LNG: TESLARATI

After an almost decade-long legal dispute with Texas, Tesla is bringing its training program for electric vehicle technicians in the Lone Star State.

The electric carmaker is teaming up with Texas State Technical College to offer its START training program at the Waco campus. The first batch of START Program Technicians will begin training in March.

Texas is one of the largest electric vehicle markets in the US. According to local news outlet Statesman, there are around 21,000 Tesla cars running on Texan roads.

But despite the growing popularity of electric cars, the Texas government expressly prohibits Tesla and other automakers from selling their cars directly in the state. Interested buyers can still buy a Tesla, but they will have to make the transaction online and the vehicle must be shipped via a third party from California. Tesla does not have official stores in Texas, only showrooms. Tesla reps are not even allowed to mention prices or any information related to the buying process.

Most recently, Tesla lobbied against proposed legislation that prohibits it from repairing and servicing its own cars in the state. The particular clause prohibiting these activities were dropped, but Texas continues to put a foot down against car manufacturers directly selling their vehicles.

However, the electric vehicle market continues to grow and with that comes more demand for technicians specializing in EVs. One can only look at the experience of this Jaguar I-PACE buyer who spoke with Teslarati to share his lamentable experience with technicians who weren’t specifically trained in servicing electric cars to realize the importance of EV-specific training for car technicians.

So despite its restricted presence on Texan soil, Tesla is making sure it lays a solid foundation for the future of the EV market in the state by training a new generation of workers who know how to repair, service, and maintain electric cars.

How to apply for the START program

The goal of the START program is to provide students who want to work as EV service technicians with EV-centric skills. It’s a 12-week program that includes discussions of theory, hands-on training, and online-modules for self-paced learning.

Every week, students must meet certain objectives to qualify for graduation. It covers technical knowledge specific to the repair and maintenance of electric vehicles and soft skills training. Tesla hires each graduate at one of its more than 110 service centers across North America.

More than 300 students from various colleges in the US have gone on to become Tesla service technicians since the program was launched in April 2018. The latest batch of graduates completed the program in December last year at Miami Dade College.

Interested students may apply through the Tesla Careers page.

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Amid the ongoing public health scare in China sparked by the Coronavirus, Tesla is offering all customers in the Chinese market free Supercharging for an indefinite amount of time to help drivers travel more easily and quickly away from affected areas.

Images shared by Tesla owner @Ray4Tesla show the electric carmaker has issued a notification to its Chinese customers informing them that they will be able to charge their vehicles for free at any of the numerous Superchargers installed across the country.

BREAKING: @teslacn is notifying #Tesla owners across China about first-ever temporary free supercharging during #coronavirus outbreak. @teslacn says it’d like to help owners get thru difficult time in a small way it can. I can’t think of any other OEMs more considerate than Tesla pic.twitter.com/o1mzD8yaCJ

— Ray4️⃣Tesla⚡️🚘☀️🔋 (@ray4tesla) January 28, 2020

“To make it easier for you to travel during the coronavirus outbreak, effective today we will temporarily open all Tesla vehicles to be free to charge at the Supercharging station until the epidemic is resolved,” notified Tesla to its customer across China. “We hope that during this extraordinary period, you will be able to replenish electricity efficiently and use your car smoothly when needed. After the epidemic ceases, we will notify you again before resetting your vehicle to its original configuration. We hope to provide you with a modest effort so you can spend this time smoothly. Tesla reserves the right to make the final decision in this event.”

This is not the first time Tesla has shown a gesture of kindness to customers in crisis. In August last year, for example, Tesla offered free Supercharging to customers in Florida who were fleeing the wrath of Hurricane Dorian. The company also delivered over-the-air updates to unlock more range and provide customers several extra miles. Tesla offered the same free Supercharging services in 2018 to customers who were affected by Hurricane Michael. In 2017, the company issued a software update to select vehicles to provide them with more range as Hurricane Irma drew near.

The deadly coronavirus has raised fears of a pandemic following reports that it has claimed at least 106 lives and infected at least 4,515 others across the globe. The US State Department has issued a travel advisory urging Americans to put off all non-essential travel to China. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has closed off the industrial hub of Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, and nearby cities.

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Builders have been making concrete the same way for hundreds of years: by mixing sand with various binding materials.

However, a team of researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder has a different approach. They’re making a new kind of concrete, one that is alive and can even replicate itself.

It’s made using a common type of microbe: cyanobacteria. This type of organism gets its energy through photosynthesis.

