Tag: EVS

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Tesla’s $50 ‘Cyberwhistle’ is already sold out

Similar to The Boring Company’s Flamethrower, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stealth revealed a $50 (roughly $64 CAD) ‘Cyberwhistle’ that’s already sold out.

Why did Tesla launch a Cybertruck-shaped whistle? We’ll likely never know.

The pricey whistle’s description states that it is “Inspired by [the] Cybertruck’ and that the “Cyberwhistle is a premium collectible made from medical-grade stainless steel with a polished finish. The whistle includes an integrated attachment feature for added versatility.”

As expected, this is a limited-edition accessory that you likely already can’t get your hands on unless you’re willing to dive into the reseller market because it’s entirely sold out. Musk even compared the Cyberwhistle to Apple’s $35 cleaning cloth, suggesting that those who like expensive products should “buy our whistle instead.”

While the actual Cybertruck has over a million reservations, it’s unclear when the anticipated and oddly designed electric vehicle (EV) will actually release. Tesla most recently delayed the Cybertruck until 2022.

Source: @elonmusk 

Image credit: Tesla

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EV chargers are coming to Ontario’s ONroute rest stops by next summer

Electric vehicle (EV) charger infrastructure continues to expand across Canada.

According to Energy Minister Todd Smith and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney, EV chargers are coming to most ONroute rest stops in Ontario by next summer. Each location will feature two chargers with busier ONroutes offering more stations.

Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation’s EV charging network will install the pay-per-use chargers that are part of a pre-existing charging network called Ivy. The project does not involve direct funding from the provincial government. Instead, Natural Resources Canada gave a $3.45 million loan to Ivy to continue the project, amounting to 30 percent of the total cost of adding the chargers to ONroute locations.

Shortly after being elected in 2018, Ontario Premiere Doug Ford stopped the provincial government’s plans to build an EV charging network and cancelled Ontario’s electric vehicle rebate program.

With nearly every legacy car manufacturer shifting its focus to EV production, electric vehicles are poised to become far more mainstream over the next few years. With this in mind, it makes sense for the province to start taking electric vehicle charging more seriously.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Via: CP24

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Tesla Model 3 no longer qualifies for $5,000 Federal rebate

The Government of Canada has updated its list of eligible vehicles for the $5,000 federal electric vehicle (EV) buying incentive, and it’s removed the Tesla Model 3.

This comes as Tesla raises the price of the Model 3 to $59,990. However, the company has also increased the range of this trim to 430km. Previously when the vehicle was priced cheaper to tie in with the incentive, the range was artificially locked down to 150km. This made this version of the Model 3 not really worth buying and was just a sneaky way to get the government discount on the longer-range Models.

It appears that Tesla no longer cares about those models receiving the discount since the Model 3 has also been removed from the rebate list in British Columbia. The only two provinces that still offer discounts on the pricey sedan are Newfoundland and Quebec. These provinces offer $2,500 and $8,000 rebates, respectively.

Since the EV maker’s vehicles are positioned as more upscale vehicles, I’m not disappointed by this move given most Tesla buyers are well off financially anyways. Further, with the wave of lower-cost EVs that are about to hit the market over the next two years, it makes more sense for Tesla to be competitive with range over price.

Source: Tesla North 

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Chip shortage leaves some Tesla vehicles without USB ports

A handful of Tesla owners who recently received a new vehicle from the company are reporting that the rear console is missing the standard two USB-C ports.

This issue began with models that shipped on November 11th or later, according to Electrek. Tesla says that it should be able to finally install them in December. However, since the electric vehicle (EV) maker is often bad at timing, I’d expect it might take a little longer than a month for it to restock parts.

Alongside the missing USB ports in the back, other users are reporting that their wireless chargers don’t work.

The report alleges that these missing ports and disabled chargers all link back to the global chip shortage. However, this is the first I’ve heard of the shortage affecting a component as simple as USB-C ports.

Image credit: Reddit (CalligrapherNo4617)

Source: Electrek 

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Tesla is launching Starlink satellite internet dishes at Supercharger locations

Tesla owners could soon be able to access Starlink satellite internet while they charge their electric vehicle (EV).

According to Electrek, several Tesla owners have spotted Starlink satellites at Supercharger stations. That said, it’s unclear how many satellites Tesla/Starlink plans to role out, with most of the reports of sitings so far coming from Florida.

Tesla, as expected, hasn’t commented on the sighting as the company reportedly doesn’t have a PR team anymore.

While it’s assumed that Tesla owners will likely be able to access the Starlink internet connection at these Superchargers — allowing them to do anything from watching movies to playing video games — the technology could also be used for processing payment and charger status information in remote areas. Since these chargers likely use a form of 4G now, switching to starlink would allow them to be more vertically integrated with Tesla’s other tech.

There’s also a possibility that the Starlink satellites could be linked to Tesla’s possible plans to open its Supercharger network to other electric vehicles in the future. For example, Tesla recently revealed that it now allows all electric vehicles to use its chargers in the Netherlands.

If you’ve encountered a Starlink satellite at a Tesla Super Charger location in Canada, let us know in the comments.

Source: Electrek

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Shell Canada to receive $3.95 million from federal government to create EV charging network

Shell Canada has revealed that it received $3.95 million in funding from the Canadian federal government to build 79 electric vehicles (EV) fast-charging stations across five Canadian provinces.

This initiative includes 36 EV chargers in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, according to the NRCan’s EV and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative, as first reported by Electric Autonomy.

