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Deal to use mapping data from web search giant Baidu is a major step towards launching driver assistance tech in world’s biggest car market Elon Musk’s visit to China has reportedly reaped immediate rewards with a deal for Tesla to use mapping data provided by web search company Baidu, a major step in introducing driver assistance technology in the world’s largest car market. Musk made an unannounced visit to China over the weekend. The billionaire posted a picture of his meeting with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, on X, the social network he took over in 2022. Continue reading...

Tesla boss reportedly meets Premier Li Qiang in visit aimed at sealing rollout of Autopilot software and transferring data overseas Tesla among electric carmakers forced to cut prices as market stalls Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Sunday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla’s development in China could be seen as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Continue reading...

Federal transportation agency finds Tesla’s claims about feature don’t match their findings and opens second investigation US auto-safety regulators said on Friday that their investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot had identified at least 13 fatal crashes in which the feature had been involved. The investigation also found the electric carmaker’s claims did not match up with reality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) disclosed on Friday that during its three-year Autopilot safety investigation, which it launched in August 2021, it identified at least 13 Tesla crashes involving one or more death, and many more involving serious injuries, in which “foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role”. Continue reading...

Panel of nearly 100 countries to draw up guidelines for industries that mine raw materials used in low-carbon technology A UN-led panel of nearly 100 countries is to draw up new guidelines to prevent some of the environmental damage and human rights abuses associated with mining for “critical minerals”. Mining for some of the key raw materials used in low-carbon technology, such as solar panels and electric vehicles, has been associated with human rights abuses, child labour and violence, as well as grave environmental damage . Continue reading...

EV sales have plateaued across the world but the newfound glut of vehicles may just be temporary Elon Musk became the world’s richest man by evangelising about electric cars – and delivering them by the million. Yet in recent months his company, Tesla, has struggled to maintain its momentum: sales have dropped this year, and so has its share price. Those struggles have become emblematic of a broader reckoning facing the electric vehicle (EV) industry. After the soaring demand and valuations of the coronavirus pandemic years, the pace of sales growth has slowed. The industry has entered a new phase, with questions over whether the switch from petrol and diesel to cleaner electric is facing a troublesome stall or a temporary speed bump. Continue reading...

Energy watchdog warns pace must accelerate to hit targets after new batteries increased capacity by 130% The rollout of batteries across the global electricity industry more than doubled last year but will need to be six times faster if the world hopes to meet its renewable energy targets, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). A report from the global energy watchdog found that new batteries totalling 42 gigawatts (GW) were plugged into electricity systems around the world last year, increasing total capacity by more than 130% from the year before to 85GW. Continue reading...

Shares jump after carmaker says it is looking to accelerate production of lower-price EVs Tesla sees biggest revenue drop since 2012 but shares still surge Electric and hybrid car sales to rise to new global record in 2024 Tesla’s plans to bring a more affordable electric vehicle to the market appear to have moved a step closer. On Tuesday, the company’s share price shot up by 12% after an update revealed the carmaker was hoping to accelerate the production of lower-priced EVs, with production of the first cars beginning as early as this year. Continue reading...

Shares are up despite a revenue decline of 9% after company said it expects to release new vehicle models sooner than expected Tesla shares surged nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after posting earnings results, despite a revenue miss for the first quarter of 2024 and recently announcing a recall of its Cybertruck. The electric vehicle manufacturer posted $21.3bn in revenue, lower than the $21.48bn estimated and a 9% drop year over year – marking its biggest decline since 2012. As part of the report, the company released previews of a ride-hailing app to be integrated into its products and said it expects to release new vehicle models sooner than expected, bolstering investor confidence. Continue reading...

International Energy Agency says 17m vehicles will be sold this year, up more than 20% compared with 2023 Electric and plug-in hybrid car sales will jump to a new global record in 2024 despite slowing growth in some markets, according to forecasts from the influential International Energy Agency (IEA). The Paris-based forecaster said that 17m battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be sold in 2024, up more than 20% compared with 2023. Continue reading...

