Category Archives: Elon Musk

By Malathi Nayak | Bloomberg

Elon Musk wont have to testify in the first case set for trial that blames Tesla Inc.s Autopilot for a fatal crash, a Florida judge said.

The ruling shielding the companys chief executive officer from being questioned by lawyers for the deceased drivers family is a significant win for the electric-car maker.

Without a deposition of the billionaire entrepreneur, it will be harder for the family to argue that Tesla made irresponsible decisions under his leadership about marketing its driver-assistance software at the expense of safety.

The companys nearly trillion-dollar valuation is partly built on Musks championing of autonomous driving as the way of the future.

Tesla has shown that Musk does not have unique personal knowledge of the issues in the case, Florida Circuit Court Judge Janis Keyser wrote in a brief ruling.

The lawsuit stems from the 2019 death of Jeremy Banner, 50, who died when his Tesla Model 3 crashed into the underside of a semi-trailer truck crossing a Florida highway. The case is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 20 in Palm Beach County.

The Banner family claims Tesla didnt fix Autopilot so it would shut down in dangerous circumstances despite a similar accident at a traffic crossing in 2016 that killed another Florida man who had engaged the technology.

Trey Lytal, an attorney representing the Banner family, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Teslas lawyers have argued the company has been open and honest about Autopilots limitations, including the difficulty of detecting traffic crossing in front of its cars. The company warns drivers on its car screens and owners manual that drivers must be alert and ready to take control of vehicles at any time, according to its lawyers.

Lytal argued at a March 10 hearing that Musks deposition is central to the dispute because only he can answer the question of why Tesla would allow this dangerous technology to be used on a roadway where the car knows its going to fail.

Keyser previously rejected Lytals request to question Musk early in the pretrial evidence-gathering phase of the case.

Since then, Banners attorneys have had a chance to take depositions from almost half a dozen, high-level Tesla engineers, including Christopher CJ Moore, the former director for Autopilot who has since gone to work for Apple Inc. on its self-driving project.

But Lytal told Keyser at the hearing that none of the Tesla engineers could answer why the company ignored warnings from government safety regulators and others to stop marketing Autopilot as a technology with full self-driving capability when it wasnt.

Musk has unique personal knowledge about this, Lytal said. Thats why we need to depose him. Nobody else can answer this question. Even though Musk said in a declaration that he lacks such knowledge, Tesla hasnt explained why, he said.

Teslas attorney, Vincent Galvin, countered that the demands to question Musk are just harassment. The engineers have answered relevant questions, so the fact that the plaintiff doesnt like the answers is not a basis for Mr. Lytal taking Mr. Musks deposition, Galvin said.

Keyser said her ruling was based on the extensive depositions by Tesla engineers and a written declaration submitted by Musk.

The case is Banner v. Tesla Inc., 50-2019-CA-0099662, Circuit Court of 15th Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, Florida.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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Elon Musk spared From testifying in Tesla autopilot crash suit - The Mercury News

Photo: Theo Wargo (Getty Images)

Last December, Grimes released a new song from her upcoming album Book 1. The track, called Player of Games, was speculated to be inspired by her relationship with Elon Musk. One of the lyrics, Im in love with the greatest gamer, got me thinking: what kind of video games does Musk play when hes not reinventing public transit or allegedly abusing his employees?

A recent Vanity Fair interview with Grimes revealed that Musks latest obsession is The Battle of Polytopia, which he describes as a much more complex version of chess. Apparently, hes even beaten the creator at his own game at least once, which hes very proud of. While hes obviously boasting about his big brain for his fawning fans, I wouldnt be a video game journalist if I didnt check out the game for myself. So, I downloaded Polytopia and played a single game.

The Battle of Polytopia is a civilization simulator in which you control one of twelve different tribes. You try to expand the territory of your empire by collecting resources, exploring uncharted territory, and destroying rival civilizations. In short, its the exact sort of game that might appeal to a white billionaire who benefitted from apartheid in South Africa. He loves it so much that at one point, Polytopia was added as a playable game to Tesla carsyou know, before the government started asking questions about a feature that might take your attention away from driving.

