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Mercedes-Benz EQC spotted mysteriously charging at Tesla destination charger [Update]

(Photo: auto motor und sport/YouTube)

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A recent video of the Mercedes-Benz EQC has featured the upcoming all-electric SUV topping up its battery at a rather unusual location — a Tesla Destination Charger in Sweden. What’s even more interesting is that the EQC was plugged into a Tesla-specific charger.

Tesla’s Destination Chargers, particularly those in Europe, usually feature two charging units, one red and the other white. Chargers with a red sign are exclusive to Tesla’s electric cars, while those with white signs are open for use by any electric vehicle. German publication auto motor und sport shared a video that seemingly shows the Mercedes-Benz EQC charging from a red, Tesla-exclusive charger, as evidenced by the cable running towards the rear passenger side of the SUV, where its charging port is located, and the charger’s green charging indicator.

The auto publication did not explain how the EQC was able to charge from the Tesla charger, leaving the community to speculate on whether Tesla might be opening its vast network of Superchargers and destination chargers to other carmakers. 

[Update] 

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A Tesla spokesperson has noted that according to company records, the destination charger in auto motor und sport‘s video is equipped with two universal and two Tesla-only connectors. The Mercedes-Benz EQC was connected to a universal charger that was mislabeled as a Tesla-only charging unit. 

Elon Musk might dislike the concept of competitive moats, but the company’s charging infrastructure is an undeniable edge against rival electric car makers. Nevertheless, Musk has openly stated in the past that Tesla is open to the idea of sharing its Supercharger Network to other carmakers. The CEO even emphasized his point by stating that Tesla does not in any way intend to make its Superchargers a “walled garden.”

As the company prepares for the EQC’s release, Mercedes-Benz has ramped its efforts to provide the upcoming electric SUV with viable charging infrastructure. Last December, for example, Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, announced that it had selected ChargePoint to deploy charging solutions for retailers in Germany. With this in mind, is it possible that Daimler has also reached out to Tesla with regards to the EQC’s use of the company’s destination chargers? Such an idea is not too farfetched.

It should be noted that Daimler was among Tesla’s major investors in the past, with the Germany-based company taking a 10% stake in the electric car maker in 2009 with a $50 million investment. Over the next years, Tesla supplied electric powertrains for Daimler’s electric Smart Cars and the electric Mercedes-Benz B-Class. Daimler would eventually pull out is stake in the company in 2014. By this time, its $50 million investment had grown to $780 million.

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Signs of another possible Tesla-Daimler collaboration have been emerging recently, with Elon Musk and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche both mentioning references to an all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, which Tesla uses in its service fleet.

Watch auto motor und sport‘s Mercedes Benz EQC feature in the video below. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.

The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.

The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”

Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.

With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.

However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.

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Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:

This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.

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Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.

Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.

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Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.

It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.

As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.

The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.

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It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.

Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements

While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.

This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.

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Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.

The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:

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Investor's Corner

Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) beat Wall Street expectations of 406,000 vehicles delivered in Q2 by reporting 480,126 deliveries for the three months ending in June.

Tesla reported it delivered 467,762  Model 3 and Model Y units, while 12,364 Model S, Model X, and Cybertrucks switched hands during the quarter. The Model S and Model X were officially sunset this past quarter and will no longer be part of the company’s Production & Delivery reports moving forward.

The quarter is a pleasant surprise and a good rebound from Q1, when Tesla slightly missed the Wall Street consensus of 365,645 cars by reporting 358,023 deliveries for the first three motnhs of the year.

Energy storage deployments also provided some strength in Tesla’s delivery report, hitting 13.5 GWh for Q2. This is a particular division of Tesla’s business that has been overwhelmingly robust over the past few years, truly being a strong point of the company’s overall model.

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For the year, Tesla analysts still predict deliveries to trend in the 1.69 million unit region, a modest 3 to 5 percent increase from the 1.64 million cars the company delivered last year. Tesla will likely return to more sequential and noticeable year-over-year growth as the Cybercab project starts to ramp up considerably in the next few years.

Tesla has some other potential catalysts to spur vehicle deliveries, too. Not only is it expecting Cybercab to truly start making a change in the next few years, but other vehicles could be entering the company’s lineup.

Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing

The slightly longer Model Y L has been a highly speculated release candidate in the U.S. It has already done incredibly well in China, and U.S. buyers have been wanting slightly more interior space than the Model Y. Now that the Model X is gone, it is more needed than ever.

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Q2 highlights a pretty stable automotive division within Tesla, and no true concerns arise from these figures, especially considering it managed to beat expectations convincingly.

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