News
Porsche reveals Taycan specs: 310-mile range, ultra-fast charge 800V battery
Porsche dubs the Taycan, formerly known as the Mission E sedan, as one of its most important vehicles since the iconic Porsche 911. The upcoming all-electric, high-performance luxury sedan is expected to compete with some of the electric vehicle market’s most formidable mainstays, such as the Tesla Model S. With a drive unit developed from Porsche’s racing pedigree and battery tech that enables ultra-high-speed charging, the Taycan is set to make an impact when it starts production next year.
The auto market is starting a shift towards electric mobility, and the Taycan will be Porsche’s flag bearer for the next few years. By 2025, the legacy automaker is aiming for “every second Porsche sold to have an electric drive unit,” meaning half of its offerings would be fully electric and the other half will be plug-in hybrids. The Taycan is projected to hit a production rate of 20,000 vehicles per year, translating to roughly 67% of the current sales figures of the Porsche 911.
The Taycan is equipped with two permanently excited synchronous motors (PSM) that produce a combined 600 hp (440 kW). Porsche’s PSM motors were used by the company in the 919 Hybrid, a sports-prototype racing car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the event’s Prototype-1 Hybrid (LMP1-H) category. The carmaker states that PSM electric motors are the “turbos of the electric motor milieu,” considering their capability to boast high sustained performance while maintaining maximum efficiency. Naser Abu Daqqa, director of electric drive systems at Porsche, described one of the strategies employed by the company to maximize the performance of the Taycan’s electric motors.
“The coils are made of wires that aren’t round, but rather rectangular. This makes it possible to pack the wires more tightly and get more copper into the coil machines—increasing power and torque with the same volume,” Abu Daqqa said.
Porsche’s battery unit for the Taycan is estimated to give the all-electric car a range of 310 miles per charge. In a press release, Porsche stated that lithium-ion batteries are utilized for the all-electric sedan’s battery pack. The Taycan is equipped with an 800-volt battery, comprised of cells that hold 4 volts each.
The Taycan’s battery unit prioritizes speed over weight. Instead of installing heavy batteries, Porsche opted to employ ultra-fast charging solutions instead, using an intelligent charging protocol and a heat exchanger system that can get the vehicles’ batteries up to operating temperature quickly and cooling them when needed. Due to its battery’s design, Porsche was able to use thinner cables on the vehicle as well, allowing the company to save even more weight.
The Taycan’s fast-charging system aims to add 248.5 miles worth of range in roughly 15 minutes. Dubbed the IONITY network, the ultra-fast-charging system is a joint venture with other automakers such as the BMW Group, Daimler AG, the Ford Motor Company, and the Volkswagen Group with Audi. IONITY’s chargers have a capacity of up to 350 kW per charging point, far above Tesla’s 120 kW Supercharger network. Porsche is exploring home charging solutions as well, including inductive charging via a base plate installed on a garage floor. Lastly, the Taycan will also be compatible with existing charging infrastructure in major cities.
As Porsche prepares to start manufacturing the vehicle next year, the company is currently hard at work testing prototypes of the electric car in several regions across the globe. In the western part of South Africa alone, 21 camouflaged Taycan prototypes are currently being deployed to test how the all-electric cars fare in hot weather. By the time the Taycan starts production in 2019, Porsche expects its test vehicles to have accumulated millions of kilometers worth of data from road tests.
The Taycan is expected to showcase Porsche’s trademark performance, with the vehicle being listed with a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, a range of 310 miles per charge, and a top speed of 155 mph. Pre-orders for the Taycan were recently opened to interested buyers and so far, Porsche has noted that the reception to the car has been very positive.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