Read More: Genshin Impact Cancels Elon Musk Event Following Fan Pushback

I played one game, which lasted twenty-five rounds. Every round, I could move my military units one space across the map, and I would be rewarded with stars each turn. These resources could be invested into extractive technologies for things like forestry or fishing, or they could be put into new kinds of soldiers. The goal was to wipe out as many enemy factions as possible before the turn limit.

Polytopia is not as complex as Musk described. If anything, winning against the computer-controlled enemies was easier than any chess game Ive ever played. There were more opponents than in a chess game, but its difficulty was inherently constrained by the number of possible actions per turn. Polytopia is an approachable game for newcomers to the civilization builder genre, but its definitely not what I expected from the so-called Player of Games.

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I Played The Game Elon Musk Is Obsessed With So You Don't Have To - Kotaku

Will we soon see Elon Musk in the White House?

Though the whimsical CEO of Tesla (TSLA) - Get Tesla Inc Reportand SpaceX and the Biden administration have had a cold relationship, onemarked by snubs and mockery via social media since the Democratic president took office, there are now signs a thaw is in the offing.

The bone of contention revolves around Tesla, the maker of high-end electric vehicles, which dominates a lucrative markethead and shoulders above its competitors, and which has growth prospects looking rosier by the day.

Despite that, the billionaire and the richest man in the world apparently cannot tolerate being snubbed by the Biden administration on various occasions.

Biden ran on and has since pushed a green agenda, advocating an acceleration of the electrification of the automotive sector.

But he waited until this Feb. 8, more than a year after his inauguration, to officially pronounce the name Tesla.

As the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the country, Tesla believes that logically the firm should be seen and presented as an example by the new administration.

But it was quite the opposite. Not only did Biden seek advice and guidance from GM CEOs Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley, he showcased the two legacy automakers as key players in the electric transition at public events.

Getty Images/TheStreet

Tesla produced and delivered over 300,000 vehicles globally in the fourth quarter, the company said. But GM reported U.S. sales of 26 electric vehicles during the fourth quarter.

Musk, who is quick to attack his critics, has previously speculated that this cold shoulder from the Biden administration is due to the fact that Tesla is not unionized.

The standoff between Musk and the Biden administration escalated on Jan. 26, when Biden posted on Twitter a video of him standing next to GM CEO Mary Barra.

"I meant it when I said the future was going to be made right here in America," the president wrote."Companies like GM and Ford are building more electric vehicles here at home than ever before."

Musk responded on Twitter: "Starts with a T Ends with an A ESL in the middle."

Musk told CNBC on February that it feud had escalated internally in the administration as well.

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It got to the point, hilariously, where no one in the administration was even allowed to say the word Tesla!"he said."The public outrage and media pressure about that statement forced him to admit that Tesla does in fact lead the EV industry. I wouldnt exactly call that praise.'

In the same CNBC interview, Musk hinted that he would visit the White House if invited and would not do or say anything embarrassing during such a visit.

For its part, the administration has begun to make some gestures towards Tesla and its charismatic CEO.

Biden finally did extend an olive branch to Musk in early February, publicly mentioning Tesla.

Since 2021, companies have announced investments totaling more than $200 billion in domestic manufacturing here in America," Biden said in a speech about U.S. auto manufacturing.

"From iconic companies like GM and Ford building out new electric vehicle production to Tesla our nations largest electric vehicle manufacturer ... "Were seeing the beginning of an American manufacturing comeback," Biden said on Feb. 8.

Early March saw a clear sign that relations between Musk and the White House were warming up.

Musk, who is anti-union, has challenged unions, inviting the United Autoworkers (UAW) to organize his company in an attempt to goad the labor union.

Musk said that he's able to maintain the Tesla workforce because the company compensates and treats its employees well. Because of this, Musk claimed, he's not worried about union organizing at his company.

