Tesla

[CooterBrown 17735]

Just print out your own fake temp license plate like the majority of temporary tags you see on the road.

[Biff Tannen 45151]

Wow, that's fucking horrible.  I pray that having the gigafactory in Austin will somehow help with some of these customer service issues, but that may be wishful thinking.

[Wally Fairway 5494]

1 hour ago, wild_turkey said:

When we ordered our Model Y in April, we used the Tesla financing program because the interest rate was lower than our mortgage so why the hell not. The Tesla application said financing was instantly approved with Wells Fargo who we currently bank with. Ok cool, easy enough. We took delivery of the vehicle on June 2. 

On July 9, over a month after having the vehicle, I received an email from fundingresolution@tesla.com saying there was a problem with the financing. Apparently the car was ordered under my wife's name (her car) and the loan application was under my name (higher income), so the SSN didn't match up. I'm not sure how they didn't catch this on the application when they initially said the loan was approved. The email correspondence was kind of sketchy and at first I thought it might be a phishing attempt, but I tried to work with them to figure it out. Then, that person stopped responding to all of my emails as of July 14. Nothing at all past that point despite multiple emails from me.

Since that point, I have called Tesla multiple times at both the local store and at their main "Tesla Finance" number with very little help. None of them seem to have any visibility of the problem and simply say "they are working on it" (they as in the mysterious Royal They which is a department deep within Tesla that you cannot actually speak with directly). No one ever returns my calls and it's been going on a month.

I then called Wells Fargo since Tesla gave me an approved loan agreement for Wells Fargo as the lender. Turns out, Wells Fargo had record of an application being submitted but never gave a decision due to the SSN discrepancy mentioned above. So there was never a loan to begin with. Wells Fargo has offered to do the loan application again, but that would circumvent Tesla and might mess things up even worse. At least Wells Fargo is trying to help. They also call me back about once a week to check the status, which is more than Tesla has ever done.

Ok fine, I pretty much decided to quit worrying about it and figured Tesla will eventually contact me if they want to get paid for the remainder of the vehicle. 

Except there is now one major problem - the temporary dealer tags were good for only 2 months, so they expired on August 2 and we can no longer drive the car legally. The full registration is apparently being held up by the funding problem which no one is attempting to fix. Great, so we "bought" a car from them that we can't drive. I have explained this multiple times to the Tesla and the local store says they don't know what to do but that someone will contact me soon, which no one ever does.

I called my local tax assessor office to explain the problem about the tags. They said I could file a formal complaint against Tesla as a dealer, except that the Tesla dealership is in Washington and a complaint in Texas will probably be worthless. I guess I'll file a complaint anyways. They said I can also go pay $29 for a temporary 30-day tag exemption, which can only be done 3 times in the life of a vehicle, and Tesla actually burned the first 2 times when they gave me "dealer plates" that weren't actually dealer plates. Great, so I can do that 1 more time which buys me until September 2nd if they get their shit together by then. I could write them a check for the rest of the car but no one will ever respond.

This shit is absolutely ridiculous and by far the worst customer service I have ever received from anyone, which includes AT&T and American Airlines.

/rant

TLDR: if you are considering financing a Tesla through Tesla, please do yourself a huge favor and go directly to your lender of choice.

 

56 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Jesus, that's infuriating.

If only @The Royal We could just call up his cousin The Royal They and get this shit straightened out

[The Royal We 3051]

6 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said:

 

If only @The Royal We could just call up his cousin The Royal They and get this shit straightened out

Lulz!

[hornian 5160]

6 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

When we ordered our Model Y in April, we used the Tesla financing program because the interest rate was lower than our mortgage so why the hell not. The Tesla application said financing was instantly approved with Wells Fargo who we currently bank with. Ok cool, easy enough. We took delivery of the vehicle on June 2. 

On July 9, over a month after having the vehicle, I received an email from fundingresolution@tesla.com saying there was a problem with the financing. Apparently the car was ordered under my wife's name (her car) and the loan application was under my name (higher income), so the SSN didn't match up. I'm not sure how they didn't catch this on the application when they initially said the loan was approved. The email correspondence was kind of sketchy and at first I thought it might be a phishing attempt, but I tried to work with them to figure it out. Then, that person stopped responding to all of my emails as of July 14. Nothing at all past that point despite multiple emails from me.

