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GM will pause Hummer EV production to upgrade Factory Zero for 2023 EV push

The first 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup Edition 1 exits Factory ZERO in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. VIN 001 was auctioned in March 2021 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction for $2.5 million to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors)

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General Motors said it would pause production of the GMC Hummer EV for several weeks, starting in late November, to complete upgrades on its Factory ZERO plant in preparation for a massive electric vehicle push in 2023.

GM said it would pull ahead body shop upgrades and other steps to help the automaker prepare for a major push in electric vehicle production next year. GM plans to increase the production capacity of its currently offered EVs, including the Chevrolet Bolt, from 44,000 to 70,000 vehicles annually while also making way for new models. General Motors stated in a press release that it planned to make these changes in response to growing demand:

“To respond to growing demand, GM is pulling ahead body shop upgrades at Factory ZERO for the Silverado EV and taking other steps to prepare to scale EV production in 2023. While the work is underway, GM will pause production of the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup for several weeks starting in late November.”

General Motors will ramp production of several electric vehicles that have been in development and are set to enter initial manufacturing next year. The company plans to launch Silverado EV production sometime next year, with the Chevrolet pickup’s electric version amassing over 170,000 total reservations thus far. The Hummer EV still has 90,000 reservations, although the vehicle has been in production for nearly a year but has not yet reached reasonable production levels. Finally, the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV are both accumulating demand far past what GM can handle, it said this morning, but production is set to increase significantly.

Nearly 50% of 2017-19 Chevy Bolt EVs have been remedied after battery fire recall

Chevrolet will also launch the Blazer and Equinox EVs next year, and Cadillac will increase production of the LYRIQ in Q4 compared to Q3, it said.

GM stopped accepting reservations for the Hummer EV in September and has struggled to ramp production. In July, it was reported that GM had only ramped Hummer EV production to 12 units per day. As GMC was an early entrant into the EV pickup market, it missed out on an opportunity to capture many consumers who were interested in having an electric truck before many competitors entered the market. While the Rivian R1T was the first to market, the Hummer EV was second, beating the F-150 Lightning from Ford and the Lordstown Endurance, which entered commercial production last week.

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Disclosure: Joey Klender is not a GM Shareholder.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information

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(Credit: Dami Kolz/Twitter)

Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”

Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.

The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.

Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.

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According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.

Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again

We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”

We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.

The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.

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Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss

Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.

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Concept art of a Tesla Cybercab in Las Vegas Strip as rendered via Grok

Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.

Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.

The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.

Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.

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Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.

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Energy

Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.

Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.

This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.

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Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.

The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.

Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants

Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.

Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.

The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.

Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.

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