Tesla officially updated its online configurator with the refreshed Model 3. I wrote about these potential changes last Friday, when @WholeMarsBlog shared a collection of photos of what appeared to be Model 3 vehicles headed to Japan, labeled as “new process.” The refreshed vehicles start at $37,990.
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- Several aesthetic changes were made, including a stock chrome delete, a metallic finish steering wheel, an updated wheel design, and a new interior center console.
- The vehicle also received upgrades under the hood, with a range increase on all variants. The Model 3 Standard Range Plus can go 263 miles on a single charge, up from 250 miles. The Model 3 Performance can go 315 miles on a single charge, up from 299 miles. The Long-Range, Dual Motor Model 3 gets a bump to 353 miles on a single charge from 323 miles.
- All Model 3 variants are getting quicker 0 to 60 mph accelerations, with the Performance model now capable of traveling 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds.
- The new variants also receive include Tesla’s new heat pump system and power trunk, as well as an auto-dimming mirror.
ELECTREK
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Nikola CEO Mark Russell played down the importance of the automaker’s planned Badger pickup truck. Russell referred to the Badger as a “project” to the Financial Times, saying the company’s institutional shareholders were more interested in Nikola's business plan, which focuses on heavy trucks and hydrogen infrastructure.
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- Nikola's website continues to offer pre-orders for the Badger, both in electric and hydrogen fuel-cell variants. The battery-electric version of the truck has an expected starting price of $60,000 and a range of 300 miles on a single charge. The hydrogen fuel-cell version can travel 600 miles on a single fill and retails for $80,000.
- Nikola is renegotiating a deal that would involve GM building the Badger pick up truck, in exchange for equity in Nikola.
- GM is reportedly looking for more equity in the deal, amid a declining share price for Nikola.
- Earlier this month, Nikola removed the Badger pickup truck from its business plan.
FINANCIAL TIMES
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Bollinger Motors considered going public via a reverse merger but chose not to. CEO Robert Bollinger told Bloomberg that he has rejected several proposals from SPACs, but would consider going public once the startup has agreements with third-party manufacturers to build its vehicles.
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- The company plans to build the B1 SUV and B2 pickup truck, starting in 2021. Bollinger also plans to build delivery vans and other commercial vehicles.
- Bollinger said it would manufacturer its own battery packs, making them commercially available for standalone applications, as well.
- In August, the automaker moved to new headquarters in Oak Park, Michigan, the former offices of the now-defunct EV startup Bordrin. As a result, Bollinger acquired some of Bordrin’s shop equipment and technology.
BLOOMBERG
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Foxconn, best known as serving as a part supplier to Apple, aims to provide components and services to roughly 10% of the world’s new electric vehicles by 2027. The company is in discussions with multiple automakers for future cooperation, with the goal of providing parts for three million EVs in that time frame.
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REUTERS
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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is urging automakers to disclose whether their vehicles have emissions defeating devices installed. The agency is offering automakers a reduction in penalties if they voluntarily disclose the installation of the devices, which have been found on Volkswagen, Daimler, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles vehicles in the past.
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- The offer is also for producers of motorcycles, heavy-duty and off-road vehicles, engines, and more.
- The agency is opening a state-of-the-art testing lab that will make it easier for CARB to detect additional violations. The facility in Riverside, Calif., will serve as the agency's new headquaters.
- Construction of the facility is slated to start in February.
REUTERS
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GM is re-branding its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant as “Factory ZERO.” The production facility will serve as the primary launchpad for GM’s electric and autonomous vehicles, including the upcoming GMC Hummer EV and the Cruise Origin autonomous electric shuttle.
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- After 2023, the production facility will only build zero emission vehicles, hence the “zero” branding. GM insiders have reportedly been calling the facility “Factory Zero” for quite some time now.
- The automaker is investing $2.2b into retrofitting the facility for EV production.
- GM threatened to shutter the facility in 2018, but was saved after negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.
DETROIT FREE-PRESS
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Johan Moreno is the writer and curator of Inside’s mobility-focused newsletters (Inside Electric Vehicles and Transportation). He joined Inside.com in February 2017 and has written over 700 issues collectively, so he knows a thing or two about the development of electric vehicles, autonomous cars and more.
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Editor
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Edited by Eduardo Garcia in New York. Eduardo is writing an illustrated book about climate change that will be published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade.
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