25 Apr 2019 | The Good, Bad & Ugly From Tesla’s Quarter 1 Results, Iron Man Drives An Audi e-tron GT and EVgo Deploy Autocharge

Right Hand Drive Markets Open Tesla Model 3 Orders Next Week | Tesla Q1 Financial Report | Tesla Is Currently Considering A Factory In Germany | Avengers: Endgame Premiere Sees Tony Stark Arrive In Audi E-Tron Gt | Evgo To Deploy Autocharge Technology | Volkswagen I.D. To Initially Be Sold At A Loss Of $3,340?

Show #454

 

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 25th April 2019. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through every EV story I could find today to save you time.

 

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

 

Elon Tweets: "UK Model 3 order page goes live next week, followed shortly thereafter by Japan, Australia, New Zealand & Hong Kong. We will delay $1k full self-driving option price increase until May 10 for those unable to order by May 1"

 

TESLA Q1 FINANCIAL REPORT

• "Tesla announced Wednesday its Q1 2019 earnings reports." reported InsideEVs today: "The automaker's report showed that profit levels achieved late last year could not be maintained in Q1 2019. Nobody expected high Q1 profits anyway though. However, the results are far worse than expected. The main financial details from the report are as follows:

 

• Musk: "All Tesla cars being built today" have self-driving ability and ability for Robotaxis
• Reiterates 1 million Robotaxis by 2020
• Musk says "massive" deliveries in Europe at end of Q1 as a good problem to have, with half of all deliveries happening in final 10 days of the time period.
• Musk is proud of the fact people are paying a premium to get a Model 3... not a lot of "mainstream EV" rhetoric used yet
• Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn calls this, "one of the most complicated" periods of the company's history, citing some one-time charges and the overseas deliveries that have skewed the report.
• Automotive revenue losses mostly connected to Model S and Model X declines, pricing changes
• Musk says Tesla will roll out an "insurance product" next month, but does not divulge details
• Tesla Semi: "prototypes are working amazingly well," Musk says, "we even use them to deliver some Model 3s"
• Location for production isn't set, but batteries come from Nevada
• Model Y production still unset, too, but there are unlikely to be delays whether it's set on Fremont or Nevada
• Musk alludes to finding space in Fremont to build Model Y, backtracking on the plant being, "packed to the gills"
• On "self-driving:" Musk says, "we're just going to continue reporting"
• "Tesla is a far more efficiently operating company than it was a year ago..."
• Tesla will continue to add stores in locations, "that are no-brainers," will close others that have low traffic. "It's common sense," Musk says.
• The $35,000 Model 3: "It's just slightly more inconvenient to order..."

 

• Tesla said: "We produced roughly 63,000 Model 3 vehicles in Q1, which was approximately 3% more than the previous quarter. This improvement in production rate was modest mainly due to changes to the production process for the introduction of new variants of Model 3, fewer working days and a supplier limitation. We started production and deliveries of Model 3 vehicles for overseas markets during Q1. To quickly meet international demand, Europe and China Model 3 builds occurred in the first half of the quarter, with builds for local US markets in the second half. This wave of quarter-end deliveries in the US, China and Europe meant that even short delays caused deliveries to be deferred to Q2. To improve our operations, cost efficiency and customer experience, we are in the process of balancing our regional vehicle builds throughout the quarter."

 

• Autoblog says: "The company which is ramping up production of its Model 3 electric sedan, the vehicle Tesla sees as the key to future success, stood by its 2019 delivery forecast of 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles and said it may produce as many as 500,000 vehicles if its factory in Shanghai reaches volume production in the fourth quarter. Tesla said it would make a loss in its second quarter but predicted a return to profit in the third. Musk said that global deliveries were "the most difficult logistics problem" he had ever seen."

 

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/04/24/tesla-reports-quarterly-loss/

 

• Simon at Teslarati wrote: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the company’s executives explained during the Q1 2019 earnings call that the company’s lower-than-expected performance was due to one-time items and circumstances such as delivery delays for the Model 3 in Europe and China. With Tesla back in the red, here is what Wall Street analysts are now saying."

