What did you miss? #WDYM: Week 22 2024

?? Toyota has unveiled plans for a new generation of internal combustion engines. Toyota CEO: "In an era when the development of battery EV technology is accelerating, there is a new role we can pursue for the internal combustion engine as well."

?? The timeline for connecting more non-Tesla brands to the charging network has slipped. The Tesla website says Volvo, GM, and Polestar drivers will get access in spring 2024, but Polestar told PCMag it won't happen until later this summer.

?? In 2027, Volkswagen Group said it would launch an entry-level and affordable electric vehicle lineup under the Brand Group Core. The launch is planned for Europe.

?? Nissan turns to Gigacasting and follows Tesla as it aims to reduce parts expenses by 10% and save a billion dollars in development costs.

?? Lucid Motors will provide Hyundai’s premium brand, Genesis, with electric motors.

??♂? Lucid Group, a maker of upscale electric cars, said it plans to cut its workforce by roughly 400 employees, or 6% of the total. The cuts will affect about 60 workers in Arizona.

?? Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast is looking at further delaying a planned $4 billion factory in North Carolina as the loss-making company struggles to gain favour with U.S. consumers.

?? Faraday Future sold a total of four FF91 EV models and leased six for the full year of 2023. The startup recorded a revenue of $0.784 million in that period.

?? The German energy giant RWE has pressed go on its proposed eight-hour big battery in south-west NSW, and has decided to contract Tesla to supply its Megapack battery for the 400 megawatt hour (MWh) project. The 50 MW, 400 MWh Limondale battery, which will be built next to RWE’s existing 249 MW Limondale solar farm near Balranald, will be the first eight-hour battery to be built in Australia after emerging as the surprise winner of the first long duration storage tender held by the NSW government last year.

?? The Boring Company has reached a milestone of giving rides to two million passengers in its first Las Vegas loop, just a little over a year after it surpassed one million.

?? xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, has officially announced its series B funding round of $6 billion. "The funds from the round will be used to take xAI’s first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research & development of future technologies."

?? California launching pilot program to charge drivers for miles driven. It could replace the gas tax. "On average, Californians pay about $300 a year in state gas taxes. EVs have a $100 [annual] registration fee. That's a $200-million-a-year-loss."

???? China's breakneck build-out of solar power, fuelled by rock-bottom equipment prices and policy support, is slowing as grid bottlenecks pile up, market reforms increase uncertainty for generators, and the best rooftop space runs short. Last year, China expanded its solar fleet by 55%. The momentum continued through the first two months of 2024, but in March new solar build fell 32% year-on-year to the lowest level in 16 months.

?????? Zimbabwe has approved the use of SpaceX' Starlink in the country, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Saturday.

? Qatar Airways to introduce SpaceX Starlink's high-speed, low-latency Wi-Fi on three of its Boeing 777-300 aircraft by the last quarter of this year, as part of the initial phase of its rollout strategy.

?? The world’s most powerful space telescope — NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope — has discovered the most distant known galaxy.

?? Boeing, NASA, and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) scrubbed the launch of Starliner less than 4 minutes before liftoff. The setback comes after a string of disappointments, but as with its early May delay, the issue wasn’t with Boeing’s crew vehicle. NASA says the ULA is currently investigating why a computer, called a ground launch sequencer, didn’t enter “the correct operational configuration,” triggering an automatic hold.

?? China's Chang’e-6 lunar probe has landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, aiming to collect samples from the moon's far side. This marks the first attempt to gather samples from this rarely explored area. The 53-day mission includes using a drill and a robotic arm for sample collection.