Tesla Powerwall 2 gets included in Australia’s battery subsidy plan for 40k homes

Simon Alvarez

By

Posted on January 15, 2019

In a rather ironic twist, Tesla and its Powerwall 2 battery have been added to the list of choices for South Australia’s Home Battery Scheme, which aims to provide subsidies to 40,000 homes. The inclusion of the Powerwall 2 battery to the subsidy scheme comes amidst the ongoing progress of Tesla’s ambitious Virtual Power Plant in the region.

The update, which was recently reported by One Step Off The Grid, noted that Tesla’s 13.5kWh lithium-ion home battery systems are now eligible for the full AU$6,000 (US$4,300) subsidy offered by the SA government. As an additional means to attract buyers, Tesla has set up a temporary stall at the Rundle Mall in Adelaide, to showcase its battery storage technology. As noted by the Australian-based publication, though, customers are being informed that the installation of Powerwall 2 batteries would likely involve a lot of waiting.

Solar Quotes’ Ronald Brakels, who visited the Tesla pop-up store, was reportedly informed that there is an estimated 12-week waiting period for Powerwall 2 batteries. Brakels further added that he was quoted AU$9,300 (US$6,600) for the installation of the batteries after the AU$6,000 (US$4,300) subsidy is applied. That’s still a substantial amount, and would likely be out of reach for some homeowners who are in need of a system that can lower their power bills.

This was among the concerns that were raised last year when South Australia’s Home Battery Scheme was announced as a possible replacement for Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant project. Not long after he was elected, South Australia premier Steven Marshall expressed his opposition to Tesla’s proposal of establishing a 250 MW/650 MWh virtual power plant comprised of 50,000 residential homes and Powerwall 2 batteries. As an alternative, Marshall proposed a subsidy program instead, which would lower the price of battery storage units for 40,000 homes.

“(Former Premier Jay Weatherill) was doing (Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant) for Housing Trust homes in South Australia… That’s not part of our plan. What we are going to do is provide a subsidy to get (those with) solar rooftops systems with some storage capacity,” Marshall said before shortly before he was sworn in last year.

Marshall’s plan had stark differences with Tesla’s plan for a Virtual Power Plant. For one, the battery subsidy would be offered to homes that are already equipped with solar panels. Apart from this, homeowners would be required to purchase their own batteries, albeit at a discounted price. Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant, on the other hand, plans to provide solar panels and Powerwall 2 batteries to 25,000 Housing Trust households and 25,000 private low-income homes for free.

Seemingly after receiving flak for his lack of support for Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant, Marshall eventually took a softer stance on the project. By the end of May 2018, Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan announced that the South Australian government would be pursuing Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant and Marshall’s Home Battery Scheme side-by-side.

Since then, Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant has completed its first phase, which involves the installation of solar panels and batteries to the first 100 houses in the system. Marshall’s Home Battery Scheme, on the other hand, was launched last October, and is expected to add up to 400 MWh of storage to the state’s grid when complete. Ultimately, the 400 MWh from Marshall’s Home Battery Scheme would be a nice addition to the 650 MWh of energy storage that would be provided by Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant once all 50,000 residential units are connected and online.

Tesla Powerwall 2 gets included in Australia’s battery subsidy plan for 40k homes

Source

Tesla is giving away a Model 3 in Pwn2Own hacking contest

Simon Alvarez

By

Posted on January 14, 2019

As part of Tesla’s efforts to ensure that its vehicles remain the safest on the road, the electric car maker is once more opening itself to security researchers. This March, Tesla would be participating as the sole automaker in Pwn2Own 2019, a three-day cybersecurity contest set to be held in Vancouver, Canada. The electric car maker will be bringing the Model 3 to the event, and the company is willing to pay top dollar for anyone skilled enough to hack into its latest and most disruptive vehicle to date.

Pwn2Own is a computer hacking contest held at the CanSec West security conference. The contest, which began in 2007, challenges participants to exploit widely used software and mobile devices for vulnerabilities. Winners of the contest traditionally receive the device that they exploited, a cash prize, and some exclusive merchandise. Being a participant in this year’s Pwn2Own competition, Tesla is no exception. As confirmed to Teslarati, Tesla would be giving away a free Mid Range RWD Model 3 (currently priced at $44,000 before savings) to the security researcher who successfully hacks the electric sedan this March.

Several notable companies are participating in Pwn2Own 2019, including Microsoft and Oracle. That said, it would not be surprising if the Model 3 becomes the star of the competition, considering that it is arguably the most compelling target in this year’s event. Nevertheless, David Lau, Vice President of Vehicle Software at Tesla, has stated that the Model 3’s presence in the competition is a way to help the company improve its products further.