The field of synthetic biology is booming with researchers exploring new ways to build and new materials to work with. Recently, a different team has proposed the use of mycelium as another type of building material.

A major advantage of this new type of concrete is that it can heal itself, repairing any cracks that may appear.

The new concrete type was recently detailed in the journal Matter. “We already use biological materials in our buildings, like wood, but those materials are no longer alive,” Wil Srubar, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (CEAE) said in a news statement. “We’re asking: Why can’t we keep them alive and have that biology do something beneficial, too?”

So how did the group build this new type of living concrete? First, the researchers tried putting the cyanobacteria in a mixture containing warm water, sand, and other nutrients. The microbes began producing calcium carbonate and gradually cemented the sand particles together.

But the process was extremely slow — too slow in fact for the project’s funder, Darpa, the Department of Defense’s research offshoot.

The team switched its focus to gelatin, a food ingredient that once dissolved in water and cooled, created special bonds between its molecules. The team decided to try adding gelatin to the bacteria mixture.

Success! The gelatin not only provided more structure, but also worked with the bacteria and the result was faster-growing, living concrete. It took about a day for the bacteria to form concrete blocks, and although it was weaker than conventional concrete, it was sturdy enough for a person to stand on.

Blocks ranged in size from two-inch cubes to shoebox-sized to larger truss pieces. When stored in relatively dry air and at room temperature, it takes a few days for the blocks to reach their maximum strength. The bacteria can survive for several weeks and even be rejuvenated – resulting in further growth­. Under the right conditions, of course.

“We know that bacteria grow at an exponential rate,” Srubar said. “That’s different than how we, say, 3D-print a block or cast a brick. If we can grow our materials biologically, then we can manufacture at an exponential scale.”

DARPA is extremely interested in this research and in self-growing material in general. That’s because it can be used to build structures in remote and inhospitable areas such as the desert or even outer space.

If the living concrete can prove to be scalable, that would reduce the number of materials that we will need to launch, which is a huge deal when even pound counts.

It’s much easier to bring biology with us than to carry bulky building materials to space. Perhaps the first humans on Mars will live in habitats fashioned out of cyanobacteria concrete bricks, or even mushrooms.

“Nature has figured out how to do a lot of things in a clever and efficient way,” Srubar said. “In austere environments, these materials would perform especially well because they use light from the sun to grow and proliferate with very little exogenous material needed for their growth,” added Srubar. “It’s going to happen one way or another, and we’re not going to be trucking bags of cement all the way to Mars. I really do think that we’ll be bringing biology with us once we go.”

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Tesla has officially applied for federal subsidies for its upcoming battery cell production in Germany. The move makes it clear that the company’s intentions in the European country are to foster a culture of sustainability and environmental consciousness, as represented by the production of premium electric vehicles that run on lithium-ion batteries.

The application was submitted by Tesla and first reported by German newspaper Handelsblatt, which revealed that Tesla was on the list of companies that applied for the subsidies. However, the German Federal Ministry of Economics has stated that they cannot discuss specifics about the said subsidies for now.

Subsidies for Tesla’s planned battery production in Germany would allow the company to develop its already industry-leading cells that power its vehicles at an optimal cost. This should allow the company to produce the Model Y and Model 3 at Giga Berlin at a cost that will not weigh down the company’s finances.

Tesla has acquired numerous battery technology companies, and it is currently putting efforts in developing a true million-mile battery for its vehicles. The subsidies are also expected to assist the German Ministry of Economic Affairs in developing a European battery cell manufacturing project that includes 14 European Union member states and over 55 domestic and international companies.

When Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the plans to build a Gigafactory in Berlin in November, it was met with support from many German officials. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has been one of the most supportive members of the German government, at one point stating that the presence of Tesla in the country is a big step in the right direction.

Altmaier offered a helping hand to Tesla and Musk in an interview with Tagesspiegel. “If the plant does not come, it would be a damage for all of Germany. If we are asked for help as a ministry, we will be happy to help,” he said. Altmaier has also stated that he was a big part of the decision to bring Tesla to Germany, as he was in Musk’s ear leading up to the final decision.

However, the Economy Minister stated that he would not give Tesla special or preferential treatment because of his support. He never discussed or encouraged Tesla to come to Germany because of the possibility of subsidies. “It’s clear that Tesla – if it invests in Germany and creates jobs here, will be treated like all other companies in the automobile and automotive industry,” Altmaier said.