"Id like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them," Musk wrote on March 3 on Twitter.

The reconciliation seems to be on the right track. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has just visited Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, one of his spokespersons told TheStreet.

The visit took place on March 13. And it was Elon Musk himself who showed Walsh around, the spokesperson said. The two men then discussed together for 75 minutes on various topics, ranging from job creation in Austin, innovation, inflation.

Elon Musk, who posed in photos with Walsh, said he wanted to continue the conversation.

The spokesperson, however, refused to say whether Labor Secretary was carrying an invitation from Biden to Musk.

Axios was the first media to report on this surprise visit.

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Tesla's Elon Musk May Be Heading to The White House Soon - TheStreet

Elon Musk and Las Vegas fit in the way that oddities like Carrot Top and Tape Face have made the city their home.

Things that seem odd elsewhere fit easily in Las Vegas. Musk, despite being one of the richest men in the world (sometimes the richest), stands out in most places -- but not in a city full of showgirls, Naked Cowboys, and whatever Wayne Newton is.

A legitimate genius, the Tesla (TSLA) - Get Tesla Inc Report chief executive has never been a one-trick pony. He has an entire company, SpaceX, that would certify him as a visionary were that the only brand he had created. Musk has been so innovative in the electric-vehicle sector that it has changed the entire industry.

Electric cars will replace internal combustion engines much sooner than they would have had Musk not disrupted the industry. That has happened despite, or perhaps because of, Musk being -- let's call him a nontraditional CEO.

If Ford's (F) - Get Ford Motor Company Report CEO, Jim Farley, challenged Vladimir Putin to a duel, it would not be as readily accepted as when Musk did it, and the entire world started handicapping what that fight might look like.

Musk may not live in Las Vegas, but he feels like a classic Las Vegas character: bigger than life, a little odd, but so compelling you can't look away.

Now, the Tesla and SpaceX boss wants to make his mark on Sin City not with rockets, EVs, or solar panels, but with the core product of his third company.

Image source: Michael A. McCoy/Getty

Musk's Boring Co. digs tunnels under the Earth faster than traditional methods enable. The company has made defeating traffic its core mission, which it explains on its website.

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"To solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic, roads must go 3D, which means either flying cars or tunnels are needed. Unlike flying cars, tunnels are weatherproof, out of sight, and won't fall on your head. Tunnels minimize usage of valuable surface land and do not conflict with existing transportation systems. A large network of tunnels can alleviate congestion in any city; no matter how large a city grows, more levels of tunnels can be added.

If you have spent any time on the Las Vegas Strip, you fully understand the statement above. It's a road that's often gridlocked and construction has even made walking difficult. There's no straight path for people walking -- you have to climb stairs or take escalators at various intersections -- and it's generally not pleasant on foot or by car.

Musk has a plan to solve that and beat what on Twitter he has called "the ultimate boss battle."

Boring Co. already has a tunnel in Las Vegas, under the convention center. Call it a proof of concept, but the 1.7-mile route does not really solve a traffic problem because it replaces a walking route. It basically has people wait in line to be driven in a Tesla, which is cool, but the problem could have been solved with a moving sidewalk for a whole lot less money.

Now, however, Boring Co. has another tunnel in Las Vegas and it's far less ridiculous. This new tunnel runs from the new Resorts World Las Vegas, a casino/hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, to the convention center. That's a solution that actually solves a problem and makes life easier for people looking to get from The Strip property to the convention center.

Resorts World General Manager Scott Sibella told the Nevada Gaming Commission on March 17 that the project would open soon, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. And while this piece of the project is modest, Musk and Boring Co.'s plan is far-reaching.

"Sibella described the Boring tunnel project as the first connection between a resort and the Convention Center in what is expected to be a part of a 29-mile, 51-station underground transit system within the resort corridor," he said.

