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Tesla and Ontario discussing investment opportunities for years: report

Credit: Tesla/YouTube

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It appears that Tesla and officials from Ontario, Canada, have been communicating about “investment opportunities” over the years. Documents outlining the correspondence between the electric vehicle maker and the Canadian province were reportedly retrieved by Electric Autonomy Canada through a freedom of information (FOI) request. 

As noted by the publication, it submitted an FOI request on Tesla’s communications with the Ontario government between 2020 and 2023. From this, it was revealed that the EV maker has been in regular contact with several key officials from Ontario, such as Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli, and Minister of Energy Todd Smith, to name a few. 

The correspondence reportedly involved some high-ranking Tesla executives as well, including CEO Elon Musk himself. One email reportedly sent last December by a commercial officer at the Ontario Trade and Investment Office in Dallas, TX, hinted at potential subsidies for EV battery production in the province. One of the email’s recipients was reportedly Musk. 

“I wanted to forward an article that announces the intention of Canada to subsidize EV battery production. Just another indication of the commitment of Canada to become a hub for EV production in the future,” the letter read. 

The publication noted that 150 documents were found as a result of its FOI request, and they spanned several topics. And while a notable number of the documents included redacted information, it was evident that Ontario is determined to secure an investment from the electric vehicle maker. One briefing note in particular, authored by a senior policy advisor for site planning and coordination at the Automotive Battery Office, explained how Ontario is an ideal site for Tesla. 

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“Ontario is the ideal destination for Tesla, thanks to our world-class automotive supply base with a growing electric vehicle assembly and battery supply chain footprint, reliable clean energy, critical mineral resources, a world-class workforce, and a thriving research and development (R&D) ecosystem,” the briefing note read. 

Tesla’s own executives also appear to be optimistic about Ontario. An email from Iain Myrans, national senior manager of public policy and development for Canada at Tesla, indicated that the EV maker is noticing the wave of battery-related investments in the province. 

“The multi-billion-dollar wave of investment by the industry into cathode, battery, and EV production in Ontario and Quebec has also been noticed over the past months. We also observed Bloomberg NEF battery supply chain ranking — putting Canada in the #2 spot, behind only China for battery materials processing and battery manufacturing. Ministers Champagne and Fedeli have both been in touch with me regularly to signal that Canada and Ontario will be ready to ensure Tesla gets a competitive and level playing field for any future investments,” the email read. 

The idea of a potential Tesla Gigafactory in Canada was acknowledged by Elon Musk during the 2022 Cyber Rodeo. But since then, Tesla has confirmed and announced Giga Mexico instead. Despite this, Tesla has a strong presence in Canada. Electric Autonomy Canada‘s FOI request mentioned several research locations apart from the well-known Jeff Dahn Lab at Dalhousie University. These include a research center in Dartmouth that opened in 2016, a Mississauga-based research lab that opened in 2021, and a Markham facility that is involved in battery development and factory design, among others. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads-up. 

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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 teases new market entrance with confusing and cryptic message

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla teased its entrance into a new market with a confusing and what appeared to be cryptic message on the social media platform X.

The company has been teasing its entrance into several markets, including Africa, which would be a first, and South America, where it only operates in Chile.

In September, Tesla started creating active job postings for the Colombian market, hinting it would expand its presence in South America and launch in a new country for the first time in two years.

Tesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry

The jobs were related to various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians. These are all roles that would indicate Tesla is planning to launch a wide-scale effort to sell, manage, and repair vehicles in the market.

Last night, Tesla posted its latest hint, a cryptic video that seems to show the outline of Colombia, teasing its closer than ever to market entry:

This would be the next expansion into a continent where it does not have much of a presence for Tesla. Currently, there are only two Supercharger locations on the entire continent, and they’re both in Chile.

Tesla will obviously need to expand upon this crucial part of the ownership experience to enable a more confident consumer base in South America as a whole. However, it is not impossible, as many other EV charging infrastructures are available, and home charging is always a suitable option for those who have access to it.

Surprisingly, Tesla seems to be more concerned about these middle-market countries as opposed to the larger markets in South America, but that could be by design.

If Tesla were to launch in Brazil initially, it may not be able to handle the uptick in demand, and infrastructure expansion could be more difficult. Brazil may be on its list in the upcoming years, but not as of right now.

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Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access

It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has expanded a crucial Supercharging feature that helps owners identify stall availability at nearby locations.

Tesla said on Tuesday night that its “Live Availability” feature, which shows EV owners how many stalls are available at a Supercharger station, to Google Maps, a third-party app:

Already offering it in its own vehicles, the Live Availability feature that Teslas have is a helpful feature that helps you choose an appropriate station with plugs that are immediately available.

A number on an icon where the Supercharger is located lets EV drivers know how many stalls are available.

It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.

Essentially, when those drivers needed to charge at a Supercharger that enables non-Tesla EVs to plug in, there was a bit more of a gamble. There was no guarantee that a plug would be available, and with no way to see how many are open, it was a risk.

Tesla adding this feature allows people to have a more convenient and easier-to-use experience if they are in a non-Tesla EV. With the already expansive Supercharger Network being available to so many EV owners, there is more congestion than ever.

This new feature makes the entire experience better for all owners, especially as there is more transparency regarding the availability of plugs at Supercharger stalls.

It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to expand on this new move, as Apple Maps compatibility is an obvious goal of the company’s in the future, we could imagine. In fact, this is one of the first times an Android Auto feature is available to those owners before it became an option for iOS users.

Apple owners tend to get priority with new features within the Tesla App itself.

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Elon Musk’s Boring Co goes extra hard in Nashville with first rock-crushing TBM

The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

The Boring Company is gearing up to tackle one of its toughest projects yet, a new tunnel system beneath Nashville’s notoriously tough limestone terrain. Unlike the soft-soil conditions of Las Vegas and Austin, the Music City Loop will require a “hard-rock” boring machine capable of drilling through dense, erosion-resistant bedrock. 

The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.

A boring hard-rock tunneling machine

The Boring Company revealed on X that its new hard-rock TBM can generate up to 4 million pounds of grip force and 1.5 million pounds of maximum thrust load. It also features a 15-filter dust removal system designed to keep operations clean and efficient during excavation even in places where hard rock is present.

Previous Boring Co. projects, including its Loop tunnels in Las Vegas, Austin, and Bastrop, were dug primarily through soft soils. Nashville’s geology, however, poses a different challenge. Boring Company CEO and President Steve Davis mentioned this challenge during the project’s announcement in late July.

“It’s a tough place to tunnel, Nashville. If we were optimizing for the easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here. You have extremely hard rock, like way harder than it should be. It’s an engineering problem that’s fairly easy and straightforward to solve,” Davis said.

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Nashville’s limestone terrain

Experts have stated that the city’s subsurface conditions make it one of the more complex tunneling environments in the U.S. The Outer Nashville Basin is composed of cherty Mississippian-age limestone, a strong yet soluble rock that can dissolve over time, creating underground voids and caves, as noted in a report from The Tennessean.

Jakob Walter, the founder and principal engineer of Haushepherd, shared his thoughts on these challenges. “Limestone is generally a stable sedimentary bedrock material with strength parameters that are favorable for tunneling. Limestone is however fairly soluble when compared to other rack materials, and can dissolve over long periods of time when exposed to water. 

“Unexpected encounters with these features while tunneling can result in significant construction delays and potential instability of the excavation. In urban locations, structures at the ground surface should also be constantly monitored with robotic total stations or similar surveying equipment to identify any early signs of movement or distress,” he said.

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