Since that point, I have called Tesla multiple times at both the local store and at their main "Tesla Finance" number with very little help. None of them seem to have any visibility of the problem and simply say "they are working on it" (they as in the mysterious Royal They which is a department deep within Tesla that you cannot actually speak with directly). No one ever returns my calls and it's been going on a month.

I then called Wells Fargo since Tesla gave me an approved loan agreement for Wells Fargo as the lender. Turns out, Wells Fargo had record of an application being submitted but never gave a decision due to the SSN discrepancy mentioned above. So there was never a loan to begin with. Wells Fargo has offered to do the loan application again, but that would circumvent Tesla and might mess things up even worse. At least Wells Fargo is trying to help. They also call me back about once a week to check the status, which is more than Tesla has ever done.

Ok fine, I pretty much decided to quit worrying about it and figured Tesla will eventually contact me if they want to get paid for the remainder of the vehicle. 

Except there is now one major problem - the temporary dealer tags were good for only 2 months, so they expired on August 2 and we can no longer drive the car legally. The full registration is apparently being held up by the funding problem which no one is attempting to fix. Great, so we "bought" a car from them that we can't drive. I have explained this multiple times to the Tesla and the local store says they don't know what to do but that someone will contact me soon, which no one ever does.

I called my local tax assessor office to explain the problem about the tags. They said I could file a formal complaint against Tesla as a dealer, except that the Tesla dealership is in Washington and a complaint in Texas will probably be worthless. I guess I'll file a complaint anyways. They said I can also go pay $29 for a temporary 30-day tag exemption, which can only be done 3 times in the life of a vehicle, and Tesla actually burned the first 2 times when they gave me "dealer plates" that weren't actually dealer plates. Great, so I can do that 1 more time which buys me until September 2nd if they get their shit together by then. I could write them a check for the rest of the car but no one will ever respond.

This shit is absolutely ridiculous and by far the worst customer service I have ever received from anyone, which includes AT&T and American Airlines.

/rant

TLDR: if you are considering financing a Tesla through Tesla, please do yourself a huge favor and go directly to your lender of choice.

Really should have shopped that rate; we went through UFCU and the APR was about 40% lower than what Tesla was quoting.  We also sold my wife’s previous car to CarMax instead of trading because they gave us about $3500 more than Tesla was offering for the Trade. 
 

But that’s a shitty situation. 
 

I honestly don’t know how they did that; they wouldn’t even arrange delivery for my wife’s car (also delivered June 2nd) until they confirmed receipt of our funds from UFCU. I had to actually get proof of the wire and send to them because they were claiming they didn’t have it in their (Tesla) system. 

[Biff Tannen 45151]

1 hour ago, hornian said:

I honestly don’t know how they did that; they wouldn’t even arrange delivery for my wife’s car (also delivered June 2nd) until they confirmed receipt of our funds from UFCU. I had to actually get proof of the wire and send to them because they were claiming they didn’t have it in their (Tesla) system. 

Same.  

[TwiceHorn 30850]

19 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Same.  

Sounds like a fucking clown show, to be honest.

And filing a complaint with the title authorities in Texas will have some effect.  Part of their licensing as a "dealership" requires them to abide by the titling regulations, which require them to deliver title and pay taxes.

[Biff Tannen 45151]

8 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Sounds like a fucking clown show, to be honest.

And filing a complaint with the title authorities in Texas will have some effect.  Part of their licensing as a "dealership" requires them to abide by the titling regulations, which require them to deliver title and pay taxes.

I guess maybe I didn’t have to get proof of the wire, but they definitely didn’t arrange for delivery until the funds were in hand. 
 

This was also 2018. You’d think they might be a bit better by this point, after hundreds of thousands of deliveries. Who knows. 

[hornian 5160]

2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Sounds like a fucking clown show, to be honest.

And filing a complaint with the title authorities in Texas will have some effect.  Part of their licensing as a "dealership" requires them to abide by the titling regulations, which require them to deliver title and pay taxes.

They aren't a dealership. They sell direct to consumer. That is part of the problem. All the things dealers do for you, the end buyer is required to do. And that is mostly because dealers don't want to allow Tesla to sell direct to consumers in Texas. They like being the middle man. They don't want people to order direct from Ford, GM, Toyota, etc. (and really, the legacy automakers don't want people to order direct from them either). So the laws won't allow Tesla Corporation to be a dealer in Texas, and the laws won't actually allow Tesla to directly sell to consumers in Texas, so shit like this happens. Not excusing Tesla, they fucked up. But if Texas would allow their sales model, there would be a lot more avenues for redress for people like wild_turkey. 

