News
BYD “overtakes” Tesla as world’s biggest EV maker in 1H22, but there’s a catch
Tesla delivered 564,000 all-electric vehicles in the first half of 2022, and while this represented a 27% year-over-year growth, it fell short of the numbers posted by one of the company’s competitors, the Warren Buffett-backed BYD. In comparison to Tesla, BYD sold 641,000 electric vehicles in China during the first and second quarters.
But there is a catch. While news pieces stating that Tesla has been dethroned by BYD as the world’s biggest electric vehicle producer by sales would likely be quite numerous today, there is some nuance between the vehicles sold by the two “EV makers.” Tesla’s over half a million cars sold in 1H22 are all battery-electric cars without an internal combustion engine.
As noted by the Financial Times, many of BYD’s models are plug-in hybrids, so they are not exactly full electric cars. Despite this, they are still counted as “zero emission” vehicles under China’s sales rules. BYD’s sales in the first half of 2022 are still impressive, as they showed a growth of over 300% year-over-year. However, it would not be too farfetched to state that BYD’s position as the “largest EV maker” today was accomplished through a technicality.
That being said, BYD actually accomplished something far more significant in the first half of the year, and it is in no way related to China counting cars with a combustion engine as zero-emission vehicles. According to Seoul-based SNE Research, BYD had outpaced LG Energy Solution in terms of monthly market share since April.
That’s an incredible accomplishment for the Warren Buffett-backed company since the battery business is shaping up to be the backbone of the emerging electric vehicle sector. Interestingly enough, the leap in BYD’s battery business is reportedly due to Tesla’s disruptions in its China factory, which was shut down for over three weeks in April due to Shanghai’s stringent Covid-19 lockdowns.
Tesla China, Li Auto, NIO, and Xpeng Motors have all been hit hard by China’s Covid-19 lockdowns. BYD was able to escape some of the adverse effects of the country’s lockdowns since a good number of its vehicle factories were not located in the regions and cities that were subjected to the strictest restrictions.
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News
“Foundation:” Elon Musk wants to send a record of Grokipedia to space
The idea sounds outlandish, though it is also something that is in character for the CEO.
Elon Musk has announced one of his latest initiatives, and it is every bit as sci-fi as it is surprisingly grounded. In a post on X, Musk stated that Grokipedia, xAI’s new open-source encyclopedia, will be etched into stable oxide and launched into space.
The idea sounds outlandish, though it is also something that is in character for the CEO.
Preserving human knowledge among the stars
Musk posted his plan following the launch of Grokipedia’s V0.1’s iteration. The CEO congratulated the xAI team for the online encyclopedia’s launch, though he also stated that the goal for Grokipedia is to create an open-source collection of knowledge. This would then be distributed to the cosmos.
“Nice work by the xAI team on Grokipedia! The goal here is to create an open source, comprehensive collection of all knowledge. Then place copies of that etched in a stable oxide in orbit, the Moon, and Mars to preserve it for the future. Foundation,” Musk wrote in his post.
While seemingly outlandish, this is not the first time that a record of human knowledge of sorts was sent out to space. In 1977, the Voyager Golden Record was launched aboard NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. The record contains sounds and images that ere aggregated to portray the diversity of the Earth’s culture. Of course, Musk’s plan with Grokipedia, is infinitely more ambitious.
Grokipedia and AI neutrality
Musk launched Grokipedia as an AI-driven alternative to Wikipedia, designed to eliminate the human biases that could affect conventional online knowledge platforms. The system is powered by xAI’s Grok, which scrape and summarize information from across the internet, offering balanced and nuanced coverage of topics ranging from science and technology to culture and politics.
Unlike Wikipedia’s human-edited format, Grokipedia would be able to evolve through machine learning, reading vastly more material than any editorial team could. Early testers, including Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger, praised its initial version as “very OK” and potentially more neutral than Wikipedia. Musk agreed, stating that even in its V0.1 form, Grokipedia is “already better than Wikipedia.”
