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the world and recently announced that it produced its 5 millionth car. The growth of production started three years ago when in just 18 months Tesla exceeded the production of two million vehicles, three million in just 11 months, and four million seven months later. All this was achieved thanks to the large capacities of Tesla’s factories, but also to the great demand. At the beginning of July, the company announced that it had built the first Cybertruck in Giga Texas and that it had received more than 1.9 million orders.

Source: Hyundai

News

EU is investigating all car manufacturers for Chinese subsidies

As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a few days ago, the EU launched an investigation into the privileged position of electric vehicles produced in China due to subsidies. “These can also be vehicles from other manufacturers if they have used subsidies in China,” said Executive Vice President of the European Commission for an Economy Valdis Dombrovskis.

Many electric car manufacturers have plants in China, such as Tesla, Renault, VW, etc. All of them export their cars to the European market, and during the collection of evidence, Tesla was among the companies that were found to have had additional benefits. The goal of the investigation is to determine whether and in what way China subsidized car manufacturers in order to take all necessary countermeasures and equalize the market position for everyone.

Tesla enjoyed a special position in China that other companies did not have. Thanks to the Chinese government, the American company has fully utilized its domestic operations, instead of sharing them with a local joint venture partner as is the case with VW and Audi in China. Tax breaks, loans and other forms of aid have helped make China Tesla’s second most important business market outside the US.

Many will think that China will make a countermeasure against European manufacturers. Well, the chances of that are slim. If we consider that the European electric car market is the second largest in the world, after China, it can be hardly expected that the Chinese government will play against itself.

Other car manufacturers, BMW and Renault, have no comment on the situation.

Source: Reuters