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Tesla's Musk Makes a Big Move on the Las Vegas Strip - TheStreet

Indias super-rich are getting richer at a faster clip than their American peers likeTesla Inc(NASDAQ:TSLA) CEOElon MuskandAmazon.com, Inc(NASDAQ:AMZN) ChairJeff Bezos.

What Happened:Coal and green energy tycoonGautam Adani,Asias second-richest person, piled on $49 billion to his wealth in 2021 which is more than both what Musk and Bezos added in the same period, according to2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List,reportedBusiness Standard, an Indian publication.

Indias richest manMukesh Ambani,whose Reliance conglomerate has interests spanning oil to retail, saw his wealth grow at 24% year-over-year. Adanis wealth soared 153% in comparison.

American billionaires were left trailing in terms of the pace of wealth gained. Musks wealth grew 4% to $202 billion, while Bezos' fell by 1% to $188 billion,reportedObserver, citing Hurun data.

See Also:How To Buy Tesla (TSLA) Shares

Why It Matters:Within a decade, Adanis wealth has risen 1,830%, while Ambanis has spiked 400%, according to the list.

The wealth gained by Indian billionaires in the last decade is nearly $700 billion on a cumulative basis, equivalent to Switzerlands GDP, Business Standard. quoted Hurun Managing DirectorAnas Rahman Junaidas saying.

India added 51 new billionaires in 2021 well behind China's 235 and the United States' 63,reportedQuartz India.

However, more than 46 million Indians fell into extreme poverty in 2020 alone, which is half of the worlds new poor, Quartz India reported, citing United Nations data.

The stark wealth inequality in India is a result of an economic system rigged in [favor] of the super-rich over the poor and [marginalized], according to Oxfam Indias Inequality Kills: India Supplement 2022 report.

Read Next:Think Elon Musk Is Getting Rich On The Green Energy Trend? Meet Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani

Photo from Wikimedia commons

2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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This Indian Billionaire Piled On More Wealth Than Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos Combined In 2021 - Benzinga - Benzinga

Indeed Chris Bell reckons he has a pretty good grasp of the English language.

Leading Le Chou to snark: Zelenskyy Thought Janez Jana And Charles Michel Were The Same Person: Both Say Theyre EU President. Both Bald, Both Useless

Meanwhile in Strasbourg the Russian flag was removed from the Council of Europe following Russias exit.

Czech designer Vaclav Kudlka aptly changed the logos of well-known companies to express their boycott of Russia

I hereby challenge Vladamir Putin to single combat! Stakes are Ukraine

Right then, this is getting increasingly bizarre: who on earth had billionaires challenging dictators to a fight for other peoples property on their 2022 bingo card?

Tech bro and regular weirdo Elon Musk took to Twitter to challenge Putin to a fight

Some thought his Iron Man delusions are getting out of hand.

Others that reality is broken.

Have you tried turning it off then on again.

But one pointed out that billionaires and heads of state betting on stuff they dont own, is par for the course.

His flex? Exki is actually fine

Getoar Fazliu claimed The Borschette building is not *that* horrible

Irem Ates said Place Lux on Thursdays is overrated and is not that fun!

Jennifer Rankin claimed the grey skies are beautiful, the commune bureaucracy is efficient, Brussels drivers are very considerate and always stop at the pedestrian crossing.

Berlaymonster had the audacity to suggest the vast majority of lobbying efforts are entirely ineffectual.

But Andrew Manasseh took the biscuit stating, for the record, High-level multi-stakeholder events are as sexy as a baggy pair of Y-fronts

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Tweets of the Week: the Mayor, Elon Musk and the Bubble - EURACTIV

ELON Musk is on track to become the world's first trillionaire, according to a new study.

While the 50-year-old's SpaceX founder's personal wealth could reach $1trillion dollars in as little as two years, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is way down on the list, at number seven.

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Musk, the world's richest man, currently has an estimated net worth of $263 billion - with an annual average increase of 129%.

