News
Porsche reveals 20,000 Taycan deliveries in 2020, 3% decrease in Worldwide sales
Porsche announced in a press release on Tuesday that it had successfully delivered over 20,000 units of its new, all-electric Taycan. Despite a relatively strong showing in the first full year of deliveries, the German automaker saw an overall decline in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Porsche unveiled the Taycan in late 2019 as the legendary automaker planned to enter the EV market that has been dominated by Tesla for several years. The Taycan, which was a stereotypical Porsche vehicle in terms of both looks and performance, made its way to owners 20,015 times in 2020. Combating demand issues from the COVID-19 pandemic, which also halted production for six weeks as the company was ramping up manufacturing efforts, Porsche revealed that it is relatively pleased with the showing, looking at the future as an opportunity for large-scale growth.
The automaker said:
“Taycan deliveries totaled 20,015 in 2020, despite a six-week pause in production just as the new model was ramping up, and despite many markets planning spring premieres.”
The Taycan was far from Porsche’s most popular vehicle in 2020. The Cayenne led that statistic with 92,860 sales during the year, a 1% increase compared to the year before. Meanwhile, as a company, over 121,600 cars were delivered to Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa, a 4% increase from 2019. These regions, along with China, which saw a 3% increase, were the only positive differences in 2020 compared to 2019.
The largest fall in sales was in Porsche’s home country of Germany, where a 17% decrease in sales was reported. This contributed to a 3% decline in sales in 2020 compared to 2019, making Porsche just one of many automakers to chalk up 2019 as a year to forget. However, with regions beginning to reopen after the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is plenty of reason to believe that 2021 could be a breakthrough year for many companies, including Porsche.
Credit: Porsche
Porsche won’t consider 2020 a complete failure, however. It was certainly a learning experience for many companies in nearly every industry, but 2021 is being looked at as a rebounding year for the legendary automaker.
The company added:
“After the robust 2020 result, Porsche is optimistic about further positive developments in 2021. “We are continuing our product offensive – our customers can look forward to it. It will include additional derivatives of the all-electric Taycan and the 911, among others. We are full of optimism and looking forward to 2021, a year that will also be characterised by unique experiences with the Porsche brand,” says Detlev von Platen.”
Elon Musk
SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report
The company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly leaning toward listing its shares on the Nasdaq for a potential initial public offering (IPO) that could become the largest in history.
As per a recent report, the company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index. The update was reported by Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the publication, SpaceX is considering Nasdaq as the venue for its eventual IPO, though the New York Stock Exchange is also competing for the listing. Neither exchange has reportedly been informed of a final decision.
Reuters has previously reported that SpaceX could pursue an IPO as early as June, though the company’s plans could still change.
One of the publication’s sources also suggested that SpaceX is targeting a valuation of about $1.75 trillion for its IPO. At that level, the company would rank among the largest publicly traded firms in the United States by market capitalization.
Nasdaq has proposed a rule change that could accelerate the inclusion of newly listed megacap companies into the Nasdaq-100 index.
Under the proposed “Fast Entry” rule, a newly listed company could qualify for the index in less than a month if its market capitalization ranks among the top 40 companies already included in the Nasdaq-100.
If SpaceX is successful in achieving its target valuation of $1.75 trillion, it would become the sixth-largest company by market value in the United States, at least based on recent share prices.
Newly listed companies typically have to wait up to a year before becoming eligible for major indexes such as the Nasdaq-100 or S&P 500.
Inclusion in a major index can significantly broaden a company’s shareholder base because many institutional investors purchase shares through index-tracking funds.
According to Reuters, Nasdaq’s proposed fast-track rule is partly intended to attract highly valued private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic to list on the exchange.
Elon Musk
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.
According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.
The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.
Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.
The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026.
As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.
The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.
News
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
