Tesla is adding another engineering and design center location, what the company calls a “Gigafactory,” in Berlin.
CEO Elon Musk announced the factory plans during an award show in Germany on Tuesday, CNBC reports. The new Gigafactory will be Tesla’s fourth, according to Musk.
“Everyone knows that German engineering is outstanding, for sure. That’s part of the reason why we are locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany,” Musk said. “We are also going to create an engineering and design center in Berlin because Berlin has some of the best art in the world.”
The Gigafactory joins other facilities in Nevada and New York, as well one in Shanghai that’s currently under construction. Tesla’s third-quarter update reveals that the Model 3 sedans and the upcoming Model Y, a crossover SUV, would be produced at the European factory.
Musk has reportedly wanted to add a European factory to his facility lineup for a while. Tesla acquired the German manufacturing and design firm, Grohmann Engineering, in 2016, so it makes sense that both Grohmann and Musk want to build a Tesla Gigafactory in Germany.
As to why Tesla calls its facilities gigafactories, Tesla’s website says that “the name Gigafactory comes from the word ‘Giga,’ the unit of measurement representing ‘billions.’ The Gigafactory is built in phases so that Tesla can begin manufacturing immediately inside the finished sections and continue to expand thereafter.”
Tesla’s gigafactories are designed to be primarily powered by solar power and have a net-zero energy factory.
Digital Trends reached out to Tesla for further comment on the new Gigafactory, as well as when it will open, and we’ll update this story once we hear back.
It’s the second major announcement Tesla has made in the past week, after revealing the November 21 debut date of the much-anticipated electric pickup truck that the company is calling “Cybertruck.”
The futuristic electric truck is expected to have seating for up to six passengers and between 400 and 500 miles of driving range. Tesla previously confirmed specs that include dual-motor all-wheel drive, self-leveling suspension, 360-degree cameras, and an impressive amount of torque. The truck woill also be able to park itself .
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.