Bezos, once expected to be the world's first trillionaire, is not predicted to become one until he's 65 years old in 2030, according to the study.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his family, who own the commodity trading business Adani Group, would become a trillionaire a year behind Musk, reaching trillionaire status in 2025 at his current rate of growth.

Founder and chairman of Beijing ByteDance Technology Company Zhang Yiming is in third place on the list, which predicts he will become a trillionaire by age 42 in 2016.

This would make him the youngest billionaire to achieve trillionaire status.

Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani is fourth on the list and expected to reach trillionaire status in 2029, when he will be 64.

Tied in fourth place is Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), who is predicted to reach trillionaire status in 2029.

Currently, there are nine centibillionaires in the world, meaning they have fortunes that exceed $100billion.

The study compared the annual net worth of the world's richest billionaires in order to predict which one will be first to reach a personal valuation of $1trillion dollars.

Of the thirty individuals analyzed, only twenty-one will realistically have a chance of becoming a trillionaire during their lifetime.

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Elon Musk on track to be worlds first trillionaire but rival Jeff Bezos WAY behind year milestone rea... - The US Sun

BC is looking to tech billionaire Elon Musk to help it fulfil a promise of high-speed internet everywhere in the province by 2027.

Musks Starlink satellite internet system will form a key part of the governments connectivity plans in rural and remote communities where Telus, Shaw, and other internet providers are unlikely to expand to provide service any time soon, according to provincial officials.

RafaPress/Shutterstock

Those low earth orbit satellites arent new, and Musks company is not the only provider, but Starlink has emerged as a dominant global player with service to a large swath of BC and a plan to cover the entire province by next year.

It is not an understatement to say that someones life can be changed by getting access to the internet. And how can businesses be expected to survive in remote regions if they cant get online? said Citizens Service Minister Lisa Beare in a statement to Daily Hive.

Our approach not only includes connecting communities with traditional fibre and cable but also utilizing new low orbit satellite technology, says Beare. Because we shouldnt be afraid to try new things in order to provide this essential service to people. These options will provide communities with the infrastructure they need to get a high-speed connection that works best for them.

BC has already spent $190 million on expanding internet connectivity in the last five years, and it partnered with the federal government last week to announce $830 million more over a further five years.

With this funding and our innovative approach, we will provide access to every home no matter how remote or isolated, by 2027, said Beare.

Although 94 per cent of households in BC currently have access to high-speed internet, thats misleading because the provinces population is mainly centred in dense cities and towns.

Measured differently, only 40 per cent of BC communities actually have high-speed internet, though thats expected to rise to 60 per cent in the next four years from already-approved projects.

The remaining 40 per cent representing 350 rural communities and 120 First Nations will need to rely on a mixture of satellites and expanded broadband service where possible.

Part of the federal-provincial funding could go to helping subsidize the expansion of traditional broadband telecommunications infrastructure and fibre-optic lines to small and remote communities, which are currently still using slow dial-up internet modems.

But BC government officials acknowledge Musks Starlink will also be a major player in that drive, because its fast download speeds (of up to 200 mbs) more than exceed the federal standards required for funding.

The government is looking at ways to lower the cost of Starlink, or perhaps even subsidize the service because of the relatively high cost of entry, which currently includes $699 for a receiver dish and monthly fees of almost $130.

There are also drawbacks, including the fact StarLinks receiver dish requires a direct line of sight, unobstructed view of the sky and can be hindered by severe weather.

Also, a speed test in late 2021 by American firm Ookla concluded fixed broadband still provided faster speeds in British Columbia than Starlink.

BC opened a request to participate from the industry this week, with a plan to analyze interest from internet companies later this summer and determine which parts of the province will go broadband and which will need to be serviced by satellite.

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BC looks to Elon Musk to get everyone in the province high-speed internet | News - Daily Hive

Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk: these incredibly wealthy people are making their money off the backs of people, and resources which they are exploiting from the earth. They need to pony up and pay for this, the world-renowned professor of forest ecology, Suzanne Simard, told me at an outdoor caf in St James Park, London. [They] undermined our government so that they could make cheap s**t. We have to close the circle of responsibility [], we have to hold them to account.