[wild_turkey 3081]

I honestly don’t know how they did that; they wouldn’t even arrange delivery for my wife’s car (also delivered June 2nd) until they confirmed receipt of our funds from UFCU. I had to actually get proof of the wire and send to them because they were claiming they didn’t have it in their (Tesla) system. 

I was in disbelief as well. That’s why at first I thought it must be a scam or a simple mistake, because surely a tech savvy auto company with the highest market cap in the world would not accidentally approve a loan and hand over a $56k car to a new owner without all the financial stuff resolved. How does that even happen? Very sloppy on their part.

We finally received some communication from various Tesla people in the past 24 hours, which I think is due to increased intensity of phone calls and emails on our part. Still no resolution but at least a few people are now acknowledging that we do exist and that we did receive a car from them and that some stuff needs to be fixed. They are “working on it” and we should expect a call in 1-2 days.

Wife also got a temporary tag exemption that is good until Sept 9 so at least she can legally drive the car now.

At least the car itself has been great.

[Paper_jam 828]

What a shitshow. I'm half afraid your next update will be "repo man came and hauled off the car."

[hornian 5160]

49 minutes ago, Paper_jam said:

What a shitshow. I'm half afraid your next update will be "repo man came and hauled off the car."

What repo man? There’s no loan!

[ChickenSandwich 9767]

Been way more than 30mins. Car should be free now. 

[52-80 18987]

Im not a lawyer but pretty sure Finders Keeper applies in this situation

[52-80 18987]

if anyone tells you otherwise just filibuster them

[Telegraph_it 3350]

Has anyone bought their Tesla with an Amex? The internet has a few examples of folks being successful but it doesn’t seem too probable. 
 

On my last car purchase the BMW dealership was not going to let me put TT&L on a card because it was over $2k until I said I would not purchase the car. 

[hornian 5160]

23 hours ago, Telegraph_it said:

Has anyone bought their Tesla with an Amex? The internet has a few examples of folks being successful but it doesn’t seem too probable. 
 

On my last car purchase the BMW dealership was not going to let me put TT&L on a card because it was over $2k until I said I would not purchase the car. 

Weird. I never finance TT&L. Always put it on a card. Never been an issue for the dealership. 

Did not try to purchase the Tesla with the Amex though. Maybe the next one. 

[Telegraph_it 3350]

47 minutes ago, hornian said:

Weird. I never finance TT&L. Always put it on a card. Never been an issue for the dealership. 

Did not try to purchase the Tesla with the Amex though. Maybe the next one. 

The dealership wanted a check or a wire. I don’t have any checks and wire has a fee so I did not want to do that. It was surprising. 

[Deej 76197]

On 8/15/2021 at 2:29 PM, Telegraph_it said:

The dealership wanted a check or a wire. I don’t have any checks and wire has a fee so I did not want to do that. It was surprising. 

That's when you ask, "So you take hot checks?"

[Walte464 450]

Got my new model 3 this week, process was so much easier than it was with the first 1, 2.5 years ago. Blacked out the emblems, went limo on the tint which has allowed the car to be so much cooler and painted calipers yellow. 

 

Edited October 9, 2021 by Walte464
Photo

[Mach 1 1676]

Test drove an AWD model Y this weekend.  Holy shit that car is fast.  Can't imagine what the performance version feels like.

Got back in my X6, turned it to Sport and punched it.  Google machine says the cars are equal 0-60.  Yeah, no.  Based on my ass in seat experience, the Y is definitely faster up to 60.  The X6 might catch it after that, who knows.

With my wife complaining about gas prices and my other gas guzzling cars, the Y ticks a lot of boxes.  One of those being price; I like the idea of dipping my toe in the EV water rather than going full bore with an X or S.

Only reticence is the strange serene feeling of flying along in absolute silence, as opposed to the visceral brutality of a V8 twin turbo.  I'm a little worried an EV might get boring once the novelty wears off ... but I'm heavily leaning toward putting in the order.  I can drive my other cars if I want that visceral feeling.

[Biff Tannen 45151]

5 minutes ago, Mach 1 said:

 I'm a little worried an EV might get boring once the novelty wears off

It doesn't.