Gigafactory 4 will be completed in July 2021, according to Elon Musk, and the facility will operations with Model Y production. The plant is scheduled to produce around 150,000 cars in its initial production phase. Tesla plans to ramp this manufacturing rate to 500,000 vehicles a year by its third phase. Gigafactory 4 will eventually produce the Model 3 as well.

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Jay-Z and Beyoncé skipped the 2020 Grammys but the entertainment industry’s power couple hosted the annual Roc Nation’s The Brunch and were spotted leaving the venue on a sleek Tesla Model X.

Jay-Z’s entertainment agency Roc Nation hosted the star-studded pre-Grammy event on Saturday in Los Angeles. Bey wore a blue mini dress with low V neck perfectly while Jay-Z was the most fashionable in his mauve suit (yes, don’t call it pink). They did not have to do anything to stand out from the rest as they exuded music royalty, of course, but the electric vehicle community cannot miss that the two biggest stars left the party in a black all-electric SUV.

The Model X waited for the music industry giants with its Falcon Wing doors wide open. The legendary rapper hopped onto the right side of Tesla’s flagship SUV while he poshly corrected someone that his suit wasn’t pink, all while Beyonce was escorted to the other side of the vehicle by her bodyguard.

The music industry’s elite attended the event that some consider even bigger than the Grammys itself. Jay-Z and Beyoncé welcomed the likes of Diddy, Rihanna, Usher, DJ Khaled, Kelly Rowland, John Legend, and many more in the posh mansion where Roc Nation’s The Brunch was held.

Why the couple opted to ride a sleek Model X to one of the biggest events of the year is no surprise. Both award-winning artists are known to wrap their hands around worthy causes such as Beyonce’s focus on climate change.

“During the time where it’s impossible to watch the violence or racism in this country, just when you think it couldn’t possibly get worse, natural disasters take precious life, do massive damage and forever change lives — leaving behind contaminated waters, flooded hospitals, schools and nursing homes,” Beyoncé said during a benefit telethon for the victims of hurricanes in 2017.

Jay-Z, meanwhile, intertwines his art with his activism for change to end poverty and improve lives. He once said in an interview, “If we had a power base together, it would be a much different conversation than me having a conversation by myself and trying to change America by myself. If I come with 40 million people, there’s a different conversation, right?”

The Tesla brand has a loyal community who believes in Elon Musk’s mission to achieve real sustainability, but celebrities such as Jay-Z and Beyoncé can definitely give it a good push and help get the message across to more people.

Check out the short video footage of Jay-Z and Beyonce boarding the Tesla Model X as they leave the Roc Nation’s The Brunch:

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Jay Z and @beyonce leaving the Pre-Grammy Roc Nation Brunch in a Tesla Model 🙅🏾‍♂️. If it’s good enough for Queen Bey, it’s good enough for you. -⠀ ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴏᴜʀ EV ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ:⠀ 👉 @theevinfluencer ⚡⠀ 👉 @theevinfluencer ⚡⠀ 👉 @theevinfluencer ⚡⠀ -⠀ NEW BLOG POST 👉🏾[LINK IN BIO] www.thevoltly.com • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #tesla #teslamodels #teslamodel3 #teslamodelx #rocnationbrunch #teslaroadster #teslalife #teslasemi #teslaowner #teslas #ev #teslacars #jayz #teslaenergy #teslamotorsclub #model3 #rocnation #teslasupercharger #teslacar #teslatruck #queenbey #ModelX #teslamodel #electricvehicle #beyonce #tesla3 #teslacybertruck #cybertruck #teslalove #grammyweekend

A post shared by FOLLOW ↠ VOLTLY (@voltly) on Jan 26, 2020 at 10:55am PST

H/T to voltly

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The anti-Tesla movement in Germany against Giga Berlin may be coming to an end. The planned protest on January 25 was dissolved after pro-Tesla groups made their presence known for a second time.

Protesters had arrived in the town of Grünheide, Germany where Giga Berlin is located on Saturday for another event aimed at expressing their opposition against the construction of the upcoming electric car production plant. Local residents who have become vocal against Tesla began protesting just two weeks ago on January 13.

The aim of the group of protesters was to raise awareness for the forested area that Tesla would be forced to remove so the company could begin building its factory. They were also worried about the possible contamination of drinking water and the chance that drying the forest for the purpose of easier construction could make the area more prone to wildfires.

