Tag: tesla

Categories : Disruptive Transportation Fresno RetailTags : 11 Comments

Fresno’s First Tesla Supercharger About to Open

On By jamesinclair

In November I reported that Fresno was finally getting a Tesla Supercharger – high speed electric chargers that can “refuel” a Tesla in 30 minutes. Although originally scheduled for 2015, Tesla missed that goal, although it looks like they’re about ready to open up.

Let’s take a look:

The Supercharger is being installed at Herndon and CA-99, in a new shopping center anchored by Target.

Conveniently placed by plenty of electricity, see the green fence in the background?

Peeking over the fence, here’s what it looks like now, with 10 charging stalls (one didn’t fit in the shot):

Still some minor work left.

Up close:

Stepping back, you can see the site is currently fenced off. However, note that little shed? (Not the ATM) Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : 3 Comments

Fresno is finally getting a Tesla Supercharger

On By jamesinclair

Over the past few years, I’ve posted about how Fresno is severely lacking in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It’s especially disturbing because the state has put so many incentives in place, and yet, instead of deploying the chargers where the worst air quality is, they’re all installed in the Bay Area or LA. Three years ago, there were a grand total of zero public chargers in the area. Fortunately, that has improved. Now, Fresno State offers public chargers, and there are a few others scattered across town.

However. one of the biggest backers of electric vehicle chargers has been Tesla, and they’ve been MIA. They have been deploying a network of proprietary “superchargers” nationwide to help sell their cars: Click to read more!

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Tesla’s new Autopilot – not self-driving, and not so safe

On By jamesinclair

Did you hear? Self-driving cars are here! Or at least that’s what the headlines suggested last week, as Tesla released an update for their pricey cars to enable a new “autopilot” system. As it turns out, the new system isn’t new – but the deployment is. And, unfortunately, that’s what makes it so dangerous. Tesla is setting expectations for their “autopilot” system much higher than what the car can actually do – and someone is probably going to get killed.

Let’s start by reviewing some of the Friday headlines:

  • Welcome to the self-driving car revolution: Tesla releases Autopilot patch (Computer World) 
  • Tesla rolls out self driving car software (Ft.com)  
  • Tesla cars gain self-driving sentience overnight (WaPo)
  • With New Software Rollout, Tesla Accelerates Toward Fully Self-Driving Cars (Recode)
  • Tesla amps up Model S self-driving capabilities with firmware update (Extreme Tech)

The Washington Post had an especially starry eyed (and factually incorrect) write up, which reads like a PR dream: Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : 4 Comments

Are public electric car chargers finally coming to Fresno?

On By jamesinclair

It’s amazing to think that almost three years ago, I wrote about Fresno finally getting its first public electric car charging station. As the region with the worst air quality in the country, the lack of support for electric vehicles was alarming.

And here we are in 2015, and the situation is almost the same as it was in 2012!

In that post, I wrote about how the first public car charging installation was coming to Blackbeard’s. Well three years later, it hasn’t actually happened. Here’s what progress looked like last month:

photo IMG_1183_8202_zpsefhbxtfd.jpg

The solar panels were never installed, nor was the charging station. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : 2 Comments

Tesla designing a dangerous distracted driving machine

On By jamesinclair

Tesla Motors is a small (but growing) automaker based in California that designs and sells only electric vehicles. Their Roadster model is already on sale, and they are ramping up production for the 2012 release of their “Model S” which will be a Sedan.

This past weekend, Tesla held an event at their Fremont plant to show the people who put down $5,000 for a preorder what their 2012 vehicle will look like.

I am interested in the move towards electric cars because of what it means for the quality of our air. As you may know, I live in Fresno, which may be named the dirtiest air in the country for the year, or maybe next. An exciting milestone for sure. We’re number 1! Click to read more!