Tesla opens first 250-kw charging stations at Fremont factory

2017 Tesla Model 3 in Tesla assembly plant parking lot, Fremont, CA, November 2017With Tesla's Supercharger fast charging network, Tesla vehicles can now be charged faster than any other currently available electric car. That status comes courtesy of eight new Version 3 Superchargers that the company opened at its Fremont, California, factory, which can charge a Model 3 at up to 250 kilowatts. That can give the car, which is...

Pull-out kitchen confirmed as an option on Rivian R1T electric pickup

Rivian R1T Overlanding conceptUpstart electric truckmaker Rivian has confirmed that it will make an accessory camping kitchen available as an option on its R1T pickup. The confirmation is a bit surprising. When trying to drum up interest for a new car at auto shows and other events, automakers dress them up with all kinds of accessories—many of which never make it to...

GM executive: Electric pickup will be built on EV-specific platform

Future Cadillac long-range electric large luxury utility vehicle (rendering), 2019 Detroit auto shoGeneral Motors president Mark Reuss confirmed Thursday that the company has an all-electric pickup in development and says it will be based on the company's BEV3 platform, expected to debut in a new Cadillac SUV sometime after 2023. That chassis will be similar to the "skateboard" chassis that GM developed for its Autonomy concept car back in...

Climate change presents $1 trillion in risk, but more in reward: study

Ocean waves [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]The latest climate study, released Tuesday, doesn't look at sea level rise, carbon counts, or government policy—at least not directly. Instead, it takes a strictly capitalist approach. The study, by CDP, sent questionnaires to more than 200 of the largest global companies about their forecasts for how much money they're budgeting to lose to...

Subaru and Toyota plan joint electric SUVs on flexible platform

2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid  -  First Drive, Santa Barbara CA, Nov. 2019What comes next after a partnership for sports cars? Potentially one for an electric SUV. That's the latest plan from Toyota and Subaru, according to a joint statement from the automakers on Thursday. The new joint project will develop a new electric mid-size SUV using electric-car technology from Toyota and all-wheel drive technology from Subaru...

Automakers lay out mpg concerns for Trump: Talk to California, please

President Donald Trump (Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)Ten months after the U.S. EPA and DOT proposed easing federal fleet fuel economy standards for 2021-2026, there has been no formal submission of the plan. And more than a year after the EPA suggested that it might challenge California’s waiver to set stricter standards, it hasn’t confirmed one way or another whether it will do that. As...