“We develop our cars with the highest standards of safety in every respect, and our work with the security research community is invaluable to us. Since launching our bug bounty program in 2014 – the first to include a connected consumer vehicle – we have continuously increased our investments into partnerships with security researchers to ensure that all Tesla owners constantly benefit from the brightest minds in the community. We look forward to learning about, and rewarding, great work in Pwn2Own so that we can continue to improve our products and our approach to designing inherently secure systems,” Lau said.

In a press release, Dragos Ruiu, CanSec West event organizer, notes that the list of targets for this year’s Pwn2Own event is quite impressive. The organizer further added that the participation of companies like Microsoft and Tesla are inspiring.

“It’s inspiring to see some of today’s leading tech companies taking the initiative to secure their products by leveraging the incredibly talented minds participating in Pwn2Own. The target list for the contest is certainly impressive, and I’m excited to see what kinds of creative solutions researchers will demonstrate during the competition,” Ruiu said.

Tesla broke conventions in 2014 when it launched its Bug Bounty program,  which was the first to include a connected consumer vehicle. During that time, Tesla’s bounties were still quite modest, ranging between $25 and $1000. Tesla eventually extended the scope of its Bug Bounty program to its vehicles, and over the years, the company’s rewards for security researchers have also improved steadily. As of November, Tesla was offering up to $15,000 for car or product-related vulnerabilities. Products like its battery storage solutions, such as the Powerwall 2, were also included in the updated Bug Bounty program. 

Tesla’s Bug Bounty program could be credited with a number of security-related features for the company’s vehicles. Since launching the program, for one, Tesla has released cryptographic validation for its software and introduced more robust cryptography for its vehicles’ key fobs. Features like PIN-to-Drive, which is designed to prevent relay attacks from key fob cloning, were also introduced due to the efforts of security researchers.

Tesla is giving away a Model 3 in Pwn2Own hacking contest

Source

Tesla Model X overwhelms tuned imports and muscle cars in drag race meet

Simon Alvarez

By

Posted on January 13, 2019

In the world of drag racing, one would find a whole assortment of vehicles. There are powerful muscle cars tuned with old-school vehicle mastery,  imports modified to such an extent that they behave almost like supercars, and sometimes, there will even be some fancy vehicles loaded with RICE (Racing Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements). 

During drag competitions, the presence of a Tesla usually teases a shakeup of an event’s rankings. Thanks to their electric motors, vehicles like the Tesla Model S, 3, and X boast instant torque, giving them monster acceleration figures. The Model S P100D, for one, regularly battles supercars on the quarter mile, despite being a full-sized sedan that could seat seven (including jump seats at the rear, an option now discontinued). Thus, things get very interesting when premium, high-performance electric cars get involved in a drag racing event.

This is precisely what happened during a recent 1/8-mile drag competition at the Dorchester Dragway, located in Dorchester, South Carolina. During the meet, Kacey Green, a new Tesla Model X P100D owner, decided to take his all-electric family car to the event, to see how well it stacks up against other vehicles. Needless to say, the results of Green’s experiment were very enjoyable to watch, especially if one is an electric car enthusiast.

The Model X P100D faced off with numerous competitors, and it dominated each one. Almost amusingly, the Model X’s first victim was a vehicle that appeared to be a RICE-d up four-cylinder car, complete with neon underglow lights. Following this was a string of more serious competitors comprised of imports, a fellow SUV, a Dodge Hellcat, and even a tuned muscle car — all of which eventually bowed to the all-electric SUV. In a comment on the video, Green lightly added that the owner of the muscle car was annoyed after their race, since his car was beaten by a seven-seat “minivan.”

In the closing moments of the video, Green could be seen posing in front of his Model X P100D with his cash prize from the competition’s Domestic – Street Tires bracket. The Model X P100D, for its part, was fittingly in Celebration Mode, flapping its Falcon Wing Doors.

Despite being the largest and heaviest of Tesla’s current vehicles, the Model X P100D is still an SUV that boasts supercar-like acceleration. Over the years, the car has proven itself on the track, dominating high-performance vehicles like the BMW M4, as well as incredibly fast and powerful SUVs like the Lamborghini Urus, the Mercedes-AMG G63, and the Hellcat-powered Jeep Trackhawk.

If Tesla’s recent updates are any indication, though, there is a good chance that the Model X would be even faster in the near future. Earlier this week, Tesla decided to retire the 75 kWh battery pack option for its vehicles, opening the doors to the possibility of a 2170 battery cell update for the Model S and X, both of which are still using older 18650 cells. With 2170 cells and similar cooling systems to the Model 3 Performance, there is a pretty good chance that Tesla would release a “Track Mode” update for the Model S and X as well. Once that happens, even regulars of closed circuits would best watch out.

Watch the Model X P100D battle imports, muscle cars, and a RICE-d up sedan in the video below.

[embedded content]

Tesla Model X overwhelms tuned imports and muscle cars in drag race meet

Source

Maxxd.com, Proudly powered by WordPress.