[52-80 18987]

7 minutes ago, Mach 1 said:

Test drove an AWD model Y this weekend.  Holy shit that car is fast.  Can't imagine what the performance version feels like.

Got back in my X6, turned it to Sport and punched it.  Google machine says the cars are equal 0-60.  Yeah, no.  Based on my ass in seat experience, the Y is definitely faster up to 60.  The X6 might catch it after that, who knows.

With my wife complaining about gas prices and my other gas guzzling cars, the Y ticks a lot of boxes.  One of those being price; I like the idea of dipping my toe in the EV water rather than going full bore with an X or S.

Only reticence is the strange serene feeling of flying along in absolute silence, as opposed to the visceral brutality of a V8 twin turbo.  I'm a little worried an EV might get boring once the novelty wears off ... but I'm heavily leaning toward putting in the order.  I can drive my other cars if I want that visceral feeling.

it feels somewhere between a golf cart and like a personal teleportation device that glides in stealth.  the common vw group 2.0l turbo thats in all the a4, a6, tt, golf...i liken to that, but 2x as smooth, 2.5x as powerful, 3x as quiet, and 100x more reliable

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by 52-80

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4962]

What is the lead time on the Model 3 looking like these days? It says September, but I assume they are assuming that 100% of the orders are fulfilled. The wife (TBF, it's not entirely her fault) is spending over $1000 a month on gas because she drives our adventure ready* van as a primary vehicle and we live in a small town in between good things. That's pretty much a new car, no?

[Dahobbs 17227]

On 11/22/2021 at 2:13 PM, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

What is the lead time on the Model 3 looking like these days? It says September, but I assume they are assuming that 100% of the orders are fulfilled. The wife (TBF, it's not entirely her fault) is spending over $1000 a month on gas because she drives our adventure ready* van as a primary vehicle and we live in a small town in between good things. That's pretty much a new car, no?

Jesus Christ that is a lot of gas. I mean, fuck, it would be worth it to pick one up right away on the used market, even at these inflated prices, if you're spending that much on gas. 

[CooterBrown 17735]

She says she’s spending it on gas.

[Beantown Express 2.0 6513]

On 11/22/2021 at 2:13 PM, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

What is the lead time on the Model 3 looking like these days? It says September, but I assume they are assuming that 100% of the orders are fulfilled. The wife (TBF, it's not entirely her fault) is spending over $1000 a month on gas because she drives our adventure ready* van as a primary vehicle and we live in a small town in between good things. That's pretty much a new car, no?

My neighbor ordered a Model 3 on October 15th and the Tesla site showed a March/April 2022 delivery.  That being said, they delivered the car last week to his house so it only took about 4 weeks for his Blue Model 3 from ordering to arrival.

[MrBig 5182]

13 hours ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

My neighbor ordered a Model 3 on October 15th and the Tesla site showed a March/April 2022 delivery.  That being said, they delivered the car last week to his house so it only took about 4 weeks for his Blue Model 3 from ordering to arrival.

Tell your neighbor to check the scuff marks on the bottom of the front and back seats to make sure it’s not a floor model that suddenly “arrived early.” 

[Guadaloopy 10801]

Got the FSD Beta release last night.  It’s pretty damn good.  Definitely not perfect, but will only get better.  I’m super comfortable with autopilot, but letting the car take a turn on its own for the first time was still a bit unnerving.  The visualization of what the AI “sees” is impressive.  Level 5 autonomy is coming fast.  

[hornfan785 548]

I hate the new UI. Lots of things that used to be a quick tap are now in sub menus. One thing I really do like is the addition of the blind spot camera when engaging the turn signal. No idea why it took so long to implement, but I'm glad it's there now.

[Walte464 450]

Blind spot camera was necessary years ago but now I feel like I’m relearning my car with this new update.

[Biff Tannen 45151]

Yeah, the new update is gonna take some getting used to, but overall happy. Don’t like that the radio pulls up the full screen version that you then have to swipe down to see the map again though. Unless I’m missing a setting. 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6513]

Downloaded this last night.  I didn’t get the blind spot camera.  Guessing because I have the vertical screen instead of the horizontal one.  Not sure if I want to look towards my screen when changing lanes  to see the side camera views as maybe that would be distracting but I guess I didn’t and won’t get that choice.  I too have to get used to the new “apps” at the bottom of my screen but guess I will get used to it.  Need to play with it more but is there still a “radio” screen that has all of the choices (Sirius/Spotify/FM/etc…) along with a settings button where you can adjust the equalizer?   I am not sure where that is now but I did move the apps for those onto my tool bar.  Also, is the total apps you can put on that just like 4=5 or can you add more.  It seemed to stop at 4-5 and then it swaps out apps when you try to add one.   Lastly, I saw some folks complaining that the heated seats/steering wheel and defroster are in a sub menu but if I touch the temp quickly it brings up just those controls and not the whole climate control screen.

