Apple Hires Tesla’s Autopilot Software Director | 07 Nov 2021

Episode 1270,   Nov 07, 2021, 01:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Tesla is Producing Vehicles in New Colors at its Shanghai Factory
• GM to extend Chevy Bolt plant shutdown by three weeks
• Apple Hires Tesla’s Autopilot Software Director for Car Effort
• Tesla's latest patch hints at cloud-synced driver profiles
• Tesla to open new battery manufacturing equipment factory in Canada
• Zero Introduces Three New 2022 Models
• Mercedes-Benz EQS EPA Range And Efficiency Ratings Revealed
• First Genesis GV60 Reviews: Did Hyundai Save The Best For Last?
• Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm Audi e-tron Sportback

Show #1270

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday Show 7th November. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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.

APPLE HIRES TESLA’S AUTOPILOT SOFTWARE DIRECTOR FOR CAR EFFORT

- Apple Inc., bolstering its car-development efforts, hired a former engineer from Tesla Inc. who drew controversy this year for remarks about that company’s Autopilot feature.

- The iPhone maker tapped Christopher “CJ” Moore for its team working on a self-driving car, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Moore is working on the effort’s software, reporting to Stuart Bowers, another former Tesla executive who joined Apple at the end of last year. Bowers had led Tesla’s Autopilot team before departing in mid-2019.

- At Tesla, Moore implied that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk had overstated the capabilities of the Autopilot software. Earlier this year, California Department of Motor Vehicles officials interviewed Moore as part of investigations into the self-driving software. The department asked Moore about Musk claiming that Teslas would be capable of fully autonomous driving this year.

- Moore signaled in response that Musk’s statements didn’t “match engineering reality,” according to a DMV memo summarizing the conversation.


TESLA IS PRODUCING VEHICLES IN NEW COLORS AT ITS SHANGHAI FACTORY

- Tesla is reportedly creating vehicles in new colors at its Gigafacotry in Shanghai. Many are speculating that these are the new factory wraps that the automaker has been talking about.

- Recently, Tesla has been teasing new colors that are enabled by its paint shop at its Gigafactory in Berlin. However, the company has been talking about another way to get new colors on the vehicles too

- Tesla announced that it would be offering wraps in China on its Weibo account. While the company made the announcement last year, there has been no confirmed example of wraps from them.

- For the first time, Tesla has been spotted manufacturing new vehicles out of its Gigafactory in Shanghai, and the colors are all new. The images were captured by a drone used by reporter Jason Yang.

- Some of the colors include turquoise, pink, and light blue.


TESLA'S LATEST PATCH HINTS AT CLOUD-SYNCED DRIVER PROFILES

- Tesla is preparing for a world where your driver profile can follow you across different cars, be it your personal EV or a rental. The car maker has added a Cloud Profiles section in its latest software release, which points to an "Enable Vehicle Sync" option for backing up driver profiles

- cloud profiles could also make it easier to synchronize settings across multiple vehicles. According to Tesla Software Updates, synced settings include your display brightness, Autopilot and navigation options. It'd also be helpful to have your Stopping Mode synchronized, as that seriously changes how Tesla's braking functions.


TESLA TO OPEN NEW BATTERY MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT FACTORY IN CANADA

- Tesla confirmed that it is going to open a new factory to build battery manufacturing equipment in Canada.

- The mayor wrote in the announcement about the new manufacturing facility:

I’m delighted to share that Tesla Canada is joining our already robust automotive and technology ecosystem by locating a manufacturing facility in the City of Markham. The facility will be the first branded Tesla Canada manufacturing facility in Canada and will produce state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment to be used at the Gigafactories located around the world in the production of batteries.

- In 2019, Tesla acquired Ontario-based Hibar Systems, a manufacturing equipment company that makes machines used in battery cell production.
Before Tesla took over, the company was based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, which is only a few minutes from Markham, where the new facility is going to be.
It sounds like Tesla might be expanding the team into a bigger facility in the next town over in the suburbs of Toronto.


