Elon Musk considers Tesla mobile app with in-car search capabilities

Randell Suba

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Posted on January 10, 2020

On the heels of Tesla’s latest search-by-voice feature, CEO Elon Musk is considering an update that would extend onboard search capabilities to an owner’s Tesla mobile app. Having the ability to search vehicle-specific functions via a mobile app, instead of using Tesla’s native touchscreen or voice controls, isn’t a use-case that naturally comes to mind but there very well could be a good one.

As suggested by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, there could be times when having access to search Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services directly from the back seat of the vehicle could come in handy. In a Tesla Model X, for instance, watching an in-car movie from the 2nd row provides a theater-like viewing experience, but without access to the vehicle’s touchscreen or steering wheel control for searching. “I was sitting in the middle row of my X and I wanted to change the youtube channel without opening the falcon door,” commented @teslaownersSV to Musk. To which Musk replied “Sure”, hinting at the possibility that a Tesla App feature to facilitate in-car search could become a reality.

With the rollout of the V10 update in September last year, Tesla practically turned the touchscreen into a movie machine with the Tesla Theater feature.

A search feature on the mobile app will also be convenient when one is on Camp Mode. Those who will be spending extended periods of time in their vehicles will be able to maximize the entertainment system, say while on a queen-sized mattress in their Model S or X.

Ultimately, search on the mobile app might come useful when Teslas are cruising on the road as robotaxis in the future. Passengers can be given access to the in-car entertainment system via mobile app and be able to watch their favorite movies or TV series on Netflix or Disney+.

We can only expect Tesla to constantly push new features that enhance the capabilities of the vehicle and further improve user experience as we’ve seen in the Holiday Software Update that included a good amount of new voice commands and visualizations, both steps that take the carmaker closer to its Full Self-Driving dream.

Elon Musk considers Tesla mobile app with in-car search capabilities

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Tesla Gigafactory 4 sales contract gets approval from State Committee

Joey Klender

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Posted on January 9, 2020

Tesla’s Gigafactory 4 project has officially been granted a sales contract by the Brandenburg State Committee in Germany.

The Financial Committee of Brandenburg came to an agreement in just two hours to approve the purchase agreement between Tesla and previous landowners for €40.91 million. The 300-hectare property was sold to the electric car manufacturer for just over €13.50 per square meter, around a third of the price of comparable land nearby.

The price was criticized by many on the Democratic side of the Financial Committee. Budget politician Ronny Kretschmer was vocal about his discontent with the land’s purchase price, stating that Tesla should have paid around €40 per square meter, roughly the same price as properties in the nearby Freienbrink Business Park.

However, the land Tesla purchased is not as developed compared to the nearby Freienbrink Business Park, which already has roadways, water lines, and electricity, among others. In comparison, Tesla will be required to build roads, water systems, street lights, and set up electricity on the GF4 complex.

According to Tagesspiegel, the price of the land could still change because some members of the Financial Committee have required an independent appraisal expert to evaluate the land. These experts are expected to arrive at the GF4 site in late January. If there are significant deviations between the land’s original price and the experts’ appraised value, the price will be adjusted accordingly.

A price that’s too low for Gigafactory 4’s land may actually be disadvantageous for Tesla. Local government officials in Brandenburg believe that if the finalized purchase price for the land is too low, it could end up inhibiting Tesla’s ability to receive subsidies from the European Union. This could negatively affect sales of the company’s vehicles in the long run.

Tesla has yet to decide on whether it would approve the purchase contract and the Committee believes the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker will come to a decision by mid-January. If Tesla approves the contract as a company, the company will have the option to withdraw from the purchase of the land until 2021. Brandenburg can also rescind its position and withdraw if the factory is not built.

Gigafactory 4 is expected to produce half-a-million vehicles per year. The company recently began preparing 159 hectares of the land by clearing trees for the Phase 1 stage of the upcoming complex, a process that needs to be completed by February 27. Tesla has also expressed the intention of planting three times the number of trees it cuts down. Tesla has also been surveying the land for World War II-era weapons that may still be underground.

Tesla Gigafactory 4 sales contract gets approval from State Committee

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Tesla negotiated a killer deal on its European Gigafactory

Joey Klender

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Posted on January 8, 2020

A number of details from Tesla’s purchase contract for Gigafactory 4’s land have been released, revealing that the all-electric car maker has managed to negotiate a great price for the 300-hectare property. According to local reports, Tesla will be able to acquire the GF4’s complex for just €40.91 million, or $45.48 million.

Reports from German media outlet RBB24 state the company will pay just €13.52 per square meter for the property located in Grünheide. This is significantly less than what Tesla paid for the property that is currently inhabited by Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. Tesla bought that 86.5-hectare site for 973 million Chinese Yuan, or slightly more than $140 million.

Nearby pieces of land in the Freienbrink Business Park cost nearly three times as much per square meter. This is because plots of land at Freienbrink already have public roads, installed water systems, street lights, and electricity. These are all things Tesla will have to take care of on its own at the Grünheide site.

Local governments will begin conducting meetings to go over the finer details of the project soon. The Environmental Committee of the Brandenburg State Parliament will talk about the project’s environmental impacts on January 8. Tesla has already started the removal of trees from 90 hectares of the land. This project is set to be completed by February 27, but Tesla has run into some bumps in the road because the company does not want to risk the wildlife currently inhabiting the area.

The committee is aware of Tesla’s plan to eventually build and manufacture 500,000 vehicles at Gigafactory 4, though this would result in the facility being expanded. Tesla would then have to remove trees from a further 154 hectares of land. While the value of the forest is relatively low according to an environmental impact assessment, it seems that animals are of more concern than the trees themselves. Lizards, forest ants, and wolves inhabit the area and are all considered to be worth protecting.

The Brandenburg State Parliament will have an economics meeting on January 9 to make its decision on the Gigafactory 4 project. A Democratic budget politician by the name of Ronny Kretschmer stated that the purchase price was too low considering the nearby Freinbrink land value. He believes the property should have been purchased for around €40 per square meter like other slots of nearby land.

Gigafactory 4 is expected to roll its first cars off the production line in June 2021 beginning with the Model Y crossover. The considerably low purchase price for Gigafactory 4 will make it extremely simple for the company to make its money back on the project. Following overwhelming support from some of the area’s top officials, it seems Tesla’s new production plant will have plenty of momentum as construction is set to begin, likely sooner than later.

Tesla negotiated a killer deal on its European Gigafactory

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