Chris Stark says populist response and culture war around the term is inhibiting environmental progress The concept of “net zero” has become a political slogan used to start a “dangerous” culture war over the climate, and may be better dropped, the outgoing head of the UK’s climate watchdog has warned. Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), said sensible improvements to the economy and people’s lives were being blocked by a populist response to the net zero label, and he would be “intensely relaxed” about losing the term. Continue reading...

Recall represents another ‘black eye’ for the company which saw its share prices fall this week, wiping away all its gains this year Tesla recalled all Cybertrucks Friday after federal safety regulators contacted the company over malfunctions with the vehicle’s accelerator pedal. New Cybertruck orders have been reportedly cancelled or stalled. The news follows numerous reports of embarrassing Cybertruck failures. The recall represents a major blow to Tesla, which has weathered a difficult year, seeing poor earnings reports in recent quarters as competing Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers encroach on the electric vehicle market. Continue reading...

Hybrids outsold pure electrics in the past three quarters, according to new figures, while petrol and diesel sales fell 8% Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast Australians are choosing hybrid over electric vehicles but sales of both continue to climb while internal combustion engines record a decline. Hybrids outsold EVs in three consecutive quarters with 95,129 sales – overtaking 69,593 EVs sold, according to the Australian Automobile Association’s quarterly EV Index released on Tuesday night. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

A man was left in despair when his beloved Alfa Romeo was wrecked on a test drive by a staff member A Birmingham man who took his beloved Alfa Romeo to Halfords Autocentre for a routine service has described his despair after it was written off on a test drive by a staff member, leaving him more than £2,000 out of pocket. Ian Tubbs contacted Guardian Money when, rather than helping a customer whose car was “completely destroyed” in its care, Halfords refused to accept liability for the collision and the financial losses he suffered as a result. Continue reading...

I get tons of incidental exercise, save money and don’t have to worry about parking. But other people look at me aghast My wife and I tick a lot of “minority” boxes: we’re a same-sex Jewish-Palestinian couple with an ethnically ambiguous child. But you know what really makes us stand out? You know what always seems to cause people to look aghast at our lifestyle? The fact that we don’t own a car. Being car-free was nothing unusual when we lived in New York, an outlier in the US when it comes to vehicle ownership. But when we moved to Philadelphia (one of the most walkable cities in the US), it set us apart. Whenever our lack of a car comes up, people do a double take. You can almost see the wheels turning in their head. Are they financially destitute? Are they radical environmental activists? Are they just weird? Continue reading...

Tech company cuts employees from eight offices in Santa Clara in its first big wave of post-pandemic job cuts Apple is laying off more than 600 workers in California, marking the company’s first big wave of post-pandemic job cuts amid a broader wave of tech industry consolidation. The iPhone maker notified 614 workers in multiple offices on 28 March that they were losing their jobs, with the layoffs becoming effective on 27 May, according to reports to regional authorities. Continue reading...

Ford EV unit’s pretax losses expected to jump to more than $5bn as US electric vehicle sales growth slows to 2.7% With US electric vehicle sales starting to slow, Ford Motor Co says it will delay rolling out new electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV as it adds gas-electric hybrids to its model lineup. The Dearborn, Michigan, company said on Thursday that a much ballyhooed new electric pickup to be built at a new factory in Tennessee will be delayed by a year until 2026. Continue reading...

Researchers applaud move away from fossil fuels but say more must be done to mitigate effects on endangered species Up to a third of Africa’s great apes are threatened by a boom in mining projects for minerals required for the renewable energy transition, new research shows. An estimated 180,000 gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees are at risk due to an increase in demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt, a study has found. Many of those minerals are required for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and electric cars. Researchers say the boom in demand is driving destruction of tropical rainforests which are critical habitats for Africa’s great apes. Continue reading...

Possible charity highlights financial savings and environmental benefits for low-paid staff Ministers should consider a social leasing scheme for care workers in rural areas across the UK to use electric cars, a climate charity has argued, saying this would save often low-paid staff large sums, while bringing a big environmental boost. A focus group of carers in rural and semi-rural parts of the UK, carried out as part of the study, found that one woman earning less than £20,000 a year as a mobile carer drove four hours a day on average, spending £100-£150 a month on petrol. Continue reading...