[52-80 18987]

On 12/27/2021 at 4:38 PM, Biff Tannen said:

Yeah, the new update is gonna take some getting used to, but overall happy. Don’t like that the radio pulls up the full screen version that you then have to swipe down to see the map again though. Unless I’m missing a setting. 

if you have radio (or bluetooth or any other music source) as a shortcut... just press the button again to cycle through full-screen / minimized / hidden.

 

 

[52-80 18987]

Tesla Q4 deliveries beat every single estimate from wall street and independent analysts alike. 
 

Thats in the midst of a “chip shortage” and supply chain “crisis” and other excused parroted by every industry. 
 

Ive traded around the stock price and gotten beaten up whenever ive taken a short on it. Gonna commit long only now. #webelieve

[Biff Tannen 45151]

2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Tesla Q4 deliveries beat every single estimate from wall street and independent analysts alike. 
 

Thats in the midst of a “chip shortage” and supply chain “crisis” and other excused parroted by every industry. 
 

Ive traded around the stock price and gotten beaten up whenever ive taken a short on it. Gonna commit long only now. #webelieve

I would like it to split again please. 

[Biff Tannen 45151]

Cross posted.

This is pretty huge news that got by me last month.  Toyota finally flipping its stance on EVs.  They had always touted hydrogen fuel cell tech for the future and more or less poo-pooh'd EVs, but seems they see the writing on the wall.

 

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/14/22833997/toyota-ev-investment-lexus-concept-vehicles

 

Quote

Toyota is ramping up its electric vehicle production schedule, vowing to release 30 electric vehicles by 2030 rather than just 15 EVs by 2025, as was previously promised. The Japanese automaker also vowed to sell 3.5 million battery EVs globally by 2030 and to transform Lexus into an EV-only brand by 2035.

The company said it would invest 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) in battery vehicle technology, an increase over its previous commitment of 1.5 trillion yen ($13.6 billion).

 

[bolverk 29082]

I'm sure if it's going to take off, but DeLorean is getting into the EV game and is setting up their global HQs in San Antonio. I missed it during the Superb Owl but supposedly this short clip was aired.

What DeLorean HQ in San Antonio could mean for Austin
Austin, Dallas, other cities on company's radar for manufacturing; Decision expected later this year

The iconic DeLorean car is headed back to the future in an electric revival that will be centered in the Lone Star State.

DeLorean Motors Reimagined LLC, under the name DeLorean Motor Co., announced Feb. 14 plans to establish its global headquarters in San Antonio, but indicated it was still considering where to manufacture is future electric vehicles. Hundreds of jobs are expected from the HQ investment — contingent on the final approval of incentives — which the company has framed as a strategic move to grow nationally and internationally.

DeLorean's plans are expected to impact the growing electric vehicle manufacturing sector in Austin, possibly attracting companies to the region and boosting business for existing automotive suppliers, though the full impact is still unknown.

CEO Joost de Vries said the company has considered the Austin area, as well as Dallas and other U.S. cities, for manufacturing operations, though no decisions had been made by publication time. San Antonio will be home to the HQ but manufacturing will be located outside of the Alamo City, he said.

"That decision will come this year. ... We need to first build the brand," de Vries said. In the near-term, "There will be an economic impact to San Antonio and Austin simply because we're starting to attract talent that's coming from other places."

The Austin metro's EV sector is already booming, in large part thanks to Tesla Inc.'s $1.1 billion factory now up and running in eastern Travis County. Economic development experts have suggested the Texas capital will continue to see more EV manufacturers and suppliers move into the area. DeLorean's HQ could accelerate that activity.

This also comes at a time when the Austin metro stands to become a hotbed for EV batteries.

“It puts an exclamation point on the region as a global center of excellence for EV with Navistar, Tesla, the relationships with the semiconductor industry and, of course, Samsung’s growing presence in Central Texas," John Boyd Jr., principal at Florida-based site selection firm The Boyd Company Inc., said of the combined Austin-San Antonio region.

