Carlton Reid

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Polestar?

If you're thinking of getting a Polestar, you might want to keep in mind that the premium EV brand may not be a stand-alone for much longer, if predictions from auto industry analysts and academics are anything to go by. “Fold it back into Volvo,” advises Peter Wells, a business …

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Ford Steps Back From EVs—and Says Hybrids Are the Future

Spooked by weakening demand for EV sales, and the number and ingenuity of Chinese automakers, Ford is scaling back its all-electric ambitions, despite manufacturers, including Ford, experiencing significant growth for electric car sales in the first quarter. Noting that the Dearborn, Michigan, company is responding to market demand, chief financial …

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The End of ‘iPhone’

Last week's launch of more powerful iPads shows that, for now—and for this line of products at least—Apple is sticking with its long-in-the-tooth “i” prefix. But how much time remains for this dotted relic of the Steve Jobs era, a lower-case vestigial tail with little modern relevance? Not much time …

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The Atlas Robot Is Dead. Long Live the Atlas Robot

Old robots never die, they simply fade away. (And probably rust a bit.) This week, Boston Dynamics said adieu to HD Atlas, the human-ish robot that debuted over a decade ago. And then promptly introduced its replacement. For years, Atlas has scared us silly with cutesy dance moves and parkour …

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EVs With Built-In Camera Drones Have Already Landed in China

Chinese automakers are starting to equip electric cars with camera drones. For now, this drone integration is aimed at content creators who want to collect videos of themselves driving. These systems typically enable one-click filming of a moving vehicle, with the action viewable live on the car's interior display as …

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This Is Why Tesla’s Stainless Steel Cybertrucks May Be Rusting

During the Cybertruck's unveiling in 2019, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that the electric vehicle's "ultra-hard stainless steel" body might be "literally bulletproof." However, the Tesla truck's exterior panels appear to be defenseless against water pistols. They apparently rust, as some owners claim. Posting on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, …

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Panasonic’s New Powder-Powered Batteries Will Supercharge EVs

Sila, a Californian company cofounded in 2011 by Tesla’s seventh staffer, is going to supply Panasonic with a US-made silicon powder for EV batteries that could banish range anxiety, slash charge times, and even reduce reliance on China. Panasonic’s main US customer is Tesla, and produces around 10 percent of …

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The Cybertruck Must Be Huge—or It Will Dig Tesla’s Grave

Stupid. Divisive. Fugly. The Hummer shouldn’t have sold in numbers, but it did. Might Elon Musk pull off a similar trick with the stainless steel Cybertruck? Forty-six months after the official unveiling—when design chief Franz von Holzhausen famously shattered the prototype’s Armor Glass with the spirited throw of a metal …

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