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Ofgem licence means firm can replicate Texas setup of powering homes, businesses and EVs Elon Musk’s Tesla has won approval to supply electricity to households and businesses across Great Britain, as the tech billionaire expands his energy ambitions. The energy regulator, Ofgem, has formally granted Tesla an electricity supply licence , enabling it to provide electricity to domestic and business premises in England, Scotland and Wales. Continue reading...

When I heard ‘Rachel’ answer the helpline number in her metallic voice, my soul felt as empty as the batteries of my malfunctioning car Something went wrong. The car charger wouldn’t work. Terrible, enervating, life-shortening faff ensued. It was to do with the wifi to which the car was linked having to be changed. I find this stuff so boring that I have been known to simply slump to the floor and fall into a deep sleep. But this wasn’t an option, as I had to drive miles to work and my car’s batteries were as empty as my soul. I’d already been on the road for five hours listening to Antony Beevor’s history of the second world war. Man’s inhumanity to man is so very disappointing, even more disappointing than a malfunctioning EV charger on a wet and windy day. I resolved to dig deep. The human spirit would prevail. If only I could find another human to help me out. Continue reading...

Electric vehicles | Delightful dumps | Loyal readers | Football fans Regarding China’s fantastically fast electric vehicle charging ( Editorial, 8 March ), when you consider that most private cars spend the majority of the time parked, is there any need for widespread supercharging? Taxis and minicabs may find it useful perhaps. At least in this part of the country, where the railways are electric and must have access to a megawatt supply, it wouldn’t be too difficult to put high-speed chargers near stations. Let the rest of EV users charge at the supermarket or use extension leads. We don’t need to stress about keeping up with China. Martin Cooper Bromley, London • I love my local dump ( A delightful day at the dump: ‘The trick is not to leave with more stuff than I arrived with!’, 5 March )! It has a charity shop attached. I get unbelievably excited when I drop in with garden waste. I have taken chairs, tables and all manner of kitchen bits – most recently a cast iron casserole f...

Megawatt fast EV charging reflects a coordinated grid strategy the UK once used. Privatisation and fragmentation now make that infrastructure far harder to build The future of electric cars arrived this week in China. The world’s biggest car seller, BYD, unveiled a new battery giving its latest electric models more than 600 miles of range. Remarkably, the Chinese motor-maker said 250 miles of range could be injected into its new batteries in just five minutes . If true, the last remaining advantages of petrol cars – long range and quick refuelling – are beginning to disappear. But such technology requires megawatt charging points. A single charger can draw as much power as a small town in Britain. BYD’s system relies on chargers delivering around 1.5 megawatts of electricity – more than four times the fastest chargers in the UK. China is moving fast, planning thousands of megawatt charging stations within two years. Continue reading...

Lawsuits and slander claims fly in IG Metall’s battle with Elon Musk over employment rights and conditions Business live – latest updates Europe’s largest trade union is trying to gain control of the works council at Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in an industrial relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander. The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to pay deals with a company’s management, is considered an entrenched aspect of the German corporate world, particularly in the car industry. Continue reading...

Oxford-based firm has raised $103m for commercial development of software for self-driving industrial vehicles Nvidia is investing in the British autonomous driving startup Oxa , alongside backing from the UK’s National Wealth Fund, in a boost to the country’s technology sector. The Oxford-based company, which has developed software for self-driving industrial vehicles, said it had raised $103m (£77m) from investors to focus on commercial solutions for that software, as well as its physical AI and robotics technology, and to push on with its global expansion plans. Continue reading...