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Lucid Air, NIO, Elon Musk capture big wins in Forbes’ 2020 Transportation Awards

(Credit: Lucid Motors/Instagram; NIO/Instagram; Tobias Lindh/YouTube)

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Forbes’ 2020 Transportation Awards gave the upcoming Lucid Air the title of “Best Product” of 2020, despite the vehicle not being in full production yet. The Air is shaping up into one of the most highly-anticipated electric vehicles in the market, thanks to its intense focus on luxury, allowing it to compete against vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The Air’s specs are no joke, either, as its range and power seem to rival even that of Tesla’s Model S.

“Arriving in 2021, the Lucid Air, an elegant battery-powered sedan from Newark, California-based Lucid Motors, promises to be the first true competitor to Elon Musk’s electric vehicle empire. Developed by Peter Rawlinson, the ex-Tesla chief engineer who was instrumental in creating the company’s breakthrough Model S, Lucid’s $77,000 luxury car may outperform Tesla’s best in range, power and amenities,” Forbes wrote.


It was not just the Lucid Air that caught a win in Forbes’ 2020 Transportation Awards. William Li, the 46-year-old founder and CEO of NIO and a man dubbed as the “Elon Musk of China,” was deemed by the publication as the “Most Intriguing Newcomer” of the year. Forbes cited Li’s thriving electric car business in China as a driver for his award. NIO stock, similar to Tesla shares last year, also saw a massive surge during the year, rising 1,000% since the start of 2020.

“Chinese entrepreneur William Li made a fortune with an online car-selling website. Now, NIO, his Shanghai-based electric vehicle startup, is making steady sales gains in China for its battery-powered crossovers and cars. NIO’s continued success in that market could undermine Tesla’s Middle Kingdom aspirations and elevate the Musk-admiring Li into a major rival. NIO’s shares, which are traded in the U.S., are up 1,000% since the start of 2020,” the publication noted.

A discussion about the transportation sector in 2020 would not be complete without mentioning Tesla, the world’s largest automaker by market cap, as well as Elon Musk, the man that led the company to where it is today. It was then unsurprising to see the publication giving Tesla CEO Elon Musk its “Forbes Person of the Year in Transportation” award for 2020. Such an award seems warranted considering Tesla’s dominance and sustained growth at a time when the automotive market was practically brought to its knees by the pandemic.

Amidst this growth, Elon Musk’s net worth also skyrocketed, allowing him to take his place just under Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the second-richest person in the world.

“Love him or hate him, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk dominated transportation in 2020 in much the same way Donald Trump loomed over U.S. politics. Neither can stay out of the news cycle (or off social media) for long. But while Trump’s wealth slipped during the year, Musk’s skyrocketed to $143 billion, up 440% over just 12 months, as gains in Tesla’s surging share price and profitability unlocked a string of massive stock awards,” Forbes noted.

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The full list of winners in Forbes’ 2020 Transportation Awards could be viewed here.

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com or reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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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.

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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Featured

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.

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.

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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