 

TESLA IS CURRENTLY CONSIDERING A FACTORY IN GERMANY

• "Tesla already operates its Fremont factory, which supplies vehicles around the world, but Tesla is currently building a factory in Shanghai to supply the least expensive versions of Model 3 and Model Y to the Chinese market and reduce logistics costs related to importing vehicles from the US." reported Electrek today: "The automaker would like to do the same with a factory in Europe to supply its European markets. The CEO says Tesla is currently considering building a factory in Germany"

 

https://electrek.co/2019/04/24/tesla-factory-germany/

 

TESLA WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER $35K MODEL 3 DESPITE MINIMAL ORDERS

• "Some have said that Tesla moving its $35,000 Standard Range Model 3 "off menu" suggests that it will soon disappear. However, that's not the case just yet. CEO Elon Musk promised during the company's Q1 2019 conference call that the base variant will remain available, at least for now." according to InsideEVs.com: "Earlier reports made it seem as though Tesla wasn't planning to keep the car around for very long. This is because the "off-menu" status makes the car more difficult to obtain, and the automaker failed to clarify pricing specifics, whether or not Autopilot was included, and how long the $35,000 option would hang around. Musk's indication that you can still order it is helpful to concerned shoppers. However, it still doesn't clarify when the variant will go away. If you do plan on ordering one, it makes sense to do so sooner rather than later."

 

https://insideevs.com/news/346495/tesla-keeps-35k-model-3-option/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RSS-all-

 

AVENGERS: ENDGAME PREMIERE SEES TONY STARK ARRIVE IN AUDI E-TRON GT

• "Before fans pile into theaters for the latest and possibly greatest Marvel flick, Avengers: Endgame, the original Avengers cast teams up one last time (we think... no spoilers) for the long-awaited movie's premiere in Los Angeles. And one of the saga's most recognizable stars, Robert Downey Jr., rolled up to the theater in a concept car appropriate for Iron Man himself: the new Audi E-Tron GT." says Jeff Perez fo Motor1.com: "Audi unveiled the E-Tron GT last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show with a 90 kilowatt-hour battery pack and 582 horsepower (434 kilowatts) on tap. With fast charging (zero to 80 percent in 20 minutes) and wireless charging capabilities (at 11 kilowatts), Audi gives the E-Tron GT an estimated range of 250 miles (400 kilometers) on the WLTP test cycle."

 

EVGO TO DEPLOY AUTOCHARGE TECHNOLOGY

• EVgo announced that it will be the first public EV charging network to debut Autocharge technology. This innovative technology instantly recognizes a customer’s vehicle and initiates automatic charging after a one-time registration, making it even easier for drivers to fast charge with EVgo.

 

• Autocharge functionality enables EVgo registered customers to start a fast charging session in seconds without the need to open the EVgo app or swipe an RFID or credit card – saving EV drivers time and delivering a seamless fast charging experience.
• EVgo’s Autocharge rollout reaffirms the company’s leadership position, ahead of industry-wide implementation of the ISO 15118 ‘Plug&Charge’ standard, which is in development but not yet scheduled for launch by automakers.

 

VOLKSWAGEN I.D. TO INITIALLY BE SOLD AT A LOSS OF $3,340?

• "We are just days away from May 8 when Volkswagen will open the Volkswagen I.D. pre-order books for Europe. As more people are getting familiar with the offering, potentially we can see some leaks." reports Mark KAne for InsideEVs.com: "According to Auto Motor & Sport, the base version of the I.D. (the name is not yet confirmed) will not be available initially, but it's said that the price will be €29,990. It's not bad for a 48 kWh battery and 330 km (205 miles) of WLTP range. In France, including the €6,000 incentive, it should be available at some point in the future for €23,990. The first I.D. on the market - the launch edition - will be the mid-range version with around a 62 kWh battery and 450 km (280 miles) of WLTP range. The price of this one is expected to easily be above €35,000 ($39,000). The public debut of the car is scheduled for September - Frankfurt Motor Show."

 

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And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…

 

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard about EVs?

 

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