Toronto, Ontario — July 22, 2019 – This has been an exciting week in the world of autonomous and electric vehicles. From Tesla hiking full self-driving option prices and creating superchargers to autonomous semi-trucks ready to hit the roads, Collision Repair’s weekly report has everything E.V. and A.V covered.
Musk Hikes Price
On Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the “cost of Tesla’s full self-driving option will be increasing by $1000 on August 16.” Currently, the option sits at $6,000 and experts believe the hike is due to Musk’s belief that self-driving cars will be hitting the roads in just less than 18 months.
Musk also stated that the cost of the Tesla full self-driving option will increase every few months.
“Those who buy it earlier will see the benefit,” tweeted Musk. Musk hiked the price earlier this month when on May 1 he announced it would be $5000. However, despite the hike, Musk believes the price is all worth it.
“It will be magical. Lot of hard work by Autopilot team,” he tweeted.
All-Star Supercharge
Not only is Tesla pushing autonomous vehicles onto the streets, but they’re also helping E.V’s roll out onto the roads by creating a supercharger in Las Vegas called the V3 Supercharger.
According to TechCrunch, “the V3 Supercharger, which supports a peak rate of up to 250 kilowatts, is designed to dramatically cut charging times for its electric vehicles.”
Powered by solar panels and powerpack batteries, the SuperCharger was designed to help reach the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2025.
“Ultimately there will be many such battery factories,” stated Elon Musk.
Truck It
It was announced this week that truck company Peloton is ready to roll out their autonomous semi-trucks onto the roads.
The California-based company has been developing the truck since 2013 and began testing it out on the streets earlier this year.
While some may fear an autonomous truck barrelling down the highway, Peloton has assured drivers that the truck is only a “one” on the level of autonomy, as the company mostly focused on technologies such as automated acceleration and braking.
“We see the human driver as the world’s best sensor,” stated Peloton CEO Josh Switkes. “But the only thing better than the human driver is the driver augmented with sensors.”
