Building Your Dreams Might Be Elon's Nightmare

Building Your Dreams Might Be Elon’s Nightmare

Briefly turning his attention away from dismantling the US government and shutting down America’s Social Security agency, Elon told Tesla employees they should “keep their stock” at an all-hands meeting Thursday night. “If you read the news it feels like, you know, Armageddon,” Musk said. “It’s like, I can’t walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire.” cnbc.com

However, flaming Cybertrucks, people dumping Teslas into the used market like mad, and former fanboys selling their Tesla shares might be the least of his concerns.

Globally, Tesla is in a turf and price war with Chinese OEM BYD (Build Your Dreams).

And frankly, BYD is winning.

Tesla narrowly outsold BYD on the EV front in 2024. However, BYD produced more EVs and sold more than twice as many vehicles when you count their PHEV sales. insideevs.com

BYD offers a broader selection of models at better prices. And BYD is consistently less expensive than Tesla in countries where the two brands compete. restofworld.org

But that’s not the part that hurts.

This week, BYD announced that they have new charging capabilities that are twice as fast as Tesla’s. The Chinese OEM’s new fast-charging tech can add 400km (249 miles) of range with a five-minute charge. They also announced plans to build over 4,000 of these new fast chargers across China. You can bet that they won’t stop there. theverge.com

This is a major advancement in battery charging that will change the entire landscape for EVs. Charging your EV will take about the same time as filling up with gas. techcrunch.com

BYD also announced the release of a new EV motor that is expected to outclass the one in Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra that beat a Tesla Model S Plaid in a drag race. cnevpost.com

If that isn’t enough of a kick to the shins for Elon, the stock performance of BYD compared to Tesla might bring Dark Gothic MAGA to tears. bloomberg.com

China’s Automotive Expansion

Stellantis joint venture partner and Chinese-based OEM Leapmotor started selling two new EVs at Stellantis dealerships in Britain. reuters.com

Nio partners with CATL to create the world's largest battery swap network. cnevpost.com

BYD considers Germany for a possible third assembly plant in the EU. reuters.com

Zeekr reveals a new intelligent driver assistance system with multiple LiDARs and an onboard supercomputer. carnewschina.com

Li Auto unveils new next-generation autonomous driving architecture to move toward “truly autonomous driving.” cnevpost.com

Tesla launched a month-long free trial of its Full Self-Driving service in China. reuters.com

China’s self-driving lidar company Hesai plans to build an overseas factory to avoid tariffs. ft.com

BMW plans to use Huawei’s HiCar tech in models sold in China starting next year. reuters.com

VW and FAW Group launched 11 new models for the Chinese market. reuters.com

Magna plans to build EVs for Xpeng and GAC in Austria. autonews.com

Must Know Musk News

YouTuber Mark Rober tested his Tesla and a second vehicle equipped with LIDAR to see which would stop short of hitting a child (he used a mannequin) in various driving conditions. Spoiler alert: the Tesla didn’t do very well. youtube.com

There was a lot of follow-up criticism (especially from the Tesla fanboys) of Rober’s video. The Verge did a good job summarizing it. theverge.com

Now, other people are putting fake walls in front of their Teslas. theverge.com

Toronto is no longer providing financial incentives for Teslas. reuters.com

Hamilton Police say that over 80 Teslas were damaged in a vandalism attack. electrek.co

The Vancouver auto show kicks Tesla to the curb. ctvnews.ca

Cybertrucks are recalled again. mashable.com

Tesla gets the initial permits it needs for robotaxis in California. reuters.com

There is some weirdness in Tesla’s accounting. electrek.co

Elon wants to own more of X. financialpost.com

Elon says SpaceX will launch the first Starship rocket bound for Mars by the end of 2026. bbc.com

The Donald is considering sending Tesla vandals to El Salvador prisons. cnbc.com

Rise Of The Machines

Robotics company 1X recently released a video of its new robot, Neo Gamma, doing various tasks in a home and wearing a soft-looking suit made of 3D-printed nylon. cnet.com

China plans the world’s first robot half-marathon in Beijing this April. interestingengineering.com

Kyle Vogt, former CEO of Cruise, raised $150 million for his robotics startup The Bot Company. reuters.com

Disney, Google Deepmind, and Nvidia build a Star Wars-esque drone. techcrunch.com

Energy

John Kerry says Saudi Aramco and big oil are on the “wrong side of history.” ft.com

China dipped into crude stockpiles in the first two months of the year as refiners processed more oil and imports remained weak. reuters.com

OPEC+ plans increased oil production despite economic risks. oilprice.com

US crude imports from Canada fall to a two-year low. reuters.com

BYD has a new home battery system. pv-magazine.com

Solar and wind accounted for 98% of new US electrical generating capacity added in January. electrek.co

But Wait, There’s More

Renault 5 Turbo 3E arrives as a 536-HP RWD EV that demands your attention. techradar.com

Hyundai will debut its new Pleos brand at the end of the month. electrek.co

Honda partners with Toyota to use their US-made batteries in future hybrids to mitigate tariff impacts. nikkei.com

Honda and Suzuki plan to pool carbon emissions with Tesla to comply with EU carbon rules. reuters.com

Honda and Acura EVs gain access to Tesla Superchargers in June. techcrunch.com

Mazda throttles its EV investment to help manage operating costs. reuters.com

VW gets an updated Moody rating, putting it just three notches above junk territory. reuters.com

Audi plans to cut 7,500 jobs in administration and development over the next 4 years. reuters.com

AutoCanada shuts down RightRide used vehicle locations and plans to divest of its ten US dealerships later this year. autonews.com

Foxconn plans to sign an EV manufacturing deal with two Japanese companies. Which two could it be? autonews.com

Virgin Atlantic announces partnership with Joby Aviation to launch an air taxi service in the UK. theverge.com

Amazon is considering getting into the used car business. autonews.com

Amazon’s self-driving unit, Zoox, has a braking problem. reuters.com

Automakers and tech folk asked the Trump administration to remove regulations to accelerate the deployment and adoption of self-driving cars. reuters.com

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