Austin Business Journal spoke with economic development experts about how the Austin area could have a hand in DeLorean's future, and vice versa, based on the region's talent pipeline and budding EV sector.

Spoiler

Talent pipeline
The growing EV sector in Texas, and specifically in the Austin-San Antonio corridor, is creating a healthy talent pipeline.

"Texas continues to win investments from EV companies because we have the workforce and the supply chain," Ed Latson, executive director of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, said in an emailed statement. "DeLorean selecting San Antonio for a headquarters is great for the entire region."

Not only could DeLorean find workers in the Austin area, but the HQ move will likely result in more jobs for people in Central Texas as other EV makers flock to the region, experts said.

“The ever-expanding industry of electric vehicles is an instrumental part of our region’s growth as it has created jobs, diversified our economy’s portfolio and helped spur the development of a supply chain focused on supporting the automotive industry," Laura Huffman, president and CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, said in an emailed statement. "With multiple EV companies within 100 miles of the capital, we believe automotive trailblazers will continue to be attracted to our region’s second to none talent pipeline and groundbreaking tech culture that is helping to change the world."

DeLorean plans to bring about 450 new jobs to the Alamo City, mainly in executive, management and engineering roles, according to an announcement. The company said it will work with regional educational institutions including Texas A&M University-San Antonio, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Trinity University, Texas State University and others.

Austin also has EV battery research expertise at the University of Texas. Professor John Goodenough won a Nobel Prize in 2019 for helping invent lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles.

Local players
Experts consider Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) to be the anchor to the local EV sector's future.

Tesla launched production late last year at its 4-million-plus-square-foot facility, off State Highway 130 east of Austin. The EV maker's impact on the region — already felt from multiple suppliers locating in the area — is expected to create thousands of jobs and potentially help Central Texas usher in a wave of EV and battery production at a time when the global sector is booming.

Boyd said that the SH 130 corridor is "on the map like never before" for EV projects.

Economic development leaders have said that several EV manufacturers and battery suppliers are actively considering Central Texas for expansion or relocation. Boyd added that DeLorean's HQ plans represent the national theme of companies wanting to be in pro-business markets, such as Texas.

In the northeast suburb of Hutto, an unnamed high-tech electric vehicle manufacturer is eyeing roughly 140 acres under the codename "Project D12," according to past ABJ reporting. De Vries said DeLorean is not related to this project.

De Vries indicated the rising cost of living in Austin was one reason why the company chose San Antonio for its HQ.

“Austin offers an infrastructure that is much more mature than San Antonio, but Austin also has a cost level that is very different from San Antonio, too,” de Vries said. “San Antonio offered us, as an EV startup company, an environment that is allowing us to grow much faster than what we could have done in Austin.”

In a follow-up email, de Vries said that in addition to cost of living, other factors considered in the HQ location were traffic, airport activity and supply chain connections.

"Austin was never in consideration as the HQ mainly because of the 'quality of life' equation vs. other places in Texas," he said. "Austin as a 'neighbor' however is fantastic ..."

EV businesses based in the region include Volcon Inc., a fast-growing all-electric power sports company; Ayro Inc., a Round Rock-based maker of light-duty work EVs that continues to grow; Hyliion Holdings Corp., an electric trucking technology company headquartered in Cedar Park. Additionally, REE Automotive Ltd., and Israel-based EV technology compnay, picked Austin for its U.S. headquarters.

[LCHorn 2559]

I bet if San Antonio passed a tax increase to fund high speed rail to Austin it’d pay for itself just by making it easier for firms to divide themselves between both cities.  

[Biff Tannen 45151]

Can't find which thread the gigafactory was being discussed, but I was apparently wrong about no solar panels.

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-gigafactory-texas-solar-panel-installation-update/

[CooterBrown 17735]

22 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I bet if San Antonio passed a tax increase to fund high speed rail to Austin it’d pay for itself just by making it easier for firms to divide themselves between both cities.  

If they were smart, they would do this but they won't. Any company tech centric finds out quickly that the hiring pool in SA is shallow and hard to recruit to.  They all end up opening large offices in Austin anyway.

[Jkwellborn 6595]

Does this mean time machines are gonna be even more expensive?

[52-80 18987]

12 hours ago, bolverk said:

I'm sure if it's going to take off, but DeLorean is getting into the EV game and is setting up their global HQs in San Antonio. I missed it during the Superb Owl but supposedly this short clip was aired.