News
Tesla Cybertrucks to save Las Vegas police thousands in fuel and maintenance
Sheriff Kevin McMahill unveiled the new vehicles on Monday, describing them as “the next evolution to keep our community safer than it’s ever been.”
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has officially unveiled its fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks as part of its push toward a more advanced, cost-efficient, and sustainable patrol system.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill unveiled the new vehicles on Monday, describing them as “the next evolution to keep our community safer than it’s ever been.” The trucks are expected to begin service across all area commands within two weeks.
High-tech patrol fleet
Each UP.FIT-modified Cybertruck has been customized with ladders, shields, and less-lethal equipment to support law enforcement operations. The vehicles will connect to a live drone response hub capable of facial recognition and gunshot detection, enabling drones to launch automatically when alerts trigger. The system streams real-time footage directly to responding officers, enhancing both speed and situational awareness during emergencies.
Officers have already completed training with the new fleet and offered feedback on its performance, according to Fox 5 Vegas. Sheriff McMahill noted that the trucks, along with robot dogs and SWAT vehicles, represent a coordinated effort to combine human expertise with emerging technologies. The Cybertruck rollout was made possible through a donation from the Horowitz family.
Cybertrucks’ major savings
The department’s ten UP.FIT patrol Cybertrucks are among the most American-made law enforcement vehicles available, featuring roughly twice the domestic parts content of comparable Ford and Chevrolet patrol trucks. Beyond their build quality, the electric fleet offers major cost benefits. Each Cybertruck is projected to save between $8,800 and $12,000 in annual fuel costs and roughly $3,540 in maintenance over a five-year service life.
With regenerative braking, factory ballistic-resistant doors, and no idling fuel burn, the Cybertruck platform provides higher uptime, lower total cost of ownership, and a quieter patrol experience, all while reducing the department’s carbon footprint. Sheriff McMahill confirmed each area command will receive one of the new patrol units.
News
Tesla Sweden faces new pressure in Sweden as Assa Abloy joins union action
The sympathy strike will block Assa Abloy’s 330 employees across six Swedish facilities from servicing or maintaining locks and gates used at Tesla Sweden’s sites.
The labor standoff between Tesla and Sweden’s IF Metall union has widened again, this time pulling in Assa Abloy Industrial, a manufacturer of industrial doors and locks.
IF Metall announced a new sympathy strike halting all Assa Abloy services for Tesla, set to take effect November 4, according to Dagens Arbete (DA). The move is aimed at further pressuring Tesla into signing a collective agreement after nearly two years of ongoing labor conflict.
New strike targets Tesla’s industrial operations
The sympathy strike will block Assa Abloy’s 330 employees across six Swedish facilities from servicing or maintaining locks and gates used at Tesla Sweden’s sites. IF Metall hopes the measure will disrupt Tesla’s daily operations and highlight the growing solidarity among Swedish companies.
Assa Abloy becomes the latest in a line of firms drawn into the dispute, with the Swedish Mediation Institute now logging fourteen conflict notices since September. The escalation shows that unions and partner industries are aligning to support of IF Metall’s campaign to secure a collective bargaining deal, something Tesla has consistently resisted.
IF Metall says Tesla must understand Sweden’s labor model
IF Metall chair Marie Nilsson recently reiterated her call for Tesla Sweden to reconsider its stance on organized labor, noting that Sweden’s union system differs sharply from the more adversarial model in the United States.
“I can certainly understand that Elon Musk and Tesla are skeptical of the trade union movement,” Nilsson said. “They have experience with American unions that operate in a completely different environment and that have to be militant in a different way.”
Nilsson emphasized that Swedish unions function cooperatively and that signing a collective agreement locally does not commit Tesla to similar deals elsewhere. “Let’s give us a chance,” she added. “It is the practical system we have here to regulate the conditions.”
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