GM TO EXTEND CHEVY BOLT PLANT SHUTDOWN BY THREE WEEKS

- General Motors confirmed Friday it will again halt production at its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, which makes the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt, for three more weeks.

- The largest U.S. automaker in August widened its recall of the Bolt to more than 140,000 vehicles to replace battery modules and to address fire risks after a series of fires.

- GM said the plant, which halted production in August after the battery recall, now has a targeted return to production date of Dec. 6. The new three-week production halt will start Nov. 15.

- GM said Friday that "battery module replacements remain the priority. We will continue to adjust Orion’s production schedule moving forward to best support the recall."



ZERO INTRODUCES THREE NEW 2022 MODELS

- The Standard: Zero SEven in its base configuration the Zero is a beast. It boasts a top speed of 98 mph and a range of 68-89 miles, depending on riding style. The proprietary Z-Force 75-5 powerplant cranks out 46 hp and 78 lb-ft of torque. All of this is plenty to make the S a capable commuter and street bike, and the fuel savings should soften the $11,195 price tag.

- Get Off The Road: Zero DS For about another $2500 you can add dual-sport drive and move up to the DS model. You’ll get the same motor as the S, but the added grip (and added fun) two-wheel drive provides will cost you a few miles in range.

- The Dual-Sport Monster: Zero DSR - For $15,695 you can bring home a Zero DSR and its Z-Force 75-7 motor, providing a whopping 70 hp and 102 mph top speed. The DSR also includes a mammoth 16.5 kWh battery (nearly twice the size of that in the S and DS), giving the the newest model a Tesla-like 163-mile range under mixed driving conditions.


MERCEDES-BENZ EQS EPA RANGE AND EFFICIENCY RATINGS REVEALED

- The upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS was recently listed on the EPA website, which confirms that the two first versions - EQS 450+ and EQS 580 4MATIC - will get a range of respectively 350 miles (563 km) and 340 miles (547 km), as announced in October.

- The difference between the two cars is surprisingly small, which is interesting considering that the EQS 580 4MATIC has an additional front motor. In both cases, the usable battery capacity is 107.8 kWh (the total value is not disclosed by the manufacturer).

- Overall, the efficiency is very good, but not as good as in the Lucid Air or Tesla Model S.


FIRST GENESIS GV60 REVIEWS: DID HYUNDAI SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST?

- Asian Petrolhead and Motorgraph World are among the first YouTube channels to post first drive reviews of the Genesis GV60, and they seem to be genuinely impressed with the new electric luxury crossover.

- The Kia EV6 may have the longest range and the Ioniq 5 may feature the most distinctive styling, but the Genesis GV60 appears to be the pick of the trio if driving dynamics and tech features are what you’re after. At least that’s what Charlie Min from Asian Petrolhead says after having a go in the range-topping GV60 AWD Performance Model that features a total of 360 kW (483 hp) and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque from a dual-motor powertrain connected to a 77.4 kWh battery—the only one available in the Genesis EV.

- GV60's Boost Mode, which is only available for 10 seconds at a time. Even so, the Genesis doesn't match the Kia EV6 GT's 430 kW


LARRY DAVID’S CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM AUDI E-TRON SPORTBACK

- Seinfeld co-creator Larry David loves driving eco-friendly cars on Curb Your Enthusiasm, the popular HBO comedy series that is now in its eleventh season. Unlike Seinfeld, Curb isn’t a typical sitcom, but more of an improvisational cinema verité-like comedy that follows Larry in his life as a somewhat retired yet very successful writer and producer

- Initially, he drove a Lexus GS 400, which he traded in for a first-generation Toyota Prius in season 2 of the show. Larry then drives newer versions of the popular Toyota-badged hybrid in following seasons, before making the switch to a BMW i3 for seasons 9 and 10.

Now, with season 11 officially underway, it seems Larry has abandoned BMW in favor of rival Audi, as he can be seen driving the new e-tron Sportback crossover, which is of course fully electric.


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