Electric Autonomy says that it’s unclear if the locations included in the report feature all of Shell’s planned EV charging stations or if they only relate to the chargers constructed with government funding.

In total, Shell plans to build roughly 500,000 electric vehicle chargers across North America by 2025. The report also mentions that the federal government will give $300,000 in funding to convenience store 7-Eleven to build 12 charging stations at six of its locations in British Columbia.

Source: Electric Autonomy, NRcan 

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Quebec drivers get Guinness world record for most EVs in one place

The Guinness world record for the largest gathering of 100 percent electric vehicles has been awarded to a group of 733 drivers in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

The record attempt was put on by Electric Mobility Canada and Earth Day Canada on October 24th to celebrate the Saint-Hyacinthe Electric Vehicle Show.

The previous record was owned by drivers in Denmark who managed to get 402 EVs together back in 2016.

In a quote to Electric Autonomy Canada, the organizers said that they wanted to have the event to show off to people Electric car adoption is growing and that more and more people are driving all kinds of EVs.

While most of the drivers are from Quebec, there are also people from Burlington and Ottawa, Ontario as well. The organizers and drivers have already secured the award for the most electric cars. Still, the report also mentions that they’re in the midst of also getting another record for the most electric vehicles of all types in including trucks and scooters.

Source: Electric Autonomy Canada 

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Quebec drivers get Guinness world record for most EVs in one place

The Guinness world record for the largest gathering of 100 percent electric vehicles has been awarded to a group of 733 drivers in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

The record attempt was put on by Electric Mobility Canada and Earth Day Canada on October 24th to celebrate the Saint-Hyacinthe Electric Vehicle Show.

The previous record was owned by drivers in Denmark who managed to get 402 EVs together back in 2016.

In a quote to Electric Autonomy Canada, the organizers said that they wanted to have the event to show off to people Electric car adoption is growing and that more and more people are driving all kinds of EVs.

While most of the drivers are from Quebec, there are also people from Burlington and Ottawa, Ontario as well. The organizers and drivers have already secured the award for the most electric cars. Still, the report also mentions that they’re in the midst of also getting another record for the most electric vehicles of all types in including trucks and scooters.

Source: Electric Autonomy Canada 

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GM building 40,000 EV chargers across Canada and the U.S.

General Motors is getting in the fight to convince more drivers that range anxiety is a thing of the past with the launch of 40,000 prospective level-2 EV chargers spread across Canada and the U.S.

The charger incentive is set to begin in 2022, and the automaker is investing $750 million to expand its charging infrastructure. To keep in mind: GM plans to build 40,000 chargers, not 40,000 charging stations. Since each station usually has 1-3 chargers at it, these 40,000 chargers could be as small as 13,000-20,000 stations across the continent.

I’ll also note that while Level-2 stations are useful to have at places where you park for prolonged periods of time, like work or home, it will still take hours to fill up your car.

To start its charger rollout, the company will task its dealer network with finding locations in its communities that could benefit from a Level-2 charger. This could include local sportsplexes, multi-unit dwellings, and other key places. It’s also important to note that the GM is going to make these chargers available to all EV owners, not just General Motors vehicles. Each dealership is also slated to get 10 chargers.

The company is also going to be selling three different level two chargers at its dealership so customers can set up a charger at home if they purchase a new EV. In the past, GM was offering free level-2 charger installations with Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV purchases. After the recent Bolt recalls, that might be the best thing Bolt owners got for buying their cars.

The three new chargers are going to be Ultium-branded to match GM’s future battery tech. The base model is a 48-amp smart charger, the middle option is also 48-amps, but GM is calling it a Premium charger. The final option is an 80-amp model called the Premium Smart charger.

GM says the premium models also have a camera built into them and a touchscreen to make them a little more secure and easier to use. According to GM, these chargers will start shipping in early 2022, but the company hasn’t shared any pricing yet.

Overall, it’s nice to see GM show off some new chargers, but to actually help people with range anxiety and traveling on long trips, we need more fast chargers. So while GM is installing lots of slower chargers, it would have been nice for the automaker to at least install one or two fast chargers in each town that has a dealership as well.

Source: GM

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Canada on track to get two EV battery cell factories

Canada may get not one but two electric vehicle (EV) battery factories in the future if plans from companies BritishVolt and StormVolt come to fruition.

Both say they will base their factors in Quebec and feature extensive corporate backing from existing companies.

BritishVolt

BritishVolt is a relatively new company that dabbles in clean energy and operates a 30GWh battery plant in the United Kingdom. The company has already partnered with a few businesses in Montreal to bring a 60GWh factory and more to Canada.

In an interview with Electric Autonomy Canada, the company said that it’s currently working with a small team to find land and work on securing government funding for the large-scale undertaking.

Specifically, BritishVolt wants to build an R&D centre, an anode and cathode processing plant and a 60GWh battery cell manufacturing area.

StormVolt

StormVolt is an Ontario-based startup with backing from the Taiwan electronics company Delta Electronics. It also has ambitions to build a battery cell plant in Quebec, hoping to scale it to 10GWh production.

This means that the StormVolt factory might be significantly smaller than BritishVolt’s. Still, the upstart Ontario company hopes to serve smaller local EV manufacturers like Nova bus and Lion Electric.

While StormVolt may not become the most significant player in the EV battery space, two battery cell plants in Canada would go a long way towards helping the country produce EV batteries end-to-end.

Source: Electric Autonomy Canada, (1)