  Reveal hidden contents

Talent pipeline
The growing EV sector in Texas, and specifically in the Austin-San Antonio corridor, is creating a healthy talent pipeline.

"Texas continues to win investments from EV companies because we have the workforce and the supply chain," Ed Latson, executive director of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, said in an emailed statement. "DeLorean selecting San Antonio for a headquarters is great for the entire region."

Not only could DeLorean find workers in the Austin area, but the HQ move will likely result in more jobs for people in Central Texas as other EV makers flock to the region, experts said.

“The ever-expanding industry of electric vehicles is an instrumental part of our region’s growth as it has created jobs, diversified our economy’s portfolio and helped spur the development of a supply chain focused on supporting the automotive industry," Laura Huffman, president and CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, said in an emailed statement. "With multiple EV companies within 100 miles of the capital, we believe automotive trailblazers will continue to be attracted to our region’s second to none talent pipeline and groundbreaking tech culture that is helping to change the world."

DeLorean plans to bring about 450 new jobs to the Alamo City, mainly in executive, management and engineering roles, according to an announcement. The company said it will work with regional educational institutions including Texas A&M University-San Antonio, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Trinity University, Texas State University and others.

Austin also has EV battery research expertise at the University of Texas. Professor John Goodenough won a Nobel Prize in 2019 for helping invent lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles.

Local players
Experts consider Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) to be the anchor to the local EV sector's future.

Tesla launched production late last year at its 4-million-plus-square-foot facility, off State Highway 130 east of Austin. The EV maker's impact on the region — already felt from multiple suppliers locating in the area — is expected to create thousands of jobs and potentially help Central Texas usher in a wave of EV and battery production at a time when the global sector is booming.

Boyd said that the SH 130 corridor is "on the map like never before" for EV projects.

Economic development leaders have said that several EV manufacturers and battery suppliers are actively considering Central Texas for expansion or relocation. Boyd added that DeLorean's HQ plans represent the national theme of companies wanting to be in pro-business markets, such as Texas.

In the northeast suburb of Hutto, an unnamed high-tech electric vehicle manufacturer is eyeing roughly 140 acres under the codename "Project D12," according to past ABJ reporting. De Vries said DeLorean is not related to this project.

De Vries indicated the rising cost of living in Austin was one reason why the company chose San Antonio for its HQ.

“Austin offers an infrastructure that is much more mature than San Antonio, but Austin also has a cost level that is very different from San Antonio, too,” de Vries said. “San Antonio offered us, as an EV startup company, an environment that is allowing us to grow much faster than what we could have done in Austin.”

In a follow-up email, de Vries said that in addition to cost of living, other factors considered in the HQ location were traffic, airport activity and supply chain connections.

"Austin was never in consideration as the HQ mainly because of the 'quality of life' equation vs. other places in Texas," he said. "Austin as a 'neighbor' however is fantastic ..."

EV businesses based in the region include Volcon Inc., a fast-growing all-electric power sports company; Ayro Inc., a Round Rock-based maker of light-duty work EVs that continues to grow; Hyliion Holdings Corp., an electric trucking technology company headquartered in Cedar Park. Additionally, REE Automotive Ltd., and Israel-based EV technology compnay, picked Austin for its U.S. headquarters.

the supply of companies wanting/purportedly doing EVs exceed their capabilities

[4th&Five 41184]

Wife placed the order for her Model 3 today. I’m a bit jealous. 

[Biff Tannen 45151]

11 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Wife placed the order for her Model 3 today. I’m a bit jealous. 

Congrats man.  I only get to drive my wife's a couple of times a week, but god damn is it fun every time.

[Mach 1 1676]

I ordered a Y in October.  Delivery has slipped from April when I ordered it to June now. Went to the store to check if I can get moved up, Fleet Manager said he’d take a look.

FM: You’re leasing?

Me: Yeah, my first EV, just want to dip my toe.

FM: The car is now valued at 10k more than when you ordered it.

Me: Let’s dive, shall we? I’ll buy it.

[Guadaloopy 10801]

Anyone get a golden ticket to Cyber Rodeo today?

[hornfan785 548]

Nope.

[52-80 18987]

Musk said on twitter that entrance is not strictly enforced

[Armybrat 40544]

My son who works there has two tickets our family are not using.