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Tesla Roadster rival Rimac to partner with China for battery and electric motor factory

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Rimac Automobili, the auto startup behind the all-electric hypercars Concept_One and C_Two, has signed a deal with China’s Camel Group, a prominent battery manufacturer, to build an electric motor and battery factory in the world’s most populous country.

Rimac is reportedly investing roughly $6.1 million into the $158.2 million joint venture with the Camel Group. The two companies will be operating in China under the name Zhongkeluorui Technology Co. Ltd., which will be privy to the technology and knowledge that the exclusive hypercar-maker has acquired over its tenure in the electric car industry. For its investment and contribution to the joint venture’s tech, Rimac would hold 40 percent of the Zhongkeluorui Technology’s shares. The rest will be held by the Camel Group.

Zhongkeluorui Technology will be operating out of a factory that will be constructed in Xiangyang City, located in China’s Hubei province.

In a statement to Croatia-based media firm Poslovni Dnevnik, Mate Rimac, CEO and founder of Rimac Automobili, stated that his initiatives in China are key to the company’s goals, especially since the Far East Asian country holds the biggest market for electric cars and other modes of sustainable transport. This, together with China’s open commitment to embracing green technology, has convinced Rimac to pursue a partnership with the Camel Group for the joint venture.

“China is important to us because it represents the biggest market in the world for electric cars, buses, trucks and other methods of transport which are recording the biggest growth. China has been strategically committed to electric vehicles, and it plans to completely switch the transport to electric drive, so we made an exception for the Chinese market. The development and production for all other world markets will remain in Croatia,” Rimac said.

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Rimac C_Two boasts 1,914 HP from four electric motors

In his statement to the Croatia-based news firm, Rimac asserted that his company’s partnership with the Camel Group would create a company that targets only the Chinese market. Despite the company’s strategy in China, Rimac stated that his company will still prioritize the development and creation of limited-series, high-performance vehicles like the recently revealed C_Two all-electric hypercar. As we recently reported, the C_Two can go from 0-60 mph in 1.85 seconds, beating the next-generation Tesla Roadster’s 0-60 time of 1.9 seconds.

Overall, Rimac’s moves to enter the Chinese market appears to have gone well due to the Croatia-based firm’s willingness to partner with a local company for its operations in China. This is something that Tesla is reportedly having problems on, as the Elon Musk-led firm prefers to hold sole ownership of its planned factory in Shanghai, whereas Chinese regulators demand that Tesla partner with a local firm. As we noted in a recent report, however, Shanghai officials recently released a statement claiming that talks between Tesla and Chinese regulators are progressing well.

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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Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas dubs Tesla FSD a “game changer” after marathon drive

Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Morgan Stanley’s analyst Adam Jonas shared a notable endorsement of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after completing a 1,400-mile round trip from New York to Michigan in his Model Y. 

Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles, calling the system “a game changer” for long-distance driving.

Hands-free experience

Jonas drove his 2021 Tesla Model Y equipped with Hardware 3 and FSD Supervised v12.6.4, and he used the system nearly the entire trip. “Having your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals for nearly 12 hours of driving is a real game changer that is hard to appreciate without experiencing it for yourself,” he noted.

He explained that outside of two heavy downpours, one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and another in suburban Detroit, plus some light maneuvering in fast food parking lots, FSD handled the drive without any human intervention. “FSD made no mistakes or close calls that I recall. The system handles highways very safely and confidently. I cannot imagine buying another EV without FSD.”

Broader implications

Jonas added that he has used FSD consistently over the past 18 months, and the $8,000 he paid for the feature feels like a bargain considering the value. He also praised Tesla’s Supercharging network, which supported his trip without issue.

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Jonas has been one of Wall Street’s most closely followed voices on Tesla, and his comments add weight to the ongoing debate about the role of autonomy in the company’s future. His current price target for Tesla stock stands at $410. During Morgan Stanley’s 13th Annual Laguna Conference, he echoed similar experiences with Tesla’s software, emphasizing that FSD “probably drove well over 99% of the miles” on his recent trips.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons


Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a rare insider purchase of company stock worth about $1 billion. 

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk acquired 2.57 million shares last Friday at various prices. The move represents Musk’s largest TSLA purchase ever by value, as per Verity data.

Elon Musk’s TSLA purchase

The disclosure sent Tesla shares up more than 8% in premarket trading Monday, as investors read the purchase as a notable vote of confidence, as stated in a CNBC report. Tesla stock had closed slightly lower Friday but remains more than 25% higher over the past three months. It should be noted that prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Market watchers say the purchase could help shore up investor sentiment amid a volatile year for TSLA stock. Shares have faced pressure from a variety of factors, from year-over-year sales challenges due to the new Model Y changeover, political controversies tied to Musk, and reduced U.S. incentives for EVs under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, analysts such as Wedbush’s Dan Ives stated that Musk’s purchase was a “huge sign of confidence for Tesla bulls and shows Musk is doubling down on his Tesla A.I. bet.”

Tesla and Elon Musk

Musk already owns about 13% of Tesla, and his latest purchase comes as the company prepares for a key shareholder vote in November. Investors will decide whether to approve a compensation package for Musk that could ultimately be worth as much as $975 billion if ambitious market value milestones are achieved. The package has a long-term target of pushing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion at Friday’s close.

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Wall Street’s current consensus price target still implies a roughly 20% decline from current levels, though some Tesla bulls remain optimistic that the company could shift its focus toward autonomy, AI, and robotics. Musk has also asked shareholders to approve an investment into his latest venture, xAI.

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Tesla adjusts one key detail of Robotaxi operations in Austin

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Tesla is adjusting one key detail of Robotaxi operations in Austin: service hours.

Tesla’s Robotaxi platform in Austin has been active since late June and has been running smoothly since then. It has its limits, as Tesla has set hours that Robotaxis can operate, as well as a distinct Service Area, also known as a geofence, which has expanded three times already.

While the geofence is currently approximately 170 square miles in size, Tesla has recently enabled freeway drives, which also necessitated an adjustment to the company’s strategy with its “Safety Monitors.”

Tesla explains why Robotaxis now have safety monitors in the driver’s seat

Traditionally, they sit in the passenger’s seat. During highway driving, they move to the driver’s seat.

These are just a few adjustments that have been made over the past two and a half months. Now, Tesla is adjusting the service hours of Robotaxi operation in Austin, but only slightly.

Tesla will now operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., extending the hours by two hours. It previously shut down at midnight.

Tesla has implemented a variety of safeguards to ensure riders and drivers are safe during Robotaxi rides, and they have made it a point to adjust things when they feel confident that it will not cause any issues.

Many people have been critical of Robotaxi, especially because a person sits in the front of the car.

However, an accident or some type of mistake could do more damage to the autonomous travel sector than anything else. This would not just impact Tesla, but any company operating an autonomous ride-hailing service in the country.

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