However, protesters made the decision to disband and sources close to the situation have revealed that the anti-Tesla movement in Grünheide may be over. On the same day, a pro-Tesla group was present in the same area for the second rally in support of the company. A number of local representatives were present for the event, including Mayor of Grünheide Arne Christiani. Amidst this open support from local officials and the growing number of Giga Berlin supporters, the anti-Tesla group decided to throw in the towel.

While a small number of citizens of the town have spoken out against Tesla’s new production plant, German officials have spoken highly about the company’s decision to build Giga Berlin in the country. Mayor Christiani being in attendance to the pro-Tesla rally seems to indicate that he is supportive of the economic and environmental opportunities that Tesla is bringing to the area.

In the past, Christiani has stated that Tesla’s presence gives young professionals the opportunity to stay local instead of wandering off to careers in large cities.

“It gives young people with a good education or a university degree the possibility to stay in our region—an option that didn’t exist in past years,” he said.

On the same day as the rallies, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to clear up some false perceptions about the upcoming German plant. Initially, Musk stated that Giga Berlin would not utilize as much water as previously reported and that the trees in the factory’s land are intended to be harvested to create cardboard. He then went on to emphasize the fact that Tesla will be planting three times the trees that it will be removing for the construction of the plant.

Tesla’s mission is to provide sustainable transportation and energy throughout the world. While construction of the production plant does require the removal of trees, the environmental impact of Tesla’s vehicles, as well as the facility’s environmentally-friendly design, is extremely helpful to the deceleration of climate change. “Giga Berlin will build sustainable energy vehicles using sustainable energy, so net environmental impact will be extremely positive,” Musk said.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk was recently spotted with legendary TV host Jay Leno near the SpaceX headquarters in the Cybertruck. Latest images that surfaced online hint that it will be a Tesla electric truck party at Jay Leno’s Garage soon — and the Tesla Semi will also make an appearance.

An image posted on a Tesla Cybertruck Instagram fan page shows a red all-electric truck Tesla Semi in the same frame as the Cybertruck and Elon Musk. Upon close inspection, lighting equipment can be seen on the other side of the Semi, the same setup seen when Musk and Jay Leno’s Garage crew reportedly filmed a segment for the Emmy Award-winning motoring show. The said TV series segment was framed near the Supercharger station next to the Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California.

On Friday, the roads around the SpaceX headquarters and Tesla Design Center were teeming with sightings of the Cybertruck and the billionaire entrepreneur. Musk even smiled and waved back when a Tesla fan spotted him on the passenger seat of the Cybertruck while comedian and car guru Jay Leno was busy behind the wheels along Crenshaw Blvd.

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Interested to see if this content drops as part of earnings this week. #CYBERTRUCK #elonmusk #teslamotors

A post shared by Tesla Cybertruck (@teslacybertruck) on Jan 26, 2020 at 10:34am PST

Someone also captured a snapshot of the Tesla chief next to the all-electric pickup truck while a film crew was busy working around him.

An appearance of the Tesla Semi on Jay Leno’s Garage will surely attract the curiosity of the electric vehicle community. The electric car maker has been conducting real world tests on the electric truck since 2017 and according to a leaked email last week, the Tesla Semi will enter a limited production phase starting in the second half of 2020.

Elon Musk and his automotive brand markets the Semi as the safest and most comfortable truck ever. Just like it’s smaller siblings in the Tesla stable, the Semi will have Autopilot capabilities. The Silicon Valley-based vehicle manufacturer also promises that the electric truck will have electric energy costs half those of diesel or more than $200K in fuel savings. Aside from its badass performance, a fully loaded Semi will still be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 20 seconds using its four independent motors.

The Tesla Semi will have an expected base price of $150K for its 300-mile range version and $180K for its 500-mile range version.

Vocal Tesla supporter Jay Leno will surely have a blast featuring two vehicles that are set to disrupt the industry on his show. The Cybertruck has received more than 250,000 reservations since its unveiling while companies looking to cut their carbon footprints and more cost-efficient tractor-trailers have their eyes on the Semi.

Aside from the Tesla Cybertruck and the Tesla Semi, a Tesla employee who gave a Model 3 owner an early tour of the Model Y’s interior mentioned that the much-awaited electric crossover will also be appearing at Jay Leno’s Garage.

Here are some of the snapshots of the Tesla Cybertruck and Elon Musk captured last Friday while filming a segment for Jay Leno’s Garage.

