Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Photo Galleries
  4. Legacy Archives

Elon Musk promises all-wheel drive and falcon doors for the forthcoming Model X

Add as a preferred source on Google

Recently Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk held a townhall meeting at the company’s international headquarters in Amsterdam. Among the topics of discussion were the announcements of three important improvements to the car company. Musk announced that Tesla Model S vehicles will be offered with an AWD system, available around the time of the highly anticipated Model X late this year or 2015.

For current owners, the company has released the latest software update, dubbed 6.0. The update will allows the driver to access real time traffic updates and more control over the suspension settings and ride height adjustments.

The Tesla CEO also announced a new factory that will make batteries for the company. The factory will be built somewhere in the U.S. and will be able to recycle old battery units in-house and refit visiting Teslas with new battery packs.

The goal of the company is to reduce battery costs between 30 and 40 percent as well as putting out 30 gigawatt-hours of production capacity. The new factory will be necessary if Tesla is to complete it’s goal of producing a $30,000 mass production car with a 200-mile range.

Also announced at the casual town hall meeting was the completion of a trans continental supercharger network, allowing for trips across the U.S., marked with a road trip to celebrate the achievement and is adding capacity with five of the stations coming on per week.

Trevor Dermody
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Volvo’s parent just launched a $16,000 EV that looks shockingly luxurious
This $15,600 Geely EV has no business looking this premium
Geely Galaxy Starshine 7 Promo Image

Geely, the Chinese auto giant that also owns Volvo, has just unveiled a new RV that really does not look like it belongs anywhere near the budget end of the market.

The company has just kicked off the presales in China for the Galaxy Starshine 7, with its pricing starting at 112,900 yuan or about $16,550. For that money, buyers get a midsize electric sedan with a sleek fastback silhouette, full-width lighting, a richly trimmed cabin, and even an available dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup that can hit 0 to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds.

Read more
Xiaomi makes dirt-cheap gadgets, but its CEO just ruled out cheap EVs
Xiaomi is staying out of the bargain EV fight
Xiaomi SU7 EV in blue

Xiaomi has been known for building some surprisingly cheap gadgets that still feel a little more premium than they should. But that philosophy apparently does not extend to electric cars.

According to ITHome, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said during a livestream for the company's SU7 endurance challenge on April 17 that Xiaomi will not make vehicles priced below 100,000 Yuan. That works out to be just under $15,000. Lei explained that if consumers expect an electric car to deliver strong intelligent features, software, and overall capability, the cost is harder to squeeze down that far.

Read more
The new electric Mercedes C-Class puts its giant screen front and center
Mercedes previews a richer electric C-Class interior with a dash-wide display, upgraded comfort features, and a stronger push to make the cabin feel like the main event
Car, Transportation, Vehicle

Mercedes-Benz is using the cabin to make its first electric C-Class feel like a bigger step than a normal model update. Ahead of the car’s April 20 world premiere, it has shown an interior centered on a sweeping digital display, extra space, and a more upscale finish that leans hard into comfort and theater.

The key visual is the new MBUX Hyperscreen, with Mercedes also offering a Superscreen setup. Both are designed to stretch the digital interface across the front of the car and blend the center console into the instrument panel, giving the dashboard a cleaner and more dramatic shape than the current C-Class.

Read more