With her wispy silver hair, piercing birdlike eyes and simple black coat, Simard in many ways conforms to the image of an academic being shepherded around the city on a book tour. But as these passionate outbursts suggest, little about Simard is typical.

Simards research has transformed Western understanding of forests, and was the basis for the tree souls in James Camerons blockbuster movie Avatar. Her work helped unearth the secrets of an underground web of fungi (nick-named the wood wide web) that allows trees to communicate and share resources delivering nutrients and carbon not just within species but between them. Large dominant mother trees are also key to these efforts, she has established, helping funnel the networks support to new seedlings.

[See also: Austerity is coming back: Tim Lang fears for food security as war rages]

But while her contributions to science have established that it is collaboration, not competition, that is the governing principle of forest growth, it has been a battle to get there. Even the name mother tree, with its anthropomorphising overtones, has sparked controversy: Everybody was like, dont do it: its going to ruin your career. And really, the knives do come out.

Simard is not someone to be easily cowed, however. And working with people from Canadas indigenous communities helped cement her confidence in her communication style. Their whole world is about the integration of humans and the nonhuman world; you dont separate these things at all. In fact, when we do separate them, thats when we get into so much trouble.

Her bravery perhaps even runs in her DNA. Raised in the Monashee Mountains of rural Canada, Simards gripping memoir Finding The Mother Tree introduces many important figures who populated her youth, from her rodeo-riding brother to her grandfather who rolled logs down rivers at great personal risk. Simard has continued this legacy, helping lead the way for women, first in the logging industry, then science. (Not to mention battling breast cancer, the development of which her research involving toxic herbicides and radioactive isotopes might have contributed).

It is a sweaty, dangerous and highly unique personal story that has captivated creative minds around the world. The author Richard Powers is said to have based his heroine in the award-winning The Overstory on the scientist, while actress Amy Adams is set to star as Simard in an upcoming film adaptation of her memoir.

Yet in light of the evermore dire warnings about the health of the planet, it is not the personal, but the practical and political context of her work that Simard wants to stress. Indeed, she has narrowed her thinking down to a four-point action plan for governments.

[See also: Could Happy the elephant follow an Ecuadorian monkey into legal personhood?]

The number one priority should be stemming the source of climate change by decarbonising the energy sector, she explains. Second would be putting a moratorium on deforestation, especially in old growth forests and rainforests, like those in the Amazon, Pacific Rim and Congo. And third should be creating financial mechanisms to ensure that green reforms support people and nature as part of a well-being economy.

For too long, she insisted, private companies and corporations have shirked their responsibilities. Theyve privatised the wealth and socialised the risk, she explained. Private wealth has long railed against governments because they dont want to be taxed. This has fed a narrative where politicians cant be trusted, tax is seen as a negative thing and governments are consequently stripped of their resources, she argued. Corporations must step up and share their wealth, and start funding these life saving measures over the next five years.

Two much-touted ways of redirecting private finance towards green reform are via carbon-offsetting and carbon taxes. The former involves polluting companies or countries buying carbon credits from schemes or nations that are actively absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, often via planting or protecting forests. The latter charges emitters for each tonne of greenhouse gas emissions they produce. Simard is sceptical about both.

Regarding offsets, the polluter often still continues to pollute, she said, and theres no guarantee in an age of increasing wildfires, social unrest and poverty, that those forests involved in the schemes are permanent.Similarly with carbon taxes, Simard fears the current carbon price is far too low. It would take thousands of dollars to return this hectare of land back to original forest, she said, looking around at the highly manicured flower beds of St James Royal Park. Youd have to bring in new soil, recreate the landscape, bring in new trees and have people looking after them: its expensive. The price of carbon is at only around $3-$60 a tonne in G20 economies, while analysts estimate it needs to reach at least $100 to meet net zero by 2050.