Elon Musk inspecting Tesla Cybertruck prior to filming segment for Jay Leno’s Garage behind SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, CA

Tesla Cybertruck filming a segment for Jay Leno’s Garage at the Design Center in Hawthorne, CA

Tesla Cybertruck near SpaceX HQ (Source: Anonymous Tipster)

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SpaceX is just hours away from a Monday launch that should leave the company with almost 250 Starlink satellites in orbit — the latest in several recent steps towards prime time for the fledgling space internet constellation.

Scheduled to lift off no earlier than (NET) 9:49 am EST (14:49 UTC) on January 27th, a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster, new upper stage, 60 Starlink satellites, and a mysteriously blank payload fairing will try to thread the needle from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) LC-40 pad. Weather is tepid according to USAF forecasts and Monday’s – already just 50% ‘go’ – doesn’t even account for extremely high-speed upper-level winds that will absolutely have to wane before Falcon 9 can launch.

SpaceX’s fourth dedicated launch, today’s mission – known as Starlink V1 L3 (the third launch of v1.0 satellites) – will raise the number of spacecraft the company has placed in orbit to 240. Based on past statements from executives and SpaceX’s very own Starlink.com website, successfully completing Starlink V1 L3 could place the company just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the space-based internet constellation’s prime-time. With a little luck, the fledgling satellite internet provider could be serving customers much sooner than almost anyone might imagine.

As of now, it appears that SpaceX will indeed attempt to launch later today despite a good chance that weather conditions will force the company to try again on January 28th. Thankfully, SpaceX’s unique operating procedures brings with it a fair amount of flexibility to scrub launches with very little consequence less than 40 minutes before liftoff.

SpaceX is able to wait that long out of sheer necessity. The company introduced the use of ‘subcooled’ liquid oxygen and kerosene on its Falcon launch vehicles all the way back in 2016, encouraged by the fact that its propellant becomes significantly denser as it gets colder. By toeing the line between liquid oxygen and kerosene actually solidifying into slush, SpaceX was able to boost Falcon 9’s payload capabilities by an incredible ~30% or more. To get that benefit, however, Falcon 9’s propellant must remain as cold as possible, and it begins warming the second that it leaves its far-more-insulated storage tanks and enters Falcon 9.

As a result, SpaceX must load Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy with propellant as late as physically possible, translating to no sooner than 35 minutes before liftoff on all recent launches. In other words, if the weather is firmly on the ‘bad’ side of things at T-38:00-35:00, SpaceX is often able to scrub a given launch attempt before propellant loading begins, both saving the rocket from an unnecessary thermal cycle and saving propellant that might otherwise have to be wasted.

120 satellites, 20 days

Weather challenges and the likelihood of a 24-hour delay aside, SpaceX will soon launch its third batch of upgraded Starlink v1.0 satellites — also the company’s fourth dedicated launch of 60 spacecraft. If things go as planned, SpaceX will have launched nearly 250 satellites total – all but 5 (or so) of which are happily operating in Earth orbit right now.

Deemed Starlink V1 L3, a successful mission later today will also mean that SpaceX has launched an incredible 120 spacecraft – weighing more than 30 metric tons – in less than 20 days. It’s difficult to say for sure, but it’s very likely that that will mark the latest global record secured by SpaceX, following on the heels of the company’s recent ascendance as the newest owner of the world’s largest private satellite constellation (~180 satellites).

However, the ultimate goal of Starlink is, of course, to deliver unprecedentedly high-performance internet service to customers anywhere on Earth. The “anywhere on Earth” modifier is likely more than 20 dedicated SpaceX launches away from reality, but the company has said it will begin serving internet to customers in “the Northern U.S. and Canada in 2020”. As of mid-2019, SpaceX indicated that that regional North American beta test could begin after just six launches.

More recent comments from a SpaceX executive suggest that it could require more like 8 launches of 60 Starlink satellites before initial service can begin in North America, but that ultimately means that the company should be no less than 50-65% of the way there after Starlink V1 L3. With a little luck, that could mean that SpaceX is just two or three Starlink launches away from inviting the first non-employee customers onto the company’s space-based internet. Given SpaceX’s current launch cadence, six Starlink launches may well be well behind the company by the end of February – perhaps just a month or less from now.

Weather permitting, tune in to SpaceX.com/webcast around 9:35 am EST (14:35 UTC) later today (January 18th) to watch SpaceX’s latest Starlink launch live.

Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes.

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