But if these discrepancies and injustices can be addressed, Simard is hopeful forests and their wider ecosystems can respond. The fungal spores that are essential to regeneration can remain in forests for thousands of years, she said, while her research with the Mother Tree Project is exploring how trees from warmer climes can be successfully migrated north as the world heats up. Adapting forestry so that it protects and nurtures mother trees, rather than continuing with todays clear-cut practices, will be essential to this, she believes.

And that brings us onto her final fourth point for saving the planet: recognising the active role that humans must now play in ecosystem protection. We need to be moving seeds and species, she stressed, because its too late for us to let [nature] do it all by itself. We got to return to our original responsibility of caring for Mother Earth.

Does that mean we are the ultimate mother tree I suggested? Yes.

Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest, by Suzanna Simard. Published in the UK byPenguin.

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The forest whisperer Suzanne Simard: Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk should pay up - The New Statesman

Tesla (TSLA) - Get Tesla Inc Reportseems determined to extend its dominance in the highly lucrative electric vehicle market. Chief Executive Elon Musk's firm wants to push its advantage over its competitors as much as possible.

The timing is good: Legacy automakers like GM (GM) - Get General Motors Company Reportand Ford (F) - Get Ford Motor Company Reportare still making the transition to electrification, and young guns like Lucid (LCID) - Get Lucid Group, Inc. Reportand Rivian (RIVN) - Get Rivian Automotive, Inc. Class A Reportare finding it difficult to manage their increased production rates.

Seeing this this less rosy picture for its rivals, Tesla has decided to respond to the demands of consumers, who are turning a little more toward electric vehicles as gasoline prices have soared.

The Musk team has quietly obtained clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency to produce a variant of the electric SUV Model Y. We don't have many details about this mysterious car, which appeared on the websiteFuelEconomy.gov, from the U.S. Energy Department.

This suggests that the agency has already tested the new car.

This new configuration of the Model Y SUV has a range of 279 miles and an all-wheel-drive powertrain. It's not available on Tesla's Model Y website, so Tesla isn't likely to be marketing it yet.

Tesla currently sells two versions of the Model Y: Long Range (range 330 miles with a starting price at $59,990) and Model Y Performance (range 303 miles with a starting price at $64,990).

This news comes as Tesla prepares to officially open its gigafactory in Austin. This production site will be dedicated to producing the Model Y.

One question now is whether the Model Y SUV with a range of 279 miles will be produced in Austin or in the company's gigafactory in Berlin, which will officially open on March 22.

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This point is important because it could answer the question of which type of batteries will fit this new configuration of the Model Y, which has a dual motor powertrain.

The Model Y SUVs to be produced in Berlin will be equipped with the 4680 cell structural batteries. These batteries will inaugurate a new platform, basically a new technique. The new structural batteries will be built in such a way that Model Y seats will be attached directly to them, saving even more parts, space and money.

Speculation is rife that vehicles produced in Texas will be equipped with the new 4680 battery cells and the structural battery pack. But given the shorter range - 279 miles - the new Model Y version appears unlikely to have them.

The only information the EPA has provided suggests that this Model Y variant isequipped with lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.

The big advantage of LFP batteries is that they are provide lower cost per mile, they last longer and don't contain cobalt or nickel, which makes the car cheaper.

On the other hand, their range is lower and the batteries charge much more slowly in cold weather.

Tesla is already making vehicles with LFP chemistry at its factory in Shanghai. It sells those cars in China, the Asia-Pacific region, and Europe.

The automaker said during its third-quarter earnings last year that these LFP batteries would be used in its standard-range cars, instead of the nickel-cobalt-aluminum-oxide cells that Tesla previously used for Model 3 sedans.

In fact, last September, when Tesla was facing high demand for its entry-level Model 3 sedan, the automaker asked customers in North America whether they would accept a vehicle with LFP cells.

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Elon Musk and Tesla Have a New Car